4. Secondary Data

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About this Lecture

Lecture

In this lecture, we think about secondary data, focusing in particular on: (i) defining secondary data as that which has been collected by someone other than the current researcher; (ii) collection methods, including from previous publications and other literature, as well as emails, diaries, websites and unpublished documents; (iii) potential caveats of secondary data, including results for which the research methods used were lacking in validity, reliability, or are otherwise out of date; (iv) advantages of secondary data, including its inexpensive and less time consuming collection methods; (v) disadvantages of secondary data, including the fact that it may not be directly addressing all of the issues in the current research questions, that it has unpredictable quality, and that it may be outdated.

Course

In this course, Dr Eduardo Vasquez (University of Kent) explores data collection and review in psychological research. In the first lecture, we think about qualitative data collection methods, including interviews and focus groups. In the second lecture, we think about quantitative data collection methods, including experiments and surveys. In the third lecture, we think about the advantages and disadvantages of primary data. Next, we think about the advantages and disadvantages of secondary data. In the fifth and final lecture, we think about systematic reviews of data, specifically focusing on meta-analyses.

Lecturer

Dr Eduardo Vasquez is a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Kent. His research interests include aggression, inter-group relations/conflict, and the influence of alcohol on social behaviours. Some of Dr Vasquez’s recent publications include 'Are you insulting me? Exposure to alcohol primes increases aggression following ambiguous provocation' (2014), 'Any of them will do: In-group identification, out-group entitativity, and gang membership as predictors of group based retribution' (2015), and 'The sexual objectification of girls and aggression towards them in gang and non-gang affiliated youth' (2017).