Secondary Data Analysis Research
By sharing our findings and fostering a community of practice, we strive to enhance the capacity and quality of engineering education research.
What is Secondary Data Analysis?
Secondary Data Analysis (SDA) is a powerful research method that involves utilizing existing data — data that were collected for a different purpose — to answer new research questions or validate previous findings. This approach offers a unique opportunity to maximize the value of existing datasets, allowing researchers to explore new hypotheses, trends, and correlations without the time and financial constraints associated with primary data collection. Collaborative SDA, in which the secondary researchers work with the original authors, offers one key path forward.
- Cost-Effectiveness: SDA eliminates the need for extensive data collection processes, making it a cost-effective solution for researchers with limited budgets.
- Time Efficiency: By leveraging existing datasets, researchers can significantly reduce the time from the inception of a research idea to the dissemination of findings.
- Access to Diverse Data: SDA provides access to a wide range of data, including large-scale datasets that might be difficult or impossible for individual researchers to collect on their own.
- Opportunity for Longitudinal Analysis: Utilizing data collected over time enables researchers to conduct longitudinal studies, examining trends and changes across different periods.
- Ethical Considerations: When original data collection poses ethical concerns, such as with vulnerable populations, SDA can offer a viable alternative that respects participants' privacy and consent.
While SDA presents numerous benefits, it also comes with its own set of challenges:
- Data Relevance: Ensuring the existing data adequately address the new research questions is crucial. Researchers must carefully assess the datasets to ensure compatibility with their research aims.
- Data Quality and Completeness: The quality and completeness of secondary data can vary, potentially impacting the validity of the research findings. Researchers must critically evaluate the data sources, methodology, and potential biases inherent in the dataset.
- Ethical and Legal Issues: Navigating the ethical and legal considerations, including issues of consent and data sharing, is essential. Researchers must ensure that their use of secondary data complies with all relevant regulations and ethical guidelines.
Research Learnings & Insights
Lessons learned from Mini Projects.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Research ethics should be at the forefront of any SDA work
The projects we worked with were not initially created for SDA and required significant Institutional (i.e., human subjects) Review Board (IRB) negotiations
In the planning stages, researchers could consider
Whether the data could and should be available for SDA
Defining scope and documentation
Participant consent of initial and secondary data usage
SHARING CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION
Qualitative data is shaped by tacit knowledge
We found it important for emerging scholars to learn the complexity and nuances of the collection and analysis of their data set
Trust is key in this process - qualitative data is often highly personal for participants and researchers
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE IN SDA
Beyond memoing, the projects established structured reflection guidelines to reflect on the research process and learning
For undergraduate researchers, engaging in reflective SDA transformed their personal and professional identities
Conference Workshop Discussion Insights
Key issues and questions that surfaced during the National Science Foundation Engineering Education Research Grantees Conference Workshop Discussion
What is our duty to participants? What does it mean to “do no harm”? We were able to share the approaches we used in Mini Project 2.
Could this create vulnerability for the new researchers who had collected these original data?
How and by who should de-identification be conducted?
What happens if researchers not familiar with the context of your project do things with the data that you don’t agree with? Secondary researchers may not have familiarity with the context.
Participants felt that journal reviewers do not seem to like secondary data analysis and this may not be a popular choice for Ph.D. dissertations.
AJEE 2023
Publication in the Australasian Journal of Engineering Education.
AJEE 2023 Journal Paper
Paretti, M. C., Case, J. M., Benson, L., Delaine, D. A., Jordan, S., Kajfez, R. L., Lord, S. M., Matusovich, H. M., Young, E. T., & Zastavker, Y. V. (2023). Building capacity in engineering education research through collaborative secondary data analysis. Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, 28(1), 8-16.
ASEE 2023
Resources from the 2023 American Society for Engineering Education conference.
ASEE 2023 Paper
Case, J., Matusovich, H., Paretti, M., Benson, L., Delaine, D., Jordan, S., Kajfez, R., Lord, S., Papp, R., Young, T., & Zastavker, Y. (2023) "Lessons Learned doing Secondary Data Analysis in Engineering Education Research (EER)"
ASEE 2023 Workshop Presentation
Case, J., Matusovich, H., Paretti, M., Benson, L., Delaine, D., Jordan, S., Kajfez, R., Lord, S., Papp, R., Young, T., & Zastavker, Y. (2023) "Sharing qualitative research data for secondary analysis: Why, how, and with whom?"
ASEE 2023 Poster
Case, J., Matusovich, H., Paretti, M., Benson, L., Delaine, D., Jordan, S., Kajfez, R., Lord, S., Papp, R., Young, T., & Zastavker, Y. (2023) "Lessons Learned doing Secondary Data Analysis in Engineering Education Research (EER)"
SEFI 2023
Resources from the 2023 Society for Engineering Education conference.
SEFI 2023 Paper
Case, J. M., Matusovich, H. M., Paretti, M. C., Lord, S. M., & Benson, L. (2023) "Sustaining engineering education research: Sharing qualitative research data for secondary analysis"
SEFI 2023 Workshop Handout
Case, J., Matusovich, H., Paretti, M., & Lord, S. (2023) "Sustaining engineering education research: Sharing qualitative research data for secondary analysis," Workshop presented at the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI) 2023, Dublin, Ireland, September 11.
SEFI 2023 Workshop Presentation
Case, J., Matusovich, H., Paretti, M., Benson, L., & Lord, S. (2023) "Sustaining engineering education research: Sharing qualitative research data for secondary analysis"
FIE 2023
Resource from the 2023 Frontiers in Education Conference.
FIE 2023 Paper
Richards, K., Goodall, G., Zastavker, Y. V., & Kajfez, R. (2023) "Secondary data analysis as a research and a training tool: First-year engineering experiences"
AISES 2022
Resource from the 2022 American Indian Science and Engineering Society conference.
AISES 2022 Poster
Young, E. T., Papp, R., Delaine, D. A., & Jordan, S. S. (2022) "Engineering for nation building: Piloting a framework for operationalizing tribal sovereignty in engineering education research"
Project Goals
This project has drawn together a team of researchers to explore ways to overcome obstacles for conducting secondary data analysis (SDA) in engineering education research (EER).
- Sharing data both informally and formally,
- Putting datasets in the public domain,
- Creating combined datasets,
- Performing secondary analyses of both qualitative and quantitative data,
- Publishing and disseminating these analyses,
- Securing funding to support this work,
- Valuing and validating this work within the field.
Year 1: Generative Workshops
- Workshop 1- Exploring SDA
- Workshop 2- Generation of Potential Projects
- Workshop 3- Test Project Launch
Year 2: Dissemination and Reflection
- Virtual Gathering – September 2022: Interim reports from project teams
- In-person Writing Retreat – January 2023: Synthesizing individual and collective findings; writing for dissemination
- Wrap-up – May 2023: Lessons learned, next steps
Secondary Data Analysis as a Mechanism for New Insights and Future Researcher Preparation
- Goals: Explore the potential of SDA for training of newer researchers to the field
- Key Finding: An unanticipated benefit for the undergraduate researchers, who derived personal as well as professional growth from conducting this work.
Diné Sovereignty
- Goals: Conduct SDA on a dataset that had involved the participation of marginalized populations, in this case American Indian engineers
- Key Findings: This project offers significant guidelines for conducting SDA with marginalized populations, and engages deeply with emerging ethical questions, such as those involved when choosing to return to participants for further consent. The research design of the SDA project was presented at the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) National Conference.
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Redirect ItemJenni Case , redirect
Virginia Tech
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Redirect ItemHolly Matusovich , redirect
Virginia Tech
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Redirect ItemMarie Paretti , redirect
Virginia Tech
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Redirect ItemLisa Benson , redirect
Clemson University
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Redirect ItemDavid Delaine , redirect
Florida International University
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Redirect ItemShawn Jordan , redirect
Arizona State University
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Redirect ItemRachel Kajfez , redirect
Ohio State University
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Redirect ItemSusan Lord , redirect
University of San Diego
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Redirect ItemTyler Young , redirect
Ohio State University
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Redirect ItemYevgeniya Zastavker , redirect
Olin College
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation under Award No. 2039864. The findings and recommendations presented are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
Contact
For more information, inquiries, or collaboration opportunities, please contact us. We are eager to engage with fellow researchers, educators, and institutions interested in advancing the field of Engineering Education Research.
[1] M. C. Paretti, J. M. Case; L. Benson, D. A. Delaine, S. Jordan, R. L. Kajfez, S. M. Lord, H. M. Matusovich, E. T. Young, Y. V. Zastavker (2023) "Building Capacity in Engineering Education Research Through Collaborative Secondary Data Analysis," Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, DOI: 10.1080/22054952.2023.2214462.
[2] E. T. Young, R. Papp, D. A. Delaine, and S. S. Jordan, "Engineering for nation building: Piloting a framework for operationalizing tribal sovereignty in engineering education research," Poster presentation at the 2022 American Indian Science and Engineering Society National Conference & Exposition, Palm Springs, CA, October 2022.