Archival data are existing data, such as survey responses, records, texts, or other information that are examined for any purpose other than the purpose(s) for which the data were originally collected (Fisher & Barnes-Farrell, 2013; Shultz, Hoffman, & Reiter-Palmon, 2005). Archival data are typically used for secondary data analysis in one of two ways. First, data may be reexamined for the same purpose that was under consideration when data were initially collected. Second, data may be examined for a purpose that is distinct from its original purpose, thereby deriving novel information from the dataset to address questions that are unrelated to the reasons the data were collected.
This interactive, 3-hour workshop will cover the use of various types of archival data for conducting occupational health research, identify and describe potential archival data sources relevant to occupational health research, communicate pitfalls to avoid and strategies for success when using archival data, and work with participants to answer questions and address issues or concerns they may be having with a current project. This workshop is applicable to graduate students, and junior and established researchers who may be new to the use of archival data or who would like guidance for current research projects involving some type of archival data. The goal of this session will be to enable researchers to be successful in conducting their research projects using archival data.
Learning Objectives:
By the completion of this workshop, participants should be able to:
- Define archival data and explain how it can be useful to produce high-quality occupational health research.
- List at least ten sources of potential archival data sources.
- Explain potential challenges that may be encountered when using archival data and describe strategies to overcome those challenges.
- Design a new research plan or advance one’s existing plans to use archival data.
- Meet and network with other occupational health researchers using archival data.
Presenter Bio:
Dr. Gwen Fisher is Professor of Psychology at Colorado State University where she directs the Industrial-Organizational Psychology doctoral program and the Occupational Health Psychology graduate program. From 2001 – 2013 Dr. Fisher worked as a Research Scientist at the Survey Research Center of the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan on the Health and Retirement Study, the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study, and the Study of Cognition and Aging in the USA. Dr. Fisher’s research focuses on quality of work life issues. Her research program spans interdisciplinary boundaries to investigate individual and work factors related to worker health, well-being and organizational outcomes. She has published 90 articles and chapters to date, the majority of which have used archival data. In 2015 she and her coauthors received the award for “Best Paper in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology in 2013-2014” for their paper on mental job demands and cognitive functioning using data from the HRS and O*Net. She has coauthored multiple papers on the topic of archival data use and mentored graduate students and colleagues on using archival data for their research.