Possibilities and Potentialities of Coalescing Processed Produced Survey data and Elicited data in Sociology of Deviance

Abstract

Processed produced data has always been criticized for its limitations and inability to address certain kinds of research questions because it is data not produced for research purposes. Process produced data such as administrative data collected by government ministries and organizations, constitute an important data source that can be useful in research, yet often not sufficient alone to answer different kinds of research questions, especially when they are used in isolation. Whilst these limitations are evident and indisputable, it is equally clear that such data can be effectively harnessed to answer specific types of research questions, and this paper offers an example of the usefulness of process produced data in studying juvenile delinquency. This paper intends to use the Botswana Youth Risk Behavioral and Biological Surveillance Survey (BYRBBSS II) by the Ministry of Basic Education as a form of process produced data set, to analyze the factors associated with juvenile delinquency in Botswana. Whilst this report provides a basis from which to launch the study, it cannot answer other uniquely qualitative research questions that would require thorough descriptions from the juveniles involved in these acts of deviance. This paper, therefore, uses this argument as a starting point to explore the possibilities and potentialities associated with combining process produced data with research elicited data, with the ultimate aim being to demonstrate how doing so offers more satisficing research results. Mixing Processed Produced Data and Research Elicited Data (interviews) is a methodological approach that has not yet been extensively applied in the context of Botswana, and therefore the paper will open discussions on the possibilities of conducting research in this manner, especially where process produced data sets are publicly accessible and available.