5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

The rapid development of the relevant technological capabilities that have led to the establishment of research infrastructures and digital archives in social sciences has compellingly opened the debate on the prospect of secondary analysis of social data. The term "secondary analysis" refers to a research strategy that uses data generated in the context of previous research projects to investigate social phenomena. While this research strategy seems to be commonly utilized in quantitative social research with the reuse of quantitative data, it is not a popular practice in qualitative research, especially in biographical research. Some qualitative researchers raise objections, arguing that secondary analysis is incompatible with the specific logic of qualitative research. In particular, they raise objections based on epistemological issues as well as reservations related to issues of research ethics. Advocates of secondary analysis, however, highlight the advantages of data reuse and contend that a perspective on secondary analysis of qualitative data requires revisions to our understanding of "data," which will no longer be viewed as "pre-existing" entities that are "out there" and ready to be used, but rather as elements that are continually reframed within the research process; additionally, our understanding of "research framework" has to become more expansive and pluralistic. In this session we invite proposals for papers that focus on the opportunities and challenges associated with data reuse and secondary analysis in biographical research and oral history, while presenting relevant projects taking place in different countries around the world.