In 2010, two health researchers, Drs. Allan and Sinclair, administered an anonymous online survey to 3,000 male firefighters and 500 female firefighters working in a large city.

Scenario: In 2010, two health researchers, Drs. Allan and Sinclair, administered an anonymous online survey to 3,000 male firefighters and 500 female firefighters working in a large city. The survey was intended to elicit data about firefighters’ work and to examine how this work might affect their mental health. The researchers were particularly interested in work-related stress—specifically, whether working as a firefighter was associated with high levels of stress. The survey included questions on demographics (e.g., age, race or ethnicity, income level), work tasks performed (clerical, administrative, vehicle driving, mechanical, firefighting, and emergency medicine and EMS-related tasks), major medical problems or issues since becoming a firefighter, and feelings of work-related stress. In addition, respondents were asked to indicate what level of stress they were feeling (low, medium, high) and for how long. Consequently, the database created from the firefighters’ responses to the survey included variables such as age, race, ethnicity, income, years worked as a firefighter, medical problems, stress, and level of stress.

 In terms of study methodology, Allan and Sinclair’s original primary research question was this: Is there an association between working as a firefighter and stress? Their original study design was quantitative, cross-sectional, and correlational. In their write- up of the study findings, the researchers indicated that a large percentage of the firefighters reported they felt high stress and believed that the stress had been caused by their work as firefighters. Drs. Allan and Sinclair reported that there was a statistically significant relationship between the independent variable (working as a firefighter), and the dependent variable (high stress.).

Question 1: 

Explain the pros and cons inherent to using secondary data.

Explain what is limiting about the secondary data in the provided scenario.

Describe some strategies that might be employed to overcome these threats to validity and limitations in the provided scenario.