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Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Secondary Analysis
Advantages
- Considerably cheaper and faster than doing original studies
- You can benefit from the research from some of the top scholars in your field, which for the most part ensures quality data.
- If you have limited funds and time, other surveys may have the advantage of samples drawn from larger populations.
- How much you use previously collected data is flexible; you might only extract a few figures from a table, you might use the data in a subsidiary role in your research, or even in a central role.
- A network of data archives in which survey data files are collected and distributed is readily available, making research for secondary analysis easily accessible.
Disadvantages
- Since many surveys deal with national populations, if you are interested in studying a well-defined minority subgroup you will have a difficult time finding relevant data.
- Secondary analysis can be used in irresponsible ways. If variables aren't exactly those you want, data can be manipulated and transformed in a way that might lessen the validity of the original research.
- Much research, particularly of large samples, can involve large data files and difficult statistical packages.
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