Process generated data
Process- generated or process-produced data are data that are generated in (usually institutionalized, regulated) social processes, in particular administrative processes, and can be used by social scientists to investigate these processes or parts of them. Process-produced data arise due to the principle of filing-based administration, which is essential for modern institutions (even if the files are now partially kept in electronic form). It is therefore essential that the data were not originally generated for the social science analysis. Process-produced data therefore belong to the non-reactive measurement methods . For the same reason, their usability for social science analysis is often limited because relevant information for such purposes may be missing.
The best-known example in German-speaking social research over the past few decades is the Bremen research on the duration of social assistance receipts. Here files of the Bremen social administration were used to gain information on the trigger of the receipt of social assistance, its duration and the events that led to its termination (on the criticism of the informative value of the data Ludwig-Mayerhofer 1994). The data from the Federal Employment Agency also play an important role in labor market research, most of which are made available for research purposes via the IAB's Research Data Center (FDZ) . Legal sociological studies also often rely on process-produced data to analyze judicial and other proceedings.
literature
- Erhard Blankenburg, Klaus Sessar, Wiebke Steffen: The public prosecutor's office in the process of criminal social control. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1978.
- Christoph Hommerich, Hans Prütting, Thomas Ebers: Legal factual investigation into the effects of the reform of civil procedural law on judicial practice - evaluation of the reform of the ZPO. Bundesanzeiger Verlag, Bonn 2007.
- Stephan Leibfried, Lutz Leisering and others: Time of poverty. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 1995.
- Wolfgang Ludwig-Mayerhofer: About the heterogeneity (also) of the courses of poverty and about the difficulties of recording them using process-produced data. In: BIOS. Journal of Biography Research and Oral History. 7, 1994, pp. 223-239.
- Paul J. Müller: The analysis of process-produced data. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1977.
- Wolfgang Bick, Paul J. Müller: Social science data science for process-produced data: development conditions and indicator quality. In: Wolfgang Bick, Reinhard, Mann, Paul J. Müller (Ed.): Social research and administrative data. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1984, pp. 123-159.