Secondary Qualitative Data Analysis in the Health and Social Sciences

Cheryl Tatano Beck

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781351581059
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Nursing

Despite a long history in quantitative research, it is only recently that enthusiasm for secondary analysis of qualitative data has gained momentum across health and social science disciplines. Given that researchers have long known the inordinate amount of time and energy invested in conducting qualitative research, the appeal of secondary analysis of qualitative data is clear. Involving the use of an existing dataset to answer research questions that are different from those asked in the original study, this method allows researchers to once again make use of their hard-earned qualitative dataset and to listen to their participants' voices to the best of their ability in order to improve care and promote understanding.

As secondary qualitative data analysis continues to evolve, more methodological guidance is needed. This book outlines three approaches to secondary data analysis and addresses the key issues that researchers need to wrestle with, such as ethical considerations, voice, and representation. Intellectual and interpretive hazards that can jeopardize the outcome of these analyses are highlighted and discussed, as are the criteria for assessing their quality and trustworthiness.

Written as a thought-provoking guide for qualitative researchers from across the health and social sciences, this text includes a review of the state of the science in nursing and a number of in-depth illustrative case studies.

1
INTRODUCTION

In 2004, Heaton published the first book on secondary qualitative analysis. It was groundbreaking. Since then, no other book has been published on the topic. Corti, Van den Eynden, Bishop, and Wollard (2014) have published a related book, Managing and Sharing Research Data: A Guide to Good Practice, which addressed effective data management as an essential precondition for high quality reusable data. This current book is the first one published in 15 years since Heaton’s book on secondary qualitative data analysis. This book consists of 13 chapters, including this introductory chapter. In this chapter, the outline of the book is presented. A summary of what each chapter addresses is included here, so readers are familiarized with the scope of the book.

Chapter 2 focuses on the history of secondary qualitative data analysis. It began in 1962 when Glaser stressed that secondary analysis should not be limited to quantitative data. He was a proponent of the value that secondary analysis can have for qualitative data. In the early 1990s, U.S. and Canadian researchers and sociologists in the United Kingdom began publishing on the benefits and concerns of secondary qualitative analysis. Different typologies of these analyses were created by Hinds, Vogel, and Clarke-Steffen (1997), Thorne (1994), and Heaton (2004). In 2004, Heaton published the first book on reusing qualitative data. Ten years later, Corti et al. published their book on archiving qualitative data.

In Chapter 3, the advantages and challenges of secondary qualitative analysis are described. Since qualitative research is so time-consuming, what a benefit it is to maximize the use of a dataset to answer new research questions relevant to the phenomenon originally studied. Secondary qualitative analysis can extend the larger context of the primary results. Researchers can reuse primary datasets to reduce participant burden without needing to recruit additional participants. Hazards of secondary qualitative data are also addressed in this chapter. Epistemological and methodological challenges, such as the concern that secondary analysts may not have been present during the original data collection and analysis, are addressed. Secondary analysts are not privy to the insider’s experience and may be liable to making incorrect interpretations of the primary dataset. Representational problems of sampling and voice are also described, along with the methodological issues of the fit between the data and the methods in the original study with the new research questions of the secondary analysts.

Chapter 4 concentrates on long-term management of qualitative datasets, namely archiving. Corti et al. (2014) included qualitative archiving as an important part of the research data life cycle. Benefits and challenges of archiving qualitative data are addressed. An example of one benefit is the ability to improve the methodological rigor among qualitative researchers. One of the challenges is anonymizing qualitative datasets. Included in this chapter are the results of studies assessing researchers’ attitudes towards qualitative archiving.

Chapter 5 targets ethical concerns of both conducting secondary qualitative analysis and archiving qualitative datasets. Informed consent, confidentiality, and anonymization are key ethical issues. Best practices for anonymizing a qualitative text are identified, along with standard protections of qualitative data in repositories. This chapter includes an example of anonymizing a qualitative dataset for archiving sensitive issues with elusive populations.

Chapter 6 addresses the process involved in actually conducting a secondary qualitative data analysis. Three typologies of secondary qualitative analysis are presented in chronological order. These include Thorne’s (1994), Hinds et al.’s (1997), and Heaton’s (2004) typologies. Examples of secondary analyses using these typologies from various disciplines are presented to illustrate these typologies. The remainder of the chapter describes steps in conducting this analysis, starting with the research question and ending with archiving the dataset.

International qualitative data archives in the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe, and Australia are highlighted in Chapter 7. The chapter begins with the research data life cycle, which extends the research process beyond just disseminating research findings. Data repository guidelines are covered. Interdisciplinary examples of published secondary qualitative analyses from data obtained from archives are explored in this chapter.

Metaphor analysis is a valuable approach to secondary qualitative data analysis available to secondary analysts. This analysis is the focus of Chapter 8, where two approaches to metaphor analysis are covered: Metaphor Identification Procedure (Pragglejaz Group, 2007) and Steger’s (2007) Three-step Metaphor Analysis. The three metaphor analyses I have conducted using my own primary datasets are described to illustrate qualitative secondary analysis using this approach.

In Chapter 9, the use of secondary qualitative data analysis for theory development takes center stage. In 1988, Thorne and Robinson alerted researchers to the use of secondary analysis of multiple qualitative datasets for theory development. Morse (2001) called for secondary analysis of multiple qualitative studies to provide incremental evidence for theory development. In 2017, Morse developed theoretical coalescence as a method of combining qualitative studies to create a higher-level theory. This chapter ends with an example of theoretical coalescence using my own program of research on traumatic childbirth.

Qualitative scholars have a responsibility to prepare the next generation of researchers. Teaching approaches for secondary qualitative data analysis are examined in Chapter 10. Three examples of teaching assignments I have used with my PhD students in my qualitative research methods courses at the University of Connecticut are detailed. The chapter ends by highlighting the U.K. Data Service as an example of a qualitative archive that provides excellent teaching resources for faculty who want to instruct their students in secondary qualitative analysis.

In Chapter 11, general guidelines for writing and publishing secondary qualitative analyses are detailed. An outline for the structure of a secondary qualitative analysis journal article is included. The challenges involved in writing up this type of analysis are identified, and helpful hints to address these challenges are presented. Examples from secondary qualitative analyses I have published are included to illustrate approaches I have used.

Chapter 12 summarizes a literature review that I conducted on secondary qualitative analysis in one discipline, namely nursing. In this review, 274 secondary qualitative analyses were included. Trends and limitations in the reporting of these studies were noted, and recommendations were made.

The final chapter, Chapter 13, looks at the exciting future directions in secondary qualitative data analysis with the hope of further expanding the use of secondary qualitative analysis for theory development and policy development. Recommendations are made for education, publication, ethical issues, and qualitative data archiving.

References

Corti, L., Van den Eynden, V., Bishop, L., & Woollard, M. (2014). Managing and sharing research data: A guide to good practice. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.

Heaton, J. (2004). Reworking qualitative data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Hinds, P. S., Vogel, R. J., & Clarke-Steffen, L. (1997). The possibilities and pitfalls of doing a secondary analysis of a qualitative data set. Qualitative Health Research, 7, 408–424.

Morse, J. M. (2001). Qualitative verification: Building evidence by extending basic findings. In J. M. Morse (Ed.), The nature of qualitative evidence (pp. 203–220). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication.

Morse, J. M. (2017). Theoretical coalescence. In J. M. Morse (Ed.), Analyzing and conceptualizing the theoretical foundations of nursing (pp. 647–651). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Pragglejaz Group. (2007). MIP: A method for identifying metaphorically used words in discourse. Metaphor and Symbol, 22, 1–39.

Steger, T. (2007). The stories metaphors tell: Metaphors as a tool to describe tacit aspects in narrative. Field Methods, 19, 3–23.

Thorne, S. (1994). Secondary analysis in qualitative research: Issues and implications. In J. M. Morse (Ed.), Critical issues in qualitative research methods (pp. 263–279). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

2
HISTORY OF SECONDARY QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

In this chapter, the history of secondary qualitative analysis is described, starting with Glaser in 1962. In the 1990s, sociologists in the United Kingdom and nurse researchers in Canada and the United States contributed early publications on secondary qualitative analysis. From 2000 onward, publications on the reuse of qualitative data have increased substantially. In 2004, Heaton published the first and only book on secondary qualitative data analysis. The Forum: Qualitative Social Research is an online journal which has taken the lead on publishing issues devoted to qualitative secondary analysis. Ten years after Heaton’s book, Corti, Van den Eymden, Bishop, and Woollard (2014) published their book on archiving data. Bishop (2016) published a chapter on secondary analysis of qualitative data in Qualitative research: Issues of theory, method and practice.

Glaser (1962) called man “a data gathering animal” (p. 74). He suggested secondary analysis as a strategy for using the data researchers gather. Secondary analysis is “the study of specific problems through analysis of existing data which were originally collected for other purposes” (Glaser, 1963, p. 11). He stressed that secondary analysis should not be limited to quantitative data.

The emphasis on survey data neglects other kinds of data, particularly field data, and hence limits the potential use of secondary analysis. This research strategy can be applied to almost any qualitative data however small its amount and whatever the degree of prior analysis.

(Glaser 1963, p. 11)

Various types of qualitative data from interviews, field notes, and observation notes can be fruitfully reanalyzed. He went on to state that qualitative researchers may be delighted to have their data, buried in file cabinets for a long time, reanalyzed from a different point of view. Glaser called for tapping past research for its relevance to solving present problems.

Glaser (1962) identified the initial phase in secondary analysis as focusing on the researcher questioning the comparability of the primary data. If the populations included in the primary research and present situation are somewhat the same, the qualitative researcher can determine the characteristics of the original sample and make specific comparisons. If the past sample is not totally a fit, the researcher may have the option of a subgroup. When comparing past problems and results with present problems, secondary researchers are free of the original researcher’s purposes. Glaser purported that it doesn’t matter if the past problem is similar to the present problem. As long as the data are compatible in regards to population and situation, the secondary analysts can reuse the data according to the specific current problem. He said this is the very essence of secondary analysis. Secondary analysts can take the data to its limits for their own purposes. Back in 1962, Glaser also suggested the option of secondary analysts combining the original dataset with new data to fill in gaps in the past data. Glaser identified other benefits of secondary analysis, such as “economies,” which included it being a less expensive process and economy in time since secondary analysis can be accomplished faster than having to collect data.

West and Oldfather (1995) labeled their secondary analysis of qualitative research “pooled case comparison,” which begins with raw data. They proposed that their method differed from other comparative methods that start with interpretive findings, such as a meta-ethnography. Their pooled case comparison begins by setting aside the categories and themes from prior analyses. As they stated, the new analysis begins with a “clean slate.” West and Oldfather, however, labeled their pooled case comparison as primary data analysis. When reuse of any dataset started with interpreted findings, they called this secondary data analysis, which is the opposite of terms used in the literature. West and Oldfather (1995) stressed that there is an advantage to researchers who were involved in these studies conducting a pooled case comparison rather than using a qualitative data bank. This advantage addressed the deeper knowledge of the context from which the data were obtained. Heshusius (1994) believed that “participatory knowing” cannot be reached through the eyes of even the most interested researchers if they had not been present during the original research.

Social Research Update is published by the Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, and in the 1990s, articles on secondary qualitative data analysis were published there. Corti, Foster, and Thompson (1995) outlined the aims of Qualitative Data Archival Resource Centre (Qualidata). The establishment of Qualidata at the University of Essex was a major breakthrough in archiving qualitative data. At that time, Qualidata was supported by the Economic and Social Resource Council (ESRC) located at the University of Essex in its Sociology Department. The mission of Qualidata was to locate and assess qualitative datasets, and then arrange for their deposit in public archives. Disseminating information about available qualitative datasets and encouraging their reuse were Qualidata’s main aims. At this time, it did not archive qualitative data but arranged for their deposit in appropriate public archive repositories.

Sociologists in the United Kingdom and nurse researchers in Canada and the United States took the lead in the early publications on qualitative secondary analysis. After Glaser’s (1962, 1963) call for the use of secondary analysis not only with quantitative data but also with qualitative data, Thorne (1994) published the first article on qualitative secondary analysis. She argued for the potential contribution of secondary analysis of time-intensive qualitative datasets. She acknowledged some of its hazards and then went on to discuss issues in secondary analysis, such as the fit between the datasets and the research questions. In this groundbreaking publication, Thorne identified five discrete types of research involved in secondary qualitative analysis: analytic expansion, retrospective interpretation, armchair induction, amplified sampling, and cross-validation.

In 1997, three articles were published by nurse researchers. Sandelowski (1997) spoke to secondary analysis as a way to enhance the utility of qualitative research. She wrote that researchers “have become inveterate data collectors, have been imbued with the idea that research means collecting new data” (p. 129). She called for supporting innovative treatments of qualitative data to yield new, useful knowledge.

Hinds, Vogel, and Clarke-Steffen (1997) addressed the possibilities and pitfalls of doing secondary analysis of a qualitative dataset. They developed a set of four different types of secondary analysis depending on whether a different unit of analysis was used, whether only a subset of cases or the entire dataset was reanalyzed, or whether new data were also collected. Hinds et al. (1997) provided an example of an assessment tool that focused on criteria for use in secondary analysis of qualitative datasets. Criteria for determining the general quality of the original study dataset and the fit of the secondary research question were included in the tool. Hinds and colleagues also provided an example of an amended consent form for permission to use data for secondary analysis.

Other early proponents of secondary qualitative data analysis included Szabo and Strang (1997). They described the use of secondary analysis with their study on family caregivers of relatives with dementia. Their new research question fit well with the primary dataset. The purpose of the primary study was to explore the ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of tables and figures
• 1 Introduction
• 2 History of secondary qualitative data analysis
• 3 Benefits and concerns of secondary qualitative data analysis
• 4 Debate over archiving qualitative data
• 5 Ethics in secondary qualitative data analysis
• 6 Process involved in conducting a secondary qualitative data analysis
• 7 International qualitative data archives
• 8 Metaphor analysis as a creative approach for secondary qualitative data analysis
• 9 Theory development using secondary qualitative data analysis
• 10 Teaching secondary qualitative data analysis
• 11 Publishing secondary qualitative data analyses
• 12 Review of secondary qualitative analysis in the discipline of nursing
• 13 What is around the corner for secondary qualitative data analysis?
• Appendix A Guidance on Secondary Analysis of Existing Data Sets
• Appendix B Informed Consent for Participation in a Research Study
• Appendix C Secondary Qualitative Data Analysis Codebook
• Index