ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses types and sources of data used in social science undergraduate dissertations and the kinds of data that are required to answer specific research questions. It explores the nature of quantitative and qualitative data and the main sources of data used for writing dissertations. Successful dissertations can draw on qualitative data, quantitative data, or a mixture of both. In a theory-based or literature-based project, the data that students work with is the literature or theory that their dissertation is based on. The internet has opened up lots of possibilities for gathering secondary data and for collating existing data, for example, content analysis of discussion board messages or statistical analysis of hits on different web sites or pages and other ways. In relation to existing research data, there are online sites and archives that provide access to data, often free of charge that has been collected by other researchers.
