An exercise to classify research methods as primary or secondary: for Housing Studies

An exercise to classify research methods as primary or secondary: for Housing Studies

 

In the context of Research Methods for Housing Studies, briefly describe each of the following research methods in 2 sentences and then indicate on each of them whether it is a primary research method (using primary data) or a secondary research method (using secondary data):

1.    systematic review

2.    narrative review

3.    critical review

4.    document study

5.    qualitative content analysis

6.    quantitative content analysis

7.    archival research

8.    photovoice

9.    participant observation

10.                    questionnaire

11.                    case study research (Robert Yin's version)

12.                    grounded theory on studying documents

13.                    study or corporate annual reports

14.                    study of newspaper commentary

 

Below, “primary” means the researcher collects or generates new data directly from people, settings, or documents produced for the study; “secondary” means the researcher analyses existing sources that were produced for another purpose. Reviews are generally secondary because they analyse published research, while methods involving direct participant engagement are primary.

Research methods

Method	Brief description	Data type
1. Systematic review	Uses a pre-specified protocol, explicit search strategy, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and quality appraisal to identify and synthesise studies on a focused question. It aims to produce a transparent, reproducible summary of existing evidence.	Secondary
2. Narrative review	Provides a broad, interpretive overview of a topic, selecting and discussing literature according to the reviewer’s expertise and argument. Unlike a systematic review, it does not normally follow a fixed, exhaustive search and appraisal protocol.	Secondary
3. Critical review	Evaluates existing literature not merely to summarise it, but to assess its strengths, weaknesses, assumptions, and conceptual contributions. It often aims to identify gaps, develop a model, or generate a new theoretical proposition.	Secondary
4. Document study	Systematically examines written, visual, or digital documents—such as policies, plans, meeting minutes, or reports—to understand their content, context, and social meaning. In housing studies, it can reveal how housing problems and policy choices are represented.	Secondary
5. Qualitative content analysis	Interprets the meanings, themes, frames, and patterns in textual or visual material, often through coding and contextual interpretation. It is suited to understanding how issues such as housing affordability or displacement are discussed.	Secondary if analysing existing documents; primary if analysing transcripts or materials generated by the researcher from participants.
6. Quantitative content analysis	Counts and statistically analyses predefined categories in texts or media, such as the frequency of terms like “public housing,” “NIMBY,” or “gentrification.” It converts qualitative material into measurable data for comparison over time or across sources.	Secondary if analysing existing documents/media; primary if applied to data collected directly for the study.
7. Archival research	Examines historical records held in archives, such as government files, housing-authority records, maps, correspondence, or planning documents. It reconstructs past housing policies, events, and institutional decisions from surviving records.	Secondary
8. Photovoice	A participatory method in which participants take photographs of their lived environment and explain their significance through discussion or narratives. It gives residents, including marginalised groups, a direct role in documenting housing conditions and advocating change.	Primary
9. Participant observation	The researcher immerses themselves in a housing setting—such as an estate, shelter, community meeting, or protest—and records behaviour, interactions, and context over time. It generates first-hand insight into everyday housing experiences and social practices.	Primary
10. Questionnaire	Uses a structured set of questions to collect standardised information from respondents, often about housing conditions, satisfaction, affordability, mobility, or attitudes. It can be administered face-to-face, by phone, online, or by post.	Primary
11. Case study research (Robert Yin’s version)	An empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth within its real-life context, using multiple sources of evidence and clear boundaries between case and context. Yin emphasises triangulation across interviews, documents, observations, and archival material.	Usually primary, because Yin treats case studies as empirical investigations that collect original evidence; it may also incorporate secondary documents.
12. Grounded theory on studying documents	Applies grounded-theory procedures—open coding, constant comparison, memo-writing, and theoretical sampling—to documents in order to build concepts or theory from the data. The researcher develops categories inductively rather than testing a predetermined framework.	Secondary if the documents already exist; primary if the documents are generated through the research process, such as interview transcripts or field notes.
13. Study of corporate annual reports	Analyses companies’ annual reports to examine their stated strategies, financial performance, governance, risks, and disclosures relevant to housing, property development, or real-estate investment. It can show how firms present their housing-related activities to shareholders and regulators.	Secondary
14. Study of newspaper commentary	Examines editorials, opinion columns, letters, and commentary articles to identify public debates, ideological positions, and framings of housing issues. It is useful for tracing how media discourse shapes or reflects housing politics.	Secondary

Key distinction

Methods such as photovoice, participant observation, questionnaires, and Yin-style case studies normally generate primary data because they involve direct engagement with people or settings. By contrast, systematic, narrative, and critical reviews, archival work, document studies, annual-report studies, and newspaper-commentary studies normally analyse secondary data—materials created independently of the current research project.