Definition and Examples of Secondary Data Analysis

Secondary data analysis is the analysis of data that was collected by someone else. Below, we’ll review the definition of secondary data, how it can be used by researchers, and the pros and cons of this type of research. Key Takeaways: Secondary Data Analysis Primary data refers to data that researchers have collected themselves, while secondary data refers to data that was collected by someone else.Secondary data is available from a variety of sources, such as governments and research institutions.While using secondary data can be more economical, existing data sets may not answer all of a researcher’s questions. Comparison of Primary and Secondary Data In social science research, the terms primary data and secondary data are common parlance. Primary data is collected by a researcher or team of researchers for the specific purpose or analysis under consideration. Here, a research team conceives of and develops a research project, decides on a sampling technique, collects data designed to address specific questions, and performs their own analyses of the data they collected. In this case, the people involved in the data analysis are familiar with the research design and data collection process. Secondary data analysis, on the other hand, is the use of data that was collected by someone else for some other purpose. In this case, the researcher poses questions that are addressed through the analysis of a data set that they were not involved in collecting. The data was not collected to answer the researcher’s specific research questions and was instead collected for another purpose. This means that the same data set can actually be a primary data set to one researcher and a secondary data set to a different one. Using Secondary Data There are some important things that must be done before using secondary data in an analysis. Since the researcher did not collect the data, its important for them to become familiar with the data set: how the data was collected, what the response categories are for each question, whether or not weights need to be applied during the analysis, whether or not clusters or stratification need to be accounted for, who the population of study was, and more. A great deal of secondary data resources and data sets are available for sociological research, many of which are public and easily accessible. The United States Census, the General Social Survey, and the American Community Survey are some of the most commonly used secondary data sets available. Advantages of Secondary Data Analysis The biggest advantage of using secondary data is that it can be more economical. Someone else has already collected the data, so the researcher does not have to devote money, time, energy and resources to this phase of research. Sometimes the secondary data set must be purchased, but the cost is almost always lower than the expense of collecting a similar data set from scratch, which usually entails salaries, travel and transportation, office space, equipment, and other overhead costs. In addition, since the data is already collected and usually cleaned and stored in electronic format, the researcher can spend most of their  time analyzing the data instead of getting the data ready for analysis. A second major advantage of using secondary data is the breadth of data available. The federal government conducts numerous studies on a large, national scale that individual researchers would have a difficult time collecting. Many of these data sets are also longitudinal, meaning that the same data has been collected from the same population over several different time periods. This allows researchers to look at trends and changes of phenomena over time. A third important advantage of using secondary data is that the data collection process often maintains a level of expertise and professionalism that may not be present with individual researchers or small research projects. For example, data collection for many federal data sets is often performed by staff members who specialize in certain tasks and have many years of experience in that particular area and with that particular survey. Many smaller research projects do not have that level of expertise, as a lot of  data is collected by students working part-time. Disadvantages of Secondary Data Analysis A major disadvantage of using secondary data is that it may not answer the researcher’s specific research questions or contain specific information that the researcher would like to have. It also may not have been collected in the geographic region or during the years desired, or with the specific population that the researcher is interested in studying. For example, a researcher who is interested in studying adolescents may find that the secondary data set only includes young adults.   Additionally, since the researcher did not collect the data, they have no control over what is contained in the data set. Often times this can limit the analysis or alter the original questions the researcher sought to answer. For example, a researcher who is studying happiness and optimism might find that a secondary data set only includes one of these variables, but not both. A related problem is that the variables may have been defined or categorized differently than the researcher would have chosen. For example, age may have been collected in categories rather than as a continuous variable, or race may be defined as â€Å"white† and â€Å"other† instead of containing categories for every major race. Another significant disadvantage of using secondary data is that the researcher doesnt know exactly how the data collection process was done or how well it was carried out. The researcher is not usually privy to information about how seriously the data is affected by problems such as low response rate or respondent misunderstanding of specific survey questions. Sometimes this information is readily available, as is the case with many federal data sets. However, many other secondary data sets are not accompanied by this type of information and the analyst must learn to read between the lines in order to uncover any potential limitations of the data.

Evaluation Of A Performance Review - 1311 Words

No one ever wants to receive a below-average rating as my review has indicated. I have had a lengthy and well-documented career of consistently meeting and exceeding my goals across two prior companies and my 2015 Performance Review grading is absolutely beyond confounding. The grading of this review is inconsistently and inappropriately low with the performance I have demonstrated throughout 2015. It is vague and effusive in the majority of its key points, and in respects, inappropriately imprecise if not demeaning of my position and valuable contributions to the Procurement Organization. As background, in 2015 I continued to produce consistent work and a positive attitude and stakeholder engagement despite the very significant†¦show more content†¦Because I have a category where over 60% is non-sourceable spend (leases and utilities), I have only $38M in impactable spend where over 80% is spend-managed by detailed contract. I am third in savings only to my Senior Director himself, who oversees the entire group, and the Director of IT Procurement, who manages $77M in annual spend. On a percentage basis, I have out-performed the next two higher-compensated levels in my group, while managing half the sourceable spend. For example, it is pointed out that the Stericycle contract took 9 months to complete. What is ignored is that Stericycle has been under a class-action lawsuit in the state of Illinois for price-gouging, and this situation required the approval of our Assistant General Counsel, Hank Gerock to move forward as well as extensive collaboration with the Vendor Management Organization. This was not a simple approval, but required vetting with spend data, direct negotiation, and confrontation with Stericycle where PPD was at-risk in 14 individual binding contracts across its US sites. My direct negotiation greatly lowered the risk to PPD by directly engaging the Facility category’s highest non-construction, non-utility spend on three fronts: 1) eliminated the 5-year binding standard Stericycle term and reduced it to a 3-year term with â€Å"terminate for

A Yellow Raft in Blue Water Free Essays

Nicole Freche Mr. Ontiveros World Literature – 2nd period December 5, 2010 Friends Forever! â€Å"Trust is like a vase†¦ once it’s broken, though you can fix the vase, it’ll never be the same again† – Author unknown. Almost every person has had at least one person who he or she can confide their secrets. We will write a custom essay sample on A Yellow Raft in Blue Water or any similar topic only for you Order Now Over time one can learn whether or not he or she can trust or believe another will hold that confidence. If that certitude is shattered, it takes time again to reconcile and to earn it back. In Michael Dorris’s novel, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Ida is a girl who entrusts in her young Aunt Clara with secrets from school to boys. When Clara reveals Ida’s hope about Willard Pretty Dog, the trust is broken; despite this, Ida still helps Clara and also creates herself a new certitude through Clara’s daughter, Christine. Clara comes to live with Ida and her family to take care of Mama and instantly Ida becomes infatuated with her. Clara is the opposite of Ida: pretty, little, and neat. Ida acts very friendly and giving towards Clara. After a while she admits that she â€Å"confided my secrets and sought her advice† (Dorris, 303). Ida even felt â€Å"encouraged by her sureness† (304) with what she has told her; especially when Ida tells Clara about her crush and hope of Willard Pretty Dog. Clara makes Ida feel good about herself with the advice she gives her. Ida feels as if she has a friend that she can trust and a person who can be a role model. Ida has created her certitude through Clara. Clara has brought shame to the family and is pregnant with Ida’s father’s child. In order to hide this shame Clara came up with the idea of Ida pretending to be with child. Clara mentioning this hurts Ida but what hurts Ida even more is the reason behind the story that makes it more plausible to Mama and Papa. Clara tells them that â€Å"No one would be surprised. Everyone’s aware she’s after Willard Pretty Dog† (309). Ida is shocked at Clara’s betrayal of revealing her hopes. Clara’s remark does not only break Ida’s certitude in her, but also shows the low inclination Clara has on Ida. How to cite A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Essay examples

Analysis of Devondale Murray Goulburn Dairy

Question: Discuss about the Analysis of Devondale Murray Goulburn Dairy. Answer: Company Background Information Devondale Murray Goulburn is a company and a co-operative of Australian dairy farmers that deals with manufacturing of dairy foods in Australia. The company was formed by a group of dairy farmers and started to operate in 1950, and up to now, it is dairy farmer controlled. The company supports over 2,200 farming businesses in southeastern Australia, making it the Australia's leading producer of the best dairy foods, coming from fresh Australian milk from dairy cows (Devondale Murray Goulburn, n.d.). The dairy products produced by the company include milk (daily pasteurized and long life milk), butter and spreads, cream and cheese which is of high quality. Apart from producing the dairy products, the company also ensures environmental sustainability as health is a major factor for every human being and animal. Every year the company prepares a report to know its achievements and financial status (Devondale Murray Goulburn, n.d.). Devondale Murray Goulburn should consider overseas expansions. This will help this company to widen its market and get its products to consumers in other countries and continents. Since it produces very fresh and nutritious milk of high quality, this will be accepted by people that do not use it. Overseas expansion will also help the company learn of new marketing skills and even acquire other ingredients in making the products (Hollensen, 2014). To achieve this, Devondale Murray Goulburn needs to establish the consumers' behaviors outside Australia and even learn more of their competitors especially in the oversee country of interest. Indonesia Indonesia is one of the countries in the world that is experiencing a remarkable economic growth putting it in the 18th position of the largest economy in the world. It is a state that has the largest island. Its capital city is Jakarta, and the primary language is Indonesian. The country underwent an economic crisis in late ninety's and came back on track in the mid-2000s. It was usually overlooked over China and India, but now its development has made it hard for anyone to overlook it anymore, the foreign direct investments that are being created are noteworthy (World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision, 2012). Indonesia is the leading thermal coal, gold, silver, copper and tin exporter, these natural resources that the country has made it different from other nations. It has a population that is growing very fast giving it a significant number of consumers. The current population is mostly youthful showing that it is mainly increasing and the next few years it will be more than 240 people. It has undergone some political transformations making it strengthen its political structure for the good of the country and the citizens (Pramita, 2015). The country operates on many retail companies that sell various products for consumption. The retail sector has undergone lots of transformations since the state picked up on the financial status. The small sized family shops no longer rule as they did. It aims at achieving sustained higher population growth and increase job opportunities and minimizes inequality in the next few years. Economic Analysis Economic analysis refers how wealthy and resourceful a country is. It defines how well a country manages its available resources. The Indonesian economy has widely grown to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).After Asia faced a financial crisis in 1997-1998, the country has tried his best to come out of it, and it is growing on a daily basis. The country has one of the essential elements which is domestic growth that has led to borrowing less and encouraging more investments. There are favorable demographic variables that promote a good economic stability or performance. The country is aiming at being in the top six largest global industrial countries by the year 2030. Rapid urbanization and increased integration are associated with most people moving to cities and major towns. People of Indonesia move to urban areas because of the thought of higher income and productivity in those areas (Daniels et al., 2007). Urbanization leads to higher revenue and productivity if well dealt with and hence higher economic growth. The Indonesian economy has increased due to urbanization, and people can easily access markets, transaction costs are mostly lower making people spillover their knowledge and skills. As much as urbanization is a good thing, it needs a lot of attention and policies. Urbanization has lead to pollution, traffic congestion, unemployment and increased cost of living in Indonesia. Urbanization is an inevitable factor for the growth of any country (Daniels et al., 2014). The employment opportunities have reduced poverty and improved status of middle-class people. It has increased its share in the domestic market and expanded national scales. As an economic factor, competition also affects products sale in Indonesia. Most of the Indonesian's products have weak competition because of the low level of connectivity and high costs of transport. International trade has been reduced because of poor roads hence poor transport. It is, therefore, important for foreign countries to come in and improve on this (Gram, 2007). There exist many internal and external factors that influence the economic growth of Indonesia. These include financial and market fluctuations, foreign demand, prices of commodities and domestic conflicts. For this reason, the country should be able to maintain capital inflow so that investors are encouraged to stay and not move out (Mark, 2007). Devondale Murray Goulburn, therefore, needs to understand these factors that affect the economic state of Indonesia. The Devondale Murray Goulburn dairy farm should go ahead to expand to Indonesia because it is clear that the economic status of the country is rising very fast which will lead to more profit. In Indonesia, entrepreneurs are allowed make investments with ease and are not charged a lot. The marketing mix used in Indonesia may cost less than the ones in Australia, for example in the advertisement section hence saving more (Mcdaniel, 2011). Urbanization is very high because of the increasing population, and this will help them interact with people that have other skills that can assist in the manufacturing of the dairy products. As most of the products have weak competition, it may build a healthy business environment for its operation. Political and Legal Analysis Politics is the way a country or state is governed. It involves conflict or debate between or among the individuals or parties wishing to get power. Indonesia is a secular country as it does not have a single state religion and therefore its political policies are not derived from religious teachings. (Kingsolver, 2008) Religion as much as the systems are not derived from it, it play a significant role in the country. Citizens adhere to all faiths apart from atheism as it is not allowed. The people enjoy political freedom and equality (Berger et al., 2010). Indonesia as a country is not an Islamic state, but the Islamic principles play a bigger role in the decision-making of political issues. Decision making is highly affected by the religious context like for example; pork businesses are burnt in some areas mostly occupied by Muslims while in Christian regions the rule seems to be impossible. The Islam people are not dominant therefore they can be considered as moderate. Islamic law (Sharia) cannot be allowed in the country (Burhanudin et al., 2013). This is one of the few countries that have had a woman president without much opposition. This, therefore, shows that the country encourages gender equality. The executive branch of Indonesia is made up by the president, the vice president and the cabinet. The vice president and the president are elected and run as an inseparable pair. They run the country for five years and can be re-elected for another term. A political leader enjoys support from the people according to the position he/she has been in the society before joining politics (Svante Goran, 2009). Indonesian people from the army are given an upper hand as they are more trusted and considered credible. The legislation is the Indonesians Consultative Assembly as it contains citizens' representatives. It has the power to impeach the president and can amend or set a new constitution. It is the one that oversees political affairs and comes up with the countries budget. The legislation has a regional representative that deals with laws and region matters. These are also elected for a five-year term. The judiciary has the highest court which is the independent Supreme Court.This court also tackles disputes among lower courts. The country also has Constitutional Court that monitors decisions made by the parliament. Most cases are handled by public courts, religious courts, the military courts, and administrative courts. The judiciary, therefore, tries to ensure honor, dignity and good behavior is maintained among the judges (Puglisi Snyder, 2011). The disadvantage of this political system is that corruption which is a virus that affects most influential people is not fully out of the system. This is mostly experienced in the legislation sector. Another thing is that the president appoints their cabinet which mostly consists of their allies. A particular group of people gets more privileges when the president running the country is from the group whether majority or minority ( Henisz Zelner, 2010). Corruption is, therefore, a factor that the investor needs to put in mind in their endeavor since it has effects on business operation and therefore the business needs to take an appropriate strategy to succeed in the environment. The Devondale Murray Goulburn dairy farm should, therefore, consider expansion to Indonesia as the country protects the business as it is a way of earning income for the country. The citizens themselves are guaranteed in the country's law, therefore, making the ordinary person enjoy the more (Joshi, 2009). Indonesia has a lot of opportunities that are open to anyone, and this will be good for the business. Culture and Ethics Both religion and ethics are key components when carrying out a business. These two elements will help a person in knowing how to relate with people from different cultural backgrounds. Culture entails the values and norms perceived by a particular group, and they are not embarrassed about practicing them (Mindeli et al., 2007). In this, one knows their behavior, how they do their things, how they even talk and why they do what they do without looking down on them. Ethics is having good morals and is closely associated with culture. Tabalujan (2008) came up with a concept of culture and said that culture involves one's language, art, and sciences, thoughts, one's spiritual beliefs, the way they act socially and their interactions with other people. This two concepts the political, economic development and how people relate to business. For a business to succeed in today's world, how it treats employees and the kind of attitude given to customers, competitors and the general environment matters. Life can only be sustained by a healthy attitude and behavior and learning to accommodate other people in life; this can only be achieved by individuals understood the importance of ethics in businesses. According to Schermenhorn (2008) ethics is a set of moral principles that differentiates between good or bad, right or wrong in someone's behavior. The world has different people from different ethnic backgrounds and therefore different opinions on what is ethical. Indonesia has people from different ethical groups, people with different religions and cultural influences. The national motto of Indonesia says there is unity in diversity. According to people of Indonesia, money is brought by peace and harmony and not time. Good relationships are created by communication and in this country information is not spilled in black and white, but one has to read in between the lines. They do not like rushing into conclusion but rather involve family members especially if it is a business issue. Patience and flexibility can earn trust and leads to the successful business (Witiger, 2012). In this environment, people who consider time as a factor may be highly disadvantaged as they are slow in decision making. A person has to understand the expressions and gestures to interpret the message well as they do not communicate directly. For one to establish rapport a lot of time is required to learn the people and understand their norms and cultural values (Anand et al., 2008). Carrying out a business in Indonesia will be a lovely experience for a dairy products company. The business people will understand why the Indonesians do the things the way they do. Many companies in the country do not produce lots of milk products, and therefore it will be an excellent opportunity for Devondale Murray Goulburn. As people are careful on how they interact and speak, getting along will be easy (Luthans Doh, 2015). Conclusion Therefore these five sections which are economic, political, legal, cultural and ethical are very important when considering expansion of a business or organization to other countries. They act as an eye opener for businesses considering expansion so that they know what they are getting into. The environment where an organization is established matters a lot and can tell one if customers are available for the product or not. The Indonesian's economic status brings out information to how the economy of this country will be of benefit to the Devondale Murray Goulburn's business operation. The analysis can help to establish on how to manage available resources carefully. The company understands the resources and the wealth a country owns that are of contributing to the business operation. The political and legal status of Indonesia will help Devondale Murray Goulburn understood how the state operates so that one does not collide with other people or businesses over legal issues. They get to understand the procedures followed to establish a business venture and how it can affect business. The culture and ethics will help Devondale Murray Goulburn know how they should relate to other people or businesses while carrying out their businesses. It gets to understand that how Indonesians behave differently because of different cultures in the world. This is important because when the business gives the right attitude a customer and the society as a whole on will attract more consumers and therefore acquire more. Treating people the right way can even make one have an upper hand on his/her competitors. Even the little things people over look should be considered when dealing with a customer or consumer to get bigger market share. References Anand, V., Rosen, C. C. (2008). "The Ethics of Organizational Secrets." Journal of Management Inquiry Berger D., Easterly W, et al. (2010) Commercial Imperialism? Political Influence and Trade During the Cold War. Burhanuddin, Jajat, Dijk, Kees van (2013). "Islam in Indonesia: Contrasting Images and Interpretations." Amsterdam University Press via Google Books. Daniels, J., Radebaugh, L., Sullivan, D. (2007). International Business: Environment and Operations, 11th edition. Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-186942-6 Daniels, J., Radebaugh, L., Sullivan, D. (2014). International Business: Environment and Operations, 15th edition. Devondale Murray Goulburn. (n.d). Home - Devondale Murray Goulburn. Retrieved from https://www.mgc.com.au Gram, M (2007) "Whiteness and western values in global advertisements: An exploratory study." Journal of Marketing Communications. Henisz, W. and A. Zelner, B. (2010). Hidden Risks in Emerging Markets. Harvard Business Review. Hollensen, Svend (2014) Global Marketing, 6th edition, Pearson, ISBN 978-0-273-77316-0 Joshi, Rakesh Mohan, (2009) International Business, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-568909-7 Kingsolver, A. (2008). Capitalism. Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. J. H. Moore. Detroit. Luthans, F., Doh, J. P. (2015). International Management: Culture, Strategy and Behavior, 9th edition. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07786244-9 Mark Aarons (2007). "Justice Betrayed: Post-1945 Responses to Genocide." In David A. Blumenthal and Timothy L. H. McCormack (eds). The Legacy of Nuremberg: Civilising Influence or Institutionalised Vengeance? (International Humanitarian Law). Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Mcdaniel, Charles (2011). "Theology of the "Real Economy." Journal of religion and business ethics. Mindeli, L. E., Pipiya, L. K. (2007). "Conceptual aspects of the formation of a knowledge-based economy." Studies on Russian Economic Development. Pramita, Dini (2015). "Pengguna KRL Commuter Line Tembus 200 Juta". Tempo (in Indonesian) Puglisi, R., Snyder, J. M. Jr. (2011). "Newspaper Coverage of Political Scandals," Journal of Politics 73(3). Schermerhorn (2008), Management, John Wiley Sons, Inc, Asia. Svante Andersson Goran Svensson (2009) Global Marketing: think globally and act locally, Lund: Studentlitteratur Tabalujan, B (2008) Culture and Ethics in Asian Business, The Melbourne Review, Vol4, Number I Witiger, (2012). The Physical/Geographic Environment. World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision (2012). Indonesia. Population (thousands). Median variant. 19502100. United Nations