Using secondary survey data to study community sentiment: An example examining sentiment toward income based on family needs and income

Abstract

Surveys and secondary survey data can be extremely useful tools for researchers and practitioners examining community sentiment. In this chapter, we discuss survey methodology and provide a detailed, step-by-step example of how to conduct secondary data analysis. We first introduce survey methodology and discuss the pros and cons of survey data. We then proceed with an example that uses secondary survey data to examine community sentiment on the question of if/how family needs should be a factor in deciding how much employees ought to be paid. We conclude by discussing how our example sheds light on the utility of survey data in community sentiment research.