328).
Smith boils it down to two main concerns (pitfalls) and objections to the use of secondary data in social research: a) "It is full of errors"; and b) "…because of the socially constructed nature of social data, the act of reducing it to a simple numeric form cannot fully encapsulate its complexity" (p. 328). The author offers the national Census as a perfect example of the limitations of using secondary data in social research. In counting "everyone," how does the government assure that everyone has been counted? How about the homeless? How about "tourists" in the country for long stays? What about those with "multiple nationalities" or those "who simply refuse to be counted" Smith asks. She suggests that in the 1991 UK Census about 2% of the total number of national residents "were uncounted" (p. 329).
Meanwhile, Esther Sales and colleagues have published an article in the Journal of Social Work Education that urges in lengthy arguments the promotion of the "expanded use of secondary data in social work research" (Sales, et al., 2006, p. 543). The authors spend the first few pages of their research article to point out "the great potential" of secondary data in social issues. For example, they point to the growing amount of available secondary sources that can be found through Internet databases and elsewhere. Databases that are available to researchers looking for secondary analysis of data "have extremely large sample sizes, number of variables," and provide a chance for researchers to "clarify and expand upon our understanding of complex relationships" (Sales, p. 551).
After spending most of the article...
Secondary Sources: An Introduction Primary Sources Primary Source helps in delivering first-hand evidence or direct indication related to a matter under examination. Recorders or witnesses who have seen the incidents or circumstances being acknowledged produce these records. Usually these sources are produced at the time the incidents or situations are taking place, but Primary Sources can also consist of biographies, journals, and oral histories that are documented later. A notable feature
Primary sources are original research, not commentary on that research. In the social sciences, primary sources can also refer to seminal documents or treatises like the original writings of Freud or Adler. Thus, a primary source does not necessarily need to be an experimental research. Qualitative studies and any other original publication can be considered a primary source. The value of citing primary sources is that I can interact with
Razak, (2012) point out that internet has assisted SMEs to integrate social media in SMEs marketing strategies globally. Typically, internet has become accessible to billion of people globally, and the phenomenon has revolutionized the use of social media for business advantages. Razak, (2012) point out that 75% of internet users use social media to carry out various activities such as linking to shopping site, and since 2007, social network has
Social Media as a Potential Tool in Conflict Resolution: A Facebook Perspective Humans are social animals, and will usually dwell together in communities, based on their beliefs, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions which may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness. Community In sociology the word community is often used to refer to a group that is organized around common
1. The basic structure of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic theory revolve around the idea that mental processes are automatically regulated by "the pleasure principle" and avoidance of pain. Why are these principles important to psychotherapy? Support your reasoning. The tendency to avoid pain and seek pleasure is universal to humanity, noted Freud, who devised the term “the pleasure principle,” (“Pleasure Principle,” 2015). The pleasure principle became one of the central ideas and
To critically investigate the current state of international business relationship development literature. 2. To explore the characteristics that determines sustainable international business relationships within the Libyan business context-from the Libyan point-of-view. 3. To present a model based on the findings from the two objectives above. This model will serve two main functions: (I). It will help fill in gaps in the current literature relating to the development and maintenance of business
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now