REFLECTIONS ON DATA SOURCES IN OPINION RESEARCH
In: Public opinion quarterly: journal of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Band 26, Heft 3, S. 313-322
ISSN: 0033-362X
In line with recent developments in the technology of data collection & data processing it is suggested that the field of PO res might well pay more attention to available data for the twin purposes of raising better problems for new surveys & interpreting survey results within broader frameworks. It is contended that available data may appear in forms which roughly coincide with the res process itself, ie, the range is from `raw' data to completed studies. This means that the user must always try to reconstruct the steps through which the data were originally assembled. Working from several illustrative res reports, the relative advantages & disadvantages of such data are specified & a number of procedural rules are suggested. AA.