Table of Contents
Definition of Secondary Analysis
(noun) Analysis conducted on data not collected by the researcher.
Example of Secondary Analysis
- Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) examined statistics from over 25,000 suicides and categorized them into four categories: altruistic suicide, anomic suicide, egotistic suicide and fatalistic suicide. Durkheim published his findings in Suicide (1897).
Secondary Analysis Pronunciation
Syllabification: sec·ond·ar·y a·nal·y·sis
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /sEk-uhn-dair-ee uh-nAl-uh-sis/
- British English – /sE-kuhn-duh-ree uh-nAl-i-sis/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈsɛkənˌdɛri əˈnæləsəs/
- British English – /ˈsɛkəndəri əˈnæləsɪs/
Usage Notes
- Plural: secondary analyses
- Secondary analysis is often conducted on raw data collected by others, such as government agencies or non-profits.
- Also called secondary data analysis.
Related Quotation
- “Existing data sources for [secondary analysis] include public records, official reports of organizations or government agencies, and raw data collected by other researchers. For example, Durkheim used vital statistics (death) that were originally collected for other purposes to examine the relationship among variables such as age, marital status, and the circumstances surrounding a person’s suicide” (Kendall 2006:32–33).
Additional Information
- Qualitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Quantitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “secondary” and “analysis” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
Reference
Kendall, Diana. 2006. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Works Consulted
Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Hughes, Michael, and Carolyn J. Kroehler. 2011. Sociology: The Core. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Kimmel, Michael S., and Amy Aronson. 2012. Sociology Now. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.
Schaefer, Richard. 2013. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Shepard, Jon M. 2010. Sociology. 11th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Shepard, Jon M., and Robert W. Greene. 2003. Sociology and You. New York: Glencoe.
Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).
Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).
Cite the Definition of Secondary Analysis
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “secondary analysis.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 23, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/secondary-analysis/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
secondary analysis. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/secondary-analysis/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “secondary analysis.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/secondary-analysis/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“secondary analysis.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/secondary-analysis/>.