Reworking qualitative data

While this book is well-written, attempting to address all of the key aspects comprehensively, how useful nurse researchers will find it is debatable. This is because there are both practical and philosophical problems in undertaking secondary qualitative analysis (a fact the author openly acknowledges). From a practical point of view, locating and accessing pre-existing qualitative data sets suitable for secondary analysis is likely to be a challenging endeavour. Moreover, in light of research governance, there is a whole ethical minefield to be overcome in accessing and using data in a way in which explicit consent was not originally sought. It is noteworthy that the author includes a chapter on these types of ethical and legal issues.

Finally, from an epistemological viewpoint, some qualitative researchers are likely to find the concept of secondary analysis at odds with very ethos of the qualitative research paradigm and may immediately dismiss it as a worthwhile approach. Conversely, however, it may be the uniqueness of this approach and its possibilities that may make you want to seek out are explore this subject in more depth and detail. If so, you could do worse than seek some of the answers to your questions here. However, be warned, you may also end up thinking, ‘yes, okay, but..?’