Secondary analysis of qualitative data

There has been growing interest in the secondary analysis of qualitative data since the mid-1990s. However, the idea of reusing qualitative data has been met with a mixed reception by the social research community. This entry describes how the secondary analysis of qualitative data has been variously defined, promoted, practiced and debated in the UK, Europe, North America and Australia. It begins with an overview of the methodology and how it differs from documentary analysis and other qualitative approaches. This is followed by sections on how qualitative data have been reused in practice; different sources of data, types of qualitative secondary analysis, and examples of previous studies from the author's own work are described. In the remaining sections, the main epistemological, ethical and methodological issues discussed in the debates about the methodology are explained. The entry concludes with a summary of the key perspectives and identifies some of the opportunities and challenges ahead in this field.