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Recipient of the 2024 Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA) Most Promising New Textbook Award
This award recognizes excellence in 1st edition textbooks and learning materials.

Secondary Data in Mixed Methods Research
 by Daphne C. Watkins, the latest contribution to the Mixed Methods Research Series, offers unique and necessary instruction in this growing topic. With the increasing amount of secondary data available through journals and repositories, researchers have a trove of sources for new investigations at their fingertips, but few books to guide them. This brief text provides readers with a step-by-step procedure for incorporating secondary data into various mixed methods research designs, as well as identifying key characteristics of existing datasets that make them good candidates for mixed methods projects and giving ideas for new uses of secondary data. Introductory chapters help the reader understand the “what” and “why” of secondary data. Subsequent chapters address the use of secondary data in convergent, exploratory sequential, explanatory sequential, and other complex research designs. The final chapters delve into writing and reporting on projects before, during, and after the project. Quotes throughout the chapter help readers remember key bits of knowledge, while learning objectives and summaries in each chapter structure the reading experience. Application questions at the end of each chapter help readers recall information and apply it to their own research projects. By emphasizing how to use existing qualitative and quantitative datasets in mixed methods research, Secondary Data in Mixed Methods Research will help readers answer new and ongoing questions in social science research. 

 
Series Editors’ Introduction
 
Preface
How This Book Came to Be

 
Necessity Is the Mother of Invention

 
What This Book Covers

 
How Readers Can Use This Book

 
Audiences for This Book

 
Pedagogical Features

 
Structure of the Book

 
 
Acknowledgments
 
List of Figures, Tables, and Case Studies
 
About the Author
 
PART I • AN INTRODUCTION TO SECONDARY DATA IN MIXED METHODS RESEARCH
 
Chapter 1 • The Science of Secondary Data
Imagine

 
The Science of Secondary Data

 
The Epistemology of Secondary Data

 
Types of Secondary Data

 
Scientific Developments With Secondary Data

 
 
Chapter 2 • Using Secondary Data in Mixed Methods
Imagine

 
The Knowledge-Level Continuum as a Roadmap for Mixed Methods

 
What Is Required to Do Mixed Methods With Secondary Data?

 
Secondary Data in Mixed Methods: Three Reasons Why

 
Examples for How Mixed Methods Could Benefit From Secondary Data

 
Mixed Methods Solo, Semi-Solo, and With a Team

 
 
Chapter 3 • Evaluating Secondary Data for Mixed Methods
Imagine

 
The Life Cycle of Research Data and a Place for Secondary Data

 
Three Considerations When Selecting Secondary Qualitative and Quantitative Data

 
Ten Questions When Evaluating a Secondary Qualitative or Quantitative Data Source

 
Applying the Ten Questions to Secondary Data

 
 
PART II • DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING MIXED METHODS WITH SECONDARY DATA
 
Chapter 4 • Convergent Design With Secondary Data
Imagine

 
Features of the Convergent Design

 
Bringing Secondary Data Into the Convergent Design

 
Planning and Implementing a Convergent Design With Secondary Data

 
Challenges (and Solutions) When Using Secondary Data in the Convergent Design

 
 
Chapter 5 • Exploratory Sequential Design With Secondary Data
Imagine

 
Features of the Exploratory Sequential Design

 
Bringing Secondary Data Into the Exploratory Sequential Design

 
Planning and Implementing an Exploratory Sequential Design With Secondary Data

 
Challenges (and Solutions) When Using Secondary Data in the Exploratory Sequential Design

 
 
Chapter 6 • Explanatory Sequential Design With Secondary Data
Imagine

 
Features of an Explanatory Sequential Design

 
Bringing Secondary Data Into the Explanatory Sequential Design

 
Planning and Implementing an Explanatory Sequential Design With Secondary Data

 
Challenges (and Solutions) When Using Secondary Data in the Explanatory Sequential Design

 
 
Chapter 7 • Complex Applications of the Core Designs With Secondary Data
Imagine

 
Features of a Complex Design

 
Bringing Secondary Data Into Complex Designs

 
Case Studies of Complex Mixed Methods Designs With Secondary Data

 
Challenge (and Solution) When Using Secondary Data in Complex Designs

 
 
PART III • WRITING MIXED METHODS WITH SECONDARY DATA: BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER
 
Chapter 8 • Early-Stage and Active Project Writing for Mixed Methods With Secondary Data
Imagine

 
Early-Stage and Active Project Writing: Defined

 
Examples of Early-Stage Writing

 
Examples of Active Project Writing

 
Tips to Maximize Early-Stage and Active Project Writing

 
 
Chapter 9 • Reporting Mixed Methods With Secondary Data
Imagine

 
Reporting Mixed Methods With Secondary Data

 
Project Deliverables for Mixed Methods With Secondary Data

 
Challenges When Reporting Mixed Methods With Secondary Data

 
Tips for Reporting Mixed Methods With Secondary Data

 
 
Glossary
 
References
Key features
  • This is the first text to focus on the use of secondary, or existing, data in mixed methods research.
  • Comprehensive text covers how to find and evaluate sources of secondary data through research design and writing and reporting
  • Covers key mixed methods research designs, including convergent, exploratory sequential, and explanatory sequential designs
  • Applicable to disciplines as diverse as anthropology, education, psychology, political science, nursing, sociology, public health, social work, health care management, and health services 
  • Learning objectives and chapter summaries help reinforce the reading and learning experience
  • Application questions help readers think through the implications of the material for their own projects
  • Quotes throughout emphasize important parts of the research process
  • Tips and checklists offer easy organizational tools for researchers

This title is also available on SAGE Research Methods, the ultimate digital methods library. If your library doesn’t have access, ask your librarian to start a trial.