Meaning and definition of primary and secondary data
Answers
Primary Data
Primary data are first hand informations. These informations are collected directly from the source by means of field studies. Primary data are original and are like raw materials. It is the most crude form of information. The investigator himself collects primary data or supervises its collection. It may be collected on a sample or census basis or from case studies.
Secondary data
Secondary data are the Second hand informations. The data which have already been collected and processed by some agency or persons and are not used for the first time are termed as secondary data. According to M. M. Blair, “Secondary data are those already in existence and which have been collected for some other purpose.” Secondary data may be abstracted from existing records, published sources or unpublished sources.
The distinction between primary and secondary data is a matter of degree only. The data which are primary in the hands of one become secondary for all others. Generally the data are primary to the source who collects and processes them for the first time. It becomes secondary for all other sources, who use them later. For example, the population census report is primary for the Registrar General of India and the information from the report are secondary for all of us.
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