ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the more common uses of secondary data in rural gerontological research. It describes the steps involved in secondary analysis—locating and selecting an appropriate data set, approximating research questions with the data at hand, presenting the data, interpreting secondary data, and refining the question. Formal presentations of secondary data analysis in the field of rural aging have typically fallen into three general categories—compiling atlases, data books, and online statistical profiles; comparing rural and urban areas; and studying specific rural areas. The statistical profile as a predecessor to research is more theoretically-based, and the choice of variables is usually at the discretion of the research team. Secondary data are widely used in state- and national-level studies about health and social services for older adults in rural settings. Most studies of rural elders that do not employ comparisons to urban areas are focused on counties or county groups, often ones targeted for some rural health or services intervention.
