Final answer:
Obtaining accurate age data is challenging due to limited access to public records, biases in traditional age-estimation methods, and the specific nature of research inquiries not always being met by available data.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is difficult to get good age data because public records, which could provide such information, are often not easily accessible and may not provide complete age-related details. Moreover, traditional age-estimation methods used in studies, particularly in paleodemography, are prone to biases.
These biases emerge from the reference samples used, which are typically skewed towards younger individuals, leading to underestimation of older adult ages. Transition analysis, unlike traditional methods, offers a more unbiased estimate of age in adults by providing point estimates and 95% confidence intervals, accommodating for the variability in morphological changes used as age indicators.
When specific data is unavailable or general statistics do not answer research questions in full detail, like knowing the duration professors took to reach their current salaries, researchers encounter additional hurdles in determining accurate age and related demographic patterns.
To overcome these issues, it is suggested to use improved age-estimation methods, such as transition analysis, and to make greater efforts in compiling and accessing comprehensive data that answer specific research inquiries, which may involve an extensive amount of legwork.