Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the history of secondary qualitative data analysis and describes the advantages and challenges of secondary qualitative analysis. It draws on long-term management of qualitative datasets, namely archiving and explores ethical concerns of both conducting secondary qualitative analysis and archiving qualitative datasets. The book addresses the process involved in actually conducting a secondary qualitative data analysis and deals with the research data life cycle, which extends the research process beyond just disseminating research findings. It examines the use of secondary qualitative data analysis for theory development takes center stage and analyses general guidelines for writing and publishing secondary qualitative analyses. The book looks at the exciting future directions in secondary qualitative data analysis with the hope of further expanding the use of secondary qualitative analysis for theory development and policy development.