What is Secondary Use Research? (Part 1 of 2)

 

In previous issues, I have addressed the forms required for secondary use of data as well as how, in some cases, participants’ consent may not be required for secondary use projects. This week, I will define what a secondary use research project really is (to be continued in the next issue). In future articles, I will detail how to complete the secondary use REB form, section by section.

So, what differentiates a secondary use research project from a traditional research project? The short answer is: when the data were collected. If you are proposing to collect data from participants during your study, then you’re not engaged in a research project that would fall under secondary use. If the data have already been collected, and you simply plan to use those previously-collected data in order to answer your research question, then you’d fall in the secondary use category. Essentially, a project that falls under secondary use involves harnessing past data for new research.

Where do these data come from? The source could be your own previous research project or someone else’s; pedagogical data to which you have access (e.g., student performance in previous semesters), historical or archival data, or publicly available databases (e.g., City of Oshawa, Statistics Canada, Government of Canada). There are also searchable data repositories through Portage (e.g., FRDR) or listed through the DC library’s Open Data Guide. In each of these cases, you are not collecting new data; you are sourcing previously-collected data in order to answer a new research question.

The TCPS2 discusses the unique requirements that guide secondary use of data as it relates to research ethics in a number of locations. Interested parties can search the PDF of the TCPS2 document. Although some secondary use of data projects do not need Research Ethics Board (REB) approval, only the REB can make that determination, so all projects should be submitted for review (even if possibly exempt).

What types of research questions lend themselves to this type of data? Stay tuned to the next edition for some examples.

If there is anything I can do to support your research or if you have suggestions for me in my role as Research Coordinator, please reach out via email or pop in to my “office hours” on Fridays from 12:30-1:30pm on Whereby.