The Value and Use of Secondary Data

1
The Value and Use of Secondary Data

• Amy Pienta
• ICPSR

2
Why use secondary data?

• Kuhns (1970) scientific paradigm
• Replication and confirmation of results
• The foundation of the scientific process is that
  research should build on previous work,
• Sharing data and allowing for replication makes
  ones work more likely to be taken seriously and
  cited more frequently (King et al., 1995).

3
Why use secondary data?

• The nature of large datasets virtually guarantees
  that a single researcher or group of researchers
  will not be able to use the dataset to its full
  potential for a single project.
• Utilizing secondary data ensures that resources
  spent on data collection are put to the best use
  possible and the public benefit is enhanced.
• Great value for students, postdocs, junior
  faculty (and others)

4
Secondary Data and Graduate Students

• Why graduate students use secondary data
• Why graduate instructors use secondary data in
  classroom
• ICPSR disclaimer

5
Graduate Students Users of Secondary Data at ICPSR
User Affiliations Spring 2005 2005 s Spring 2007 2007 s
Undergraduate Student 6535 25.8 27791 29.1
Graduate Student 10175 40.1 34023 35.6
University/College Faculty 4111 16.2 15602 16.3
University/College Staff Member 1113 4.4 4045 4.2
Research Organization 840 3.3 3336 3.5
Federal Government 341 1.3 1167 1.2
Local Government 295 1.2 1003 1.0
State Government 245 1.0 966 1.0
News Organization 100 0.4 408 0.4
Treatment Service Provider 118 0.5 354 0.4
Other 1492 5.9 6876 7.2
TOTALS 25365 95571
6
Common Uses of Secondary Data

• Class Assignments
• Class Papers
• Replication
• Original Analyses
• Student Presentations and Publications
• Sole author
• Co-authored with faculty
• Co-authored with students
• Theses and Dissertations

7
Replication Publication

• A replication study is a valuable way to meet the
  goals of a graduate course (Gary King, 2006)
• get published
• help professionalize students into the discipline
• teach the scientific norms of the free exchange
  of academic information.

8
Replication Publication

• Elements of a replication paper (King 2006)
• Address a substantive problem in your field of
  interest
• Begin by locating an article in your field,
  acquiring the data used in the article, and
  replicating the specific numerical results in the
  tables and/or figures in that analysis
• Describe the extent to which you were able to
  replicate the authors results
• After replicating, try to improve the
  presentation of the original results.
• Next, run some controlled methodological
  experiments designed to advance the state of
  knowledge about the substantive project.

9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
Secondary Data at ICPSR

• Finding Data For Classes, Projects, Papers and
  Presentations
• Basic Search
• Browsing the Collection

20
(No Transcript)
21
(No Transcript)
22
(No Transcript)
23
(No Transcript)
24
(No Transcript)
25
Preview of Part II

• Paula Lantz Americans Changing Lives
• James McNally National Archive on Computerized
  Data on Aging
• Frank Stafford Panel Study of Income Dynamics
• Felicia LeClere Minority Data Resource Center
  and Data Sharing for Demographic Research

26
Thank you

• Amy Pienta
• apienta_at_umich.edu