What is secondary analysis?

Secondary analysis involves the use of existing data, collected for the purposes of a prior study, in order to pursue a research interest which is distinct from that of the original work; this may be a new research question or an alternative perspective on the original question (Hinds, Vogel and Clarke-Steffen 1997.

What are the advantages of secondary analysis?

The most obvious advantage of the secondary analysis of existing data is the low cost. There is sometimes a fee required to obtain access to such datasets, but this is almost always a tiny proportion of what it would cost to conduct an original study.

How do you evaluate secondary data?

Questions to Ask When Evaluating Secondary DataWhat was the research provider’s purpose in presenting the data? Who collected the data? When was the data collected? How was the data collected? What type of data was collected? Is the data consistent with data from other sources?

Why is secondary data better?

The Advantages of Secondary Data Analysis One of the most noticeable advantages of using secondary data analysis is its cost effectiveness. Because someone else has already collected the data, the researcher does not need to invest any money, time, or effort into the data collection stages of his or her study.