Using Available Data

Chapter 12

Introduction

Social scientists often use available data Available data is data that is easily

accessible by the researcher Available data can come in the form of raw

data, actual statistics, or summaries of data

Introduction

Existing statistics Summaries of data collected by large

organizations

Introduction

Examples of existing statistics – www.fedstats.gov

Available data which is actual data instead of statistics allows researchers to perform their own analysis

Introduction

Secondary date Research data that have been collected by

someone else

Introduction

Secondary data is often contrasted with primary data

Primary data Data that the same researcher collects and

uses

Introduction

Ecological fallacy The fallacy of making inferences about certain

types of individuals from information about groups that might not be exclusively composed of those individuals

Focal Research

Comparing the Context of Immigrant Homicides in Miami: Haitians, Jamaicans, and Mariels by Ramiro Martinez, Jr., and Matthew T. Lee Avoiding ecological fallacy

Focal Research

Ethics The data about individuals that Martinez and

Lee obtained was collected by others and was used without any personal identification.

lthough the ASA Code of Ethics states that confidentiality is not required in the case of information available from public records, the researchers acted appropriately by collecting the data about victims and offenders from the records without names.

Quiz – Question 1

What was Martinez and Lee’s unit of analysis?

Kinds of Data Available

Secondary Data The unit of analysis for studies based on

secondary analysis of survey data is almost always the individual

People respond to surveys and therefore, people tend to be the unit of analysis

Kinds of Data Available

Existing Statistics Existing statistics are statistics provided by large

organizations. The U.S. Bureau of the Census is one of the most

commonly used sources of existing statistics The unit of analysis in studies based on existing

statistics is not the individual. Statistics summarize information about aggregates of

people, such as countries, regions, states, cities, counties, organizations, etc.

When using existing statistics you must find sources of data which use the same unit of analysis as your research question

Kinds of Available Data

Other Kinds of Available Data Physical traces

Include all kinds of physical evidence left by humans in the course of their everyday lives and can generally be divided into erosion measures and accretion measures.

Kinds of Available Data

Other kinds of available data Erosion measures

Indicators of a population’s activities created by its selective wear on its physical environment

A study of the amount of use particular objects receive

Kinds of Available Data

Other kinds of available data Accretion measures

Indicators of a population’s activities created by its deposits of materials

“The Garbage Project” at the University of Arizona has studied garbage since 1973, by sorting and coding random samples of household garbage

Kinds of Available Data

Other Kinds of Available Data The great advantage of physical traces, like

garbage, is the collection of data is unobtrusive or unlikely to affect the interactions, events, or behavior under consideration

Kinds of Available Data

Other Kinds of Available Data Personal records are records of private lives,

such as biographies, letters, diaries, and essays. Personal records are more difficult to gain access to

than public records

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Available Data Advantages

Collection is unobtrusive Available and inexpensive

Savings in time, money, and effort

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Available Data Disadvantages

Never quite sure about reliability Underreporting Ecological fallacy

Quiz – Question 2

If a researcher collects original data for her own purposes, she is relying on _______ to study a research question.

a. secondary data

b. primary data

c. the scientific method

d. available data

Quiz – Question 3

Secondary data isa. the data that the same researcher collects at

a different point in time.

b. data that has been collected by someone else.

c. data that is not useful to the researcher.

d. None of the above