USE OF LARGE-SCALE SECONDARY DATASETS

Introduction | RCBN Activities | References | Resources | Links | Software

Introduction (return to top)

Very few researchers have skills to use or consume such datasets. This is exemplified by the limited use of such datasets in educational research. There was also an indication that a significant number of researchers want help in using some datasets, particularly the ESRC Data Archives. This includes quantitative, qualitative and combined datasets. Limited use would suggest that this theme would need at its core to show how such data could be used to help answer educational questions. Since there are a number of resources already available to social scientists this theme would need to carefully examine current provision and identify ways of using them for educational research.

RCBN Activities (return to top)

23 Jan 2004 Longitudinal Research in Education, York
This one-day workshop/seminar will introduce participants to different ways in which longitudinal research can be used in education. It will show how time can be introduced into research both within a single study and for repeated research studies. The workshop/seminar will also examine a range of different types of research that use different forms of data – including ‘qualitative’ and ‘quantitative’ data. The workshop will also discuss the use of existing large-scale datasets, such as the British Household Panel Survey and the Youth Cohort Study, in the context of education research. Further Details.

10 Nov 2003 Context in qualitative research
This is a one-day seminar in London on the topic of context in qualitative educational research. The issue of context is inescapable for qualitative researchers in terms of not only the meso-social context of educational institutions and localities, but also in terms of historical and macro-social context. Although this is what many researchers understand by context, this ‘externality’ of context is inherently problematic due to the reflexive nature of lived experience. Further details.

4th June 2003 - 'Using Archive Data Sources for Teaching and Learning Research' - Essex University
Organised jointly with the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS); 1-day training workshop (Essex); 15 places. More information

November 2003
Large-scale secondary datasets: their use and application in teaching and learning research; 1-day conference (London); 30 places

References (return to top)

Rendall, M. (2003) Quantitative research: a scoping study for the Learning and Skills Research Centre. London: LSRC.

This document provides a useful summary of the secondary data sources available for researchers interested in the post-16/FE sector. It examines the advantages and disadvantages of the different data sets and suggests ways in which data from different sources can be usefully combined.

Building Research Capacity journal

Crozier, R. (2003) Complementarity between longitudinal studies, Building Research Capacity, 6, pp.7-10.

Lambert, P. (2002) Handling occupational information, Building Research Capacity, 4, pp.9-11.

Resources(return to top)

Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS)- UK Data Archive
You can download/access the powerpoint slides used in presentations at the RCBN workshop on 'Using Archive Data Sources for Teaching and Learning Research'. These provide background information on the ESDS and how to deposit and archive both 'quantitative' and 'qualitative' data. These are useful for all ESRC-funded research projects. To find out more about these powerpoint slides and to view them for free please click here.

Links (return to top)

Use of Numeric Data in Learning and Teaching
This website provides resources, case studies, recommendations and research on the use of numeric data in learning and teaching, primarily for undergraduate and postgraduate students. It focuses upon the use of existing national data resources that are readily available to all learners.

The UK Data Archive (UKDA)
The UK Data Archive (UKDA) is a resource centre that acquires, disseminates, preserves, and promotes the largest collection of digital data in the social sciences and humanities in the United Kingdom.

Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research (CCSR)
CCSR is an interdisciplinary research centre in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law at the University of Manchester.

Centre for Applied Social Surveys (CASS)
CASS aims to strengthen skills in survey design and analysis within the UK social science research community.

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
ICPSR maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research and instruction, and offers training in quantitative methods to facilitate effective data use.

The CASS Question Bank
The CASS Question Bank is an ESRC funded resource aimed at the social science research community, survey professionals and students and teachers of social research methods.

ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation
The ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation is one of 16 subject-oriented clearinghouses operated by the United States Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

The PACO ( Panel Comparability) Project
The PACO ( Panel Comparability) Project is a centralised approach to create an international comparative database integrating micro-data from various national household panels over a large number of years.

DfEE DATASPHERE
The DATASPHERE links together three separate DfEE statistical websites. It contains a search facility which looks across all three to find the information you need.

ED Pubs
ED Pubs is the Education Publications Center for the U.S. Department of Education. Many Department publications can be acquired instantly in electronic form via the Internet.

Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)
The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) promotes the innovative application and use of information systems and information technology in further and higher education across the UK.

Manchester Information & Associated Services (MIMAS)
MIMAS is a JISC-supported national data centre providing the UK higher education, further education and research community with networked access to key data and information resources to support teaching, learning and research across a wide range of disciplines.

National Statistics
National Statistics provides an up-to-date, comprehensive and meaningful description of the UK's economy and society.

UK Longitudinal Resources Centre (ULSC)
The ULSC website aims to provide an up-to-date guide to major longitudinal sources of data. The central purpose of this site is to allow users to see what kinds of longitudinal data are available and to locate information about studies which may provide data useful to their research interests.

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
PISA is a new three-yearly survey of the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in the principal industrialised countries.

Qualidata
Qualidata provides a national service for the acquisition, dissemination and re-use of social sciences qualitative research data. It is a specialist unit housed within the UK Data Archive (UKDA) at the University of Essex.

TIMSS
The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) examines the mathematics and science achievement of students in 42 countries at three different grade levels (fourth, eighth, and the end of secondary school).

Centre for Longitudinal Studies
The Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) is an independent research centre in the Institute of Education devoted to the collection, management and analysis of large scale, longitudinal data.

 

Software (return to top)