Ch. 12: Agency Records, Content Analysis, and Secondary Data

Reliability in content analysis can readily be tested in two related ways:

1) Inter-rater reliability 2) Test-retest method

Sources of Secondary Data

1. Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research 2. National Archive of Criminal Justice Data

Secondary analysis

A form of research in which the data collected and processed by one researcher are reanalyzed—often for a different purpose—by another. ~especially appropriate in the case of survey data

National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD)

A special collection within the Interuniversity Consortium of Political and Social Research that includes data series of special interest to criminal justice researchers and practitioners.

Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)

An organization based at the University of Michigan that archives and distributes major social science data collections.

Latent content

As used in connection with content analysis, this term describes the underlying meaning of communications as distinguished from their manifest content.

Published Statistics

Compilations of data which most government organizations routinely collect and publish.

Secondary Analysis

Data collected by other researchers are often used to address new research questions.

Agency records, secondary data, and content analysis do not require _______ interaction with research subjects.

Direct

Expect the expected

If unexpected findings or patterns emerge, review data collection procedures once again before accepting the unexpected.

Manifest content

In connection with content analysis, the concrete terms contained in a communication, as distinguished from latent content.

Nonpublic Agency Records

Most criminal justice organizations will make such data available to criminal justice researchers.

Social production of data

Referring mostly to agency records, whose data reflect organization processes and decision rules in addition to the condition measured.

Published statistics

Summary data collected by public agencies and routinely made available to the public, sometimes referred to as "administrative data."

Content analysis

The study of recorded communications, such as books, websites, images, mass media messages, and police reports.

Content Analysis

The systematic study of messages and the meaning those messages convey.

T or F The potential for clerical errors increases as the number of clerical entries increases.

True

Advantages of Secondary Data

a. Cheaper and faster than collecting original data. b. May benefit from the work of topflight professionals and esteemed academics.

Advantages of new data collected by agency staff are:

a. Much less costly than fielding a team of research assistants. b. More control over the measurement process than we would by relying on agency definitions.

Disadvantages of new data collected by agency staff are:

a. Need to obtain cooperation of organizations and staff. b. Researchers have less control over the data collection process when they rely on agency staff.

Information collected by or for public agencies usually falls into one of three general categories:

a. Published statistics b. Nonpublic agency records routinely collected for internal use c. New data collected by agency staff for specific purposes

Disadvantages of Secondary Data

a. Recurrent question of validity b. least useful for evaluation studies

Hybrid source

combines the collection of new data, through observations or interviews with day-to-day criminal justice agency activities.

Coding

represents the measurement process in content analysis. ~No coding scheme should be used unless it has been carefully pretested. ~Involves conceptualization and operationalization.

Agency Records

support a wide variety of research applications. ~most commonly used in descriptive or exploratory studies. ~frequently used in applied studies as well.

Manifest content

the visible, surface content.

Latent content

underlying meaning.