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SECONDARY ANALYSIS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION RESEARCH
Author(s) -
Miller Jon D.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.3660190902
Subject(s) - science education , secondary education , normative , mathematics education , quality (philosophy) , data collection , science, technology, society and environment education , sociology , psychology , political science , social science , epistemology , philosophy , law
This essay argues that the secondary analysis of existing data sets provides an important opportunity for researchers concerned with science education. The traditional arguments for the secondary analysis of large data sets‐quality, costs, and the “science” of multiple analyses of the same data‐are reviewed. The increasing number and quality of databases available, the introduction of new statistical technologies, and the severe reduction of federal support for science education are three new forces fostering secondary analysis in science education. Some cautions for secondary analysts are shared and three model secondary analyses are described. The essay concludes that the forces favoring secondary analysis in science education are increasing and that the completion of some secondary analysis prior to new data collection may become the normative expectation in the science education community.