ABSTRACT
Data sources provide a lens through which researchers regard the economy. They shape views of its nature and of its dynamics. There is also a relationship between researchers’ theorizations of economic change, the subject chosen for research, the research methods used in the enquiry and the data required to conduct the analysis. The data collected, the importance attached to them, the way they are presented and used, all reflect received views of the way the economy works (Massey and Meegan 1985).
