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B) Distinguish primary data from secondary data. What are the merits, demerits and?
b) Distinguish primary data from secondary data. What are the merits, demerits and

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4 years ago ( 2009-03-07 05:42:49 +0000 ) Report Abuse

Uttranchali F

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Data, or facts, may be derived from several sources. Data can be classified as primary data and secondary data.
Primary data is data gathered for the first time by the researcher; secondary data is data taken by the researcher
from secondary sources, internal or external. The researcher must thoroughly search secondary data sources before
commissioning any efforts for collecting primary data. There are many advantages in searching for and analyzing data
before attempting the collection of primary data. In some cases, the secondary data itself may be sufficient to solve
the problem. Usually the cost of gathering secondary data is much lower than the cost of organizing primary data.
Moreover, secondary data has several supplementary uses. It also helps to plan the collection of primary data, in
case, it becomes necessary. We shall therefore discuss secondary data first and then take up primary data.

Secondary data is of two kinds, internal and external. Secondary data – whether internal or external – is data already
collected by others, for purposes other than the solution of the problem on hand.

Business firms always have as great deal of internal secondary data with them. Sales statistics constitute the most
important component of secondary data in marketing and the researcher uses it extensively. All the output of the MIS
of the firm generally constitutes internal secondary data. This data is readily available; the market researcher gets it
without much effort, time and money.

Sources of External Secondary Data – Examples

The Internet is a great source of external secondary data. Many published, statistics and figures are available on the
internet either free or for a fee.

In research, Secondary data is collecting and possibly processing data by people other than the researcher in
question. Common sources of secondary data for social science include censuses, large surveys, and organizational
records (Mintel). In sociology primary data is data you have collected yourself and secondary data is data you have
gathered from primary sources to create new research. In terms of historical research, these two terms have different
meanings. A primary source is a book or set of archival records. A secondary source is a summary of a book or set
of records.

Advantages to the secondary data collection method are - 1) it saves time that would otherwise be spent collecting
data, 2) provides a larger database (usually) than what would be possible to collect on ones own However there are
disadvantages to the fact that the researcher cannot personally check the data so it's reliability may be questioned.
4 years ago ( 2009-03-08 05:43:27 +0000 ) Report Abuse

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Other Answers (1)

Primary data is a direct report from someone who was actively involved in whatever it is you are discussing.
Secondary data is someone who has heard about it, has read about it, or has learned about it at arm's length.
The merit of primary data is that it is direct information, uncontaminated by being transmitted through another source.
The demerits of primary data are that sometimes the person who is on the field sees only part of the action. For
example, a soldier under fire in a battle isn't very aware of what is happening somewhere else because he's totally
involved with what is happening around him.
The merit of secondary data is that it can be gathered from a number of primary sources and weighed together to put
together an overall assessment of what has happened.
4 years ago ( 2009-03-07 05:52:49 +0000 ) Report Abuse

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