Exam 2 Thursday 3 6 in class The exam will consist of 25 multiple choice questions 2 pts each 50 pts 15 points short answer 10 points short essays Total 75 points Pay close attention to recommendations regarding research methodology or the pros and cons of various approaches discussed in class This is what you need to know for the exam 2 13 14 2 13 14 Define secondary data Data not collected by the researcher o Data that is designed and collected with specific content area and goals The most often data used are large nationally representative survey data sets Describe benefits of using secondary data Access and Cost o Primary data collection is expensive and takes time Sample size and representation generalizability o Large sample sizes allow for more complex analyzing of models and subgroups Timeliness o It takes time years to get a research project going and a hot issue may no longer be relevant by the time you get research done Describe drawbacks of secondary data o Fit with research question o Need to make sure before beginning to analyze data that it fits with your research question which requires a time investment that may not pay off o Measurement o Trade off between representation and measurement This is always an issue for researchers o Start up costs of learning a new data set specialize o Not easy to use these files computer resources o Must learn the design and content Consists of reading technical reports o Must have programming and analytic skills o Need knowledge of appropriate methods that also require specific statistical programs Know important issues to consider when using secondary data o Often need panel data to understand a phenomenon o Panel data tells a very different story i e marital equality over time o Know the skip pattern o Missing data or skip maps are often complicated o Know the geographic context o National surveys usually collect contextual data county level school level neighborhood that help in answering a research question