ABSTRACT
The employment of previously existing data collected by other researchers for use in a current research project has been in practice for as long as there has been a field of political communication. Political communication scholars frequently engage in secondary analyses in order to address a wide range of research questions. Some recent examples of secondary analyses include Kiousis and McCombs’ (2004) use of American National Election Study (ANES) data to assess the ability of attitude strength to serve as a mediator of the traditional salience transfer process outlined in agenda setting theory, Feldman and Young’s (2008) use of National Annenberg Election Study (NAES) data to better understand the influence of late-night comedy television viewing on traditional TV news consumption (i.e., Baum’s gateway hypothesis), and Putnam’s (2000) use of DDB-Needham Lifestyle Study data to update his discussion of the present state of social capital in American society. Additional data collected by the Pew Charitable Trusts (e.g., Christie, 2007), the Wisconsin Media Analysis Group (e.g., Shah, Cho, et al., 2007), and the General Social Survey (e.g., Robinson, Rivers, & Brecht, 2006) have been used by political communication and public opinion scholars alike to tackle a wide range of research questions, issues, and agendas.
