Cole AP, et al. - The purpose of this trial was to yield an overview of numerous common types of secondary data, targeting the strengths, weaknesses and examples of how these data could be utilized for health services research. The data suggested that the choice of the appropriate data source ought to be customized to the specific research question along with the research resources and expertise available. Suitable decisions regarding which data to use served as the foundation for valid, high-impact research using secondary data.

• Secondary data consisted of a broad and heterogeneous category.
• Numerous large categories of such data were covered here with examples of their use and discussions about their strengths and weaknesses.
• Administrative data, claims-based datasets, electronic health records health surveys, patient or disease or both registries, quality improvement initiatives, along with data from existing trials served as the sources.
• Linkages of varying types of data could expand the scope of questions answerable through the secondary data analysis.
• This research discussed the particular strengths and weaknesses of each type of dataset, with the inclusion of examples from the recent urologic literature.