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Major Problems in using Secondary Data Sources
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Major Problems in using Secondary Data Sources
What are the major problems in using secondary data sources, such as birth or death
certificate data? What, if anything, can the evaluator do about these problems?
Secondary data sources are widely used in research because they are readily available
and allow researchers to compile data. Also, secondary sources save researchers time,
resources and energy that would have been used in the research phase. Secondary data
sources such birth certificates and birth certificates are important in programs that review
human health (Issel & Wells, 2018). They give useful information regarding the time of birth
and death which inform health decisions. In addition, they help health experts determine
complications or generic diseases in good time to prevent potential harm. Using secondary
data sources to collect birth certificate and death certificate data is not recommended because
of the issues that arise therein.
Many researchers have complained that using secondary data sources to collect death
certificate and birth certificate data results in unreliability. They posit that such information is
inconsistent, thereby creating confusion among different stakeholders. In some instances,
relatives have disputed information collected by health practitioners because they do not
match the ones that they have (Issel & Wells, 2018). In addition, they are shallow and do not
all the information that the researcher needs about death or birth of an individual. Such
certificates are needed for urgent and important matters and when they fail to meet set
expectations, it can be disappointing. Therefore, researchers refrain from using secondary
data sources when collecting information on death or birth certificates to avoid inconsistence
or incompleteness involved. In addition, they prefer to collect the data afresh and ask
questions where necessary instead of only relying on recorded data. Because it is challenging
in some instances to find information for previous years, evaluators find it difficult to draw
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logical conclusions and leave matters pending. However, when they conduct personal
research, they get conclusive feedback that they use to make conclusions.
To overcome such problems, evaluators should explain the importance of pre-birth
programs and clarify on the work of endorsement, avoid misconceptions or questions
regarding program assessment. Moreover, evaluators should be cautions while using such
sources and do thorough exploration to ensure that the secondary source is reliable (Issel &
Wells, 2018). It is only through assessment of individual sources will an evaluator determine
whether a secondary data is authentic or needs modification. Also, they need to experiment to
ascertain that the data they are using is not fake and ease up on quality because good
assessments lead to success. Instead, they should focus more on improving secondary sources
by ensuring that they are reliable.
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References
Issel, L. M. and Wells, R. (2018). Choosing Designs for Program Evaluations. Health
Program Planning and Evaluation, (287-313). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning
