Coursework

Name : ANGIE CHONG AN QI

ID : 202359

IC : 960719-01-7048

1. Please describe primary data and secondary data.

Primary data

Researchers collect primary data from primary sources or from samples. For example, a

researcher interviews the respondents and records their responses. A researcher may go

to the supermarket and observe the buying habits of the public during festive seasons.

There are several advantages of using primary data. Normally, primary data is more

accurate and consistent with the objectives of the research. The researcher will be able

to explain how the data are collected and the limitations of their use. Furthermore, in

many cases, the data needed by decision-makers are not available from secondary

sources. In such cases, primary data must be gathered. The disadvantages of using

primary data are that it requires more time, manpower and a higher cost to collect.

Most researchers have limited budget and time to complete the project.
Secondary data

Secondary data are normally published data collected by other parties. Government

agencies such as Bank Negara, the Department of Statistics, Ministry of International

Trade and Industry and other agencies publish their data regularly and provide

secondary sources of data to many researchers. In addition, bulletins, journals,

newspapers and other publications also provide useful secondary data to researchers.

However, some of the secondary data are not current. A researcher needs to choose

wisely the secondary data for his research. One advantage of secondary data is that it is

easily accessible from the internet, journals, annual reports and newspaper. It is

relatively inexpensive because there is no fieldwork required. It also requires less time

to collect. Some data such as import and export data are only available from secondary

sources. However, there are some disadvantages of secondary data as well. The

secondary data may lack accuracy because the measurement procedure and the method

of data collection are not explained by the previous researchers. The data may be biased

because the original purpose of data collection is not known. Finally, the data may not

meet the specific needs and objectives of the current research, or there may be too many

constraints involved.
2. Please describe the basic steps in statistical problem-solving.

Step one: Identifying the problem or opportunity

A manager must understand clearly and define correctly the problem at hand. He must

be careful not to confuse the actual problems that the management is trying to solve and

the symptoms. However, sometimes one can use symptoms as clues to find the actual

problem.

For example, the monthly sales of Proton cars have been declining significantly

for the past 24 months even though the overall auto industry has shown steady growth.

The management is trying to identify the actual causes or factors that had contributed to

the problem of declining local car sales so that corrective action can be taken

immediately.

Failing to find the actual causes might result in the local auto industry having to

slow down, and hence, reduced sales and lower profits. The objective is to determine

the factors that contributed to the decline in demand for Proton cars. The actual problem

is unknown while the symptoms are a decline in sales, high cancellation of bookings

and slow growth of new bookings.

Step two: Gathering available facts

Data and information that are related to the actual problem must be gathered.

Internal data can be obtained from the departments within an organisation. For

example, accounting and financial data can be obtained from the financial and

accounting

departments, production figures are obtainable from the production department and

sales data can be obtained from the marketing and sales department. The customer

service department and human resource department also provide useful data for analysis.

External data can be obtained from other organisations such as the Ministry of

domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Bank Negara, the Ministry of International

Trade and other business organisations. Other Sources include the Journal of Auto

industry, the Journal of Malaysian Business, Newspapers and magazines.

Step three: Gathering new data

If the available data are inadequate to get a clear picture of the problem, the

management may decide to collect new data. Sometimes, data on important variables

are not available from secondary sources or the data obtained from these sources are

already outdated or not suitable for use. As such, the management must obtain data

from primary sources.

 Appropriate data collection methods must be applied so that the data are

gathered accurately. For example, the management may want to collect data on

customers' expectations on certain characteristics of passenger cars such as the safety

standard, design, performance, price, after-sales service, resale value and rate of

financing.

At the same time, the management may also require information regarding the

marketing strategy of competitors such as advertisement and promotional strategies,

package offer, incentive for trade-in, or switching incentive. Several data collection

methods can be applied. They are direct observation, personal interview, telephone

interview (especially for long distance respondents), direct questionnaires, mailed

questionnaires and focus group study.

Before primary data is obtained, the manager must determine the representative

sample to be used for the research. In choosing the sample, the researcher must apply

appropriate sampling techniques so that the sample selected represents the target

population. Selecting a wrong sample will produce data that will not accurately

represent the population and results in inaccurate information for decision-making. Any

analysis on the biased data is not valid. The sampling technique used depends on the

nature of the target population, the budget available and also the objectives of the study.

Among the sampling techniques available are simple random sampling, systematic
sampling, stratified sampling, duster sampling, quota sampling, judgmental sampling

and snowball sampling.

Step four: Classifying and organising the data

After the required data have been collected, the next task is to make the data more

meaningful, readable and understandable in the context of the problem being

investigated. Raw data are meaningless. They must be transformed into meaningful

forms.

Step five: Presenting and analysing data

Data must be presented in useful and meaningful ways so that they are useful for

decision makers, and the people reading the report. Some of the common methods of

presenting data are through frequency tables, bar charts, graphs, histograms, frequency

polygons, ogives and stem-and-leaf plots.

Frequency tables are used to summarise data based on variables of interest. For

example, Proton customers can be grouped according to demographic variables such as

income level, education level, ethnic group and type of job, so that useful information

on demand can be obtained and analysed. Data presentation through charts, graph,

scatter plots and other visualised methods helps in identifying the relationship between

variables of interest.

For example, a manager of a local car company may want to determine the

relationship between the demand for local cars and demographic variables such as
gender, education level, income level and social classes. At the same time, he may be

interested to establish the relationship of these variables with the choice of models,

price, quality of service and product performance. If we want to get more thorough

information, the data need to be further analysed. Among the methods of data analyses

are cross tabulation, chi-square test, regression analysis and time series analysis.

Step six: Making a decision

After going through data presentation, data analysis and interpretation of the results, the

management should have a clear idea of the problem at hand. Certain variables may

influence some other variables. The management can list down the possible alternative

action to take under various economic conditions, and other influential conditions such

as change in interest rates, change in consumers' lifestyles and developments in

technology.

With appropriate statistical analyses techniques and models, the management

can make the right decision. Among the models that can be applied are decision-making

under certainty, decision-making under uncertainty and decision-making under risk.

This is followed by the implementation of the plan. Appropriate corrective action

should be carried out in cases where deviation from the plan occurs.