INTRODUCTION

Primary and
Secondary Data

Objectives of this lesson:

Primary and Secondary Data
DEFINITION AND TYPES OF DATA
DESCRIBE PRIMARY DATA,METHODE
OF COLLECTION,MERIT AND DEMERIT.
DESCRIBE SECONDARY
DATA,SOURCE,MERIT AND DEMERIT
CONCLUSION
REFRENCE
QUESTION AND ANSWER

TYPES OF DATA
DATA- Data is information in raw or unorganized
form(such as alphabet, number or symbols) that
refers to or represent ,ideas, object. data is
limitless and present everywhere in the universe.
TYPES: PRIMARY DATA - collected by the researcher
himself
SECONDARY DATA - collected by others to be
"re-used" by the researcher

PRIMARY DATA
Data that has been collected from first-handexperience is known as primary data. Primary data
has not been published yet and is more reliable,
authentic and objective. Primary data has not been
changed or altered by human beings, therefore its
validity is greater than secondary data

METHOD OF COLLECTION OF
PRIMARY DATA
A. Observation method
B. Indirect Oral Interviews
C. Questionnaire method
D. Schedule Method
E. From Local Agents
F. Survey Method
B.

A.

C.

A. DIRECT PERSONAL
OBSEVATION

STRUCTURED
UNSTRUCTURED
PARTICIPATIVE
NON
-PARTICIPATIVE

INDIRECT ORAL INTERVIEW

Standardized interviews
a. Structured
b. Unstructured
Non-standardized interviews
a. One to one
1.Face to face,
2.telephonic,
3.internet mediated interviews
b. One to many(focus group)

Questionnaire method
Questionnaire- A questionnaire is a research

instrument consisting of a series of question and other

prompts for the purpose of gathering information from
respondent.

Self administered questionnaire

Interviewer -administered
questionnaire
Telephone questionnaire
Delivery and questionnaire
Postal or mail questionnaire

SURVEY
SURVEY- A detailed study of geographical area to
gather data attitudes, impressions, opinions, satisfaction
level etc., by polling a section of the population

TYPE
1.CENSUS SURVEY
2.CONTINOUS OR REGULAR
SURVEY
3.AD-HOC SURVEY

MERIT OF PRIMARY
DATA
Degree of accuracy is quite high.
It does not require extra caution.
It depicts the data in great detail.
Primary source of data collection frequently
includes definitions of various terms and units used.
For some investigations, secondary data are not
available.

DEMERIT OF PRIMARY
DATA
Collection of data requires a lot of time.
Requires lot of finance.
In some enquiries it is not possible to collect
primary data.
Requires a lot of labour.
Requires a lot of skill.

SECONDARY DATA
Data collected from a source that has
already been published in any form is
called as secondary data. The review
of literature in any research is based
on secondary data. Mostly from
books, journals and periodicals.

SOURCE OF SECONDADRY
DATA
Published printed source
Books
Journals/periodicals
Magazines/Newspapers

Published Electronic Sources

e-journals
General websites
Weblogs

Contd
Unpublished Personal Records
Diaries
Letters
Government Records
Census Data/population statistics:
Health records
Educational institutes records

Contd..
Public Sector Records:
NGOs's survey data
Other private companies records

MERIT
OF SECONDARY DATA
MERIT OF
DATA
Use is very convenient.
Saves time and finance.
In some enquiries primary data cannot be
collected.
Reliable secondary data are generally available for
many investigations.

DEMERIT
OF SECONDARY
SECONDARY
DEMERIT OF
DATA
DATA
Very difficult to find sufficiently accurate
secondary data.
Very difficult to find secondary data which exactly
fulfils the need of present investigation.
Extra caution is required to use secondary data.
Not available for all types of enquiries.

EVALUATION OF SECONDARY
DATA
Because of the above mentioned disadvantages of secondary data, we will
lead to evaluation of secondary data. Evaluation means the following four
requirements must be satisfied: Availability- It has to be seen that the kind of data you want is available or
not. If it is not available then you have to go for primary data.
Relevance- It should be meeting the requirements of the problem. For this
we have two criterion: Units of measurement should be the same.
Concepts used must be same and currency of data should not be outdated.

Accuracy- In order to find how accurate the data is, the following points
must be considered: Specification and methodology used;
Margin of error should be examined;
The dependability of the source must be seen.

Sufficiency- Adequate data should be available.

CONCLUSION
Secondarydataareinformationpreviouslygatheredforadif
ferentpurposethatmayberelevanttotheproblemathand.
Secondarydatacancomefromsourcesinternaltotheorgani
zationorexternal.
Theinternetandsyndicatedfirmshave,inmanyways,enabl
edthegatheringofsecondarydata.
Secondarydataaregenerallyuseful,lowcost,rapidlyavailablesourcesofinformation.
Always look for secondary data first