INTRODUCTION

Data can be defined as the quantitative or qualitative values of a variable. Data is plural of datum
which literally means to give or something given. Data can be numbers, images, words, figures,
facts or ideas. Data in itself cannot be understood and to get information from the data one must
interpret it into meaningful information. There are various methods of interpreting data. Data
sources are broadly classified into primary and secondary data.

Data is one of the most important and vital aspect of any research studies. Data is the basic unit in
statistical studies. Statistical information like census, population variables, health statistics, and
road accidents records are all developed from data.

DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES

There are two sources of data collection techniques. Primary and Secondary data collection
techniques, Primary data collection uses surveys, experiments or direct observations. Secondary
data collection may be conducted by collecting information from a diverse source of documents
or electronically stored information, census and market studies are examples of a common sources
of secondary data. This is also referred to as "data mining."

PRIMARY DATA

Primary data means original data that has been collected specially for the purpose in mind. It means
someone collected the data from the original source first hand. Data collected this way is called
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. The people who gather primary data may be an authorized organization, investigator,
enumerator..

Primary data are orginated by a researcher for a specific purpose of addressing the problem at
hand. The collection of primary data involves all the six steps of marketing research process.
Obtaining primary data can be expensive and time consuming.
An advantage of primary data is that it is specifically tailored to your research needs. A
disadvantage is that it is expensive to obtain.

SOURCES OF PRIMARY DATA

Sources for primary data are limited and at times it becomes difficult to obtain data from primary
source because of either scarcity of population or lack of cooperation. Regardless of any difficulty
one can face in collecting primary data; it is the most authentic and reliable data source. Following
are some of the sources of primary data.

Experiments: Experiments require an artificial or natural setting in which to perform logical

study to collect data. Experiments are more suitable for medicine, psychological studies,
nutrition and for other scientific studies. In experiments the experimenter has to keep control
over the influence of any extraneous variable on the results.
Survey: Survey is most commonly used method in social sciences, management, marketing
and psychology to some extent. Surveys can be conducted in different methods.
Questionnaire: Questionnaire is the most commonly used method in survey. Questionnaires
are a list of questions either an open-ended or close -ended for which the respondent give
answers. Questionnaire can be conducted via telephone, mail, live in a public area, or in an
institute, through electronic mail or through fax and other methods.
Interview: Interview is a face-to-face conversation with the respondent. It is slow, expensive,
and they take people away from their regular jobs, but they allow in-depth questioning and
follow-up questions. The interviewer can not only record the statements the interviewee speaks
but he can observe the body language or non-verbal communication such as face-pulling,
fidgeting, shrugging, hand gestures, sarcastic expressions that add further meaning to spoken
words and other reactions to the questions too. A problem with interviews is that people might
say what they think the interviewer wants to hear; they might avoid being honestly critical in
case their jobs or reputation might suffer. And the respondent deliberately hides information
otherwise it is an in depth source of information. So this enables the interviewer to draw
conclusions easily.
Observations: Observations can be done while letting the observing person know that he is
being observed or without letting him know. Observations can also be made in natural settings
as well as in artificially created environment. Primary data can be relied on because you know
 where it came from and what was done to it. It's like cooking something yourself. You know
what went into it.

ADVANTAGES OF PRIMARY DATA

Data interpretation is better: The collected data can be examined and interpreted by the
marketers depending on their needs rather than relying on the interpretation made by collectors
of secondary data.
Decency of Data: Usually secondary data is not so recent and it may not be specific to the
place or situation marketer is targeting. The researcher can use the irrelevant seeming
information for knowing trends or may be able to find some relation with the current scenario.
Thus primary data becomes a more accurate tool since we can use data which is useful for us.
Greater Control: Not only does primary research enable the marketer to focus on specific
issues, it also enables the marketer to have a higher level of control over how the information
is collected. In this way the marketer can decide on such issues as size of project (e.g., how
many responses), location of research (e.g., geographic area) and time frame for completing
the project.
DISADVANTAGES OF PRIMARY RESEARCH

High Cost: Compared to secondary research, primary data may be very expensive since there
is a great deal of marketer involvement and the expense in preparing and carrying out research
can be high and has to design everything.
Time Consuming: To be done correctly primary data collection requires the development and
execution of a research plan. Going from the start-point of deciding to undertake a research
project to the end-point to having results is often much longer than the time it takes to acquire
secondary data, which can be collected in much lesser time duration.
More number of resources is required: Leaving aside cost and time, other resources like
human resources and materials too are needed in larger quantity to do surveys and data
collection.
SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data is the data that has been already collected by and readily available from other
sources. So that secondary data is data that is being reused. Such data are cheaper and more quickly
obtainable than the primary data.

These secondary data may be obtained from many sources, including literature, industry surveys,
compilations from computerized databases and information systems, and computerized or
mathematical models of environmental processes. These data can be located quickly and
inexpensively

IMPORTANCE OF SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data can be less valid but its importance is still there. Sometimes it is difficult to obtain
primary data; in these cases getting information from secondary sources is easier and possible.
Sometimes primary data does not exist in such situation one has to confine the research on
secondary data.

Sometimes primary data is present but the respondents are not willing to reveal it in such case too
secondary data can suffice

SOURCES OF SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data is often readily available. After the expense of electronic media and internet the
availability of secondary data has become much easier.

Published Printed Sources: There are varieties of published printed sources. Their credibility
depends on many factors. For example, on the writer, publishing company and time and date
when published. New sources are preferred and old sources should be avoided as new
technology and researches bring new facts into light.
Books: Books are available today on any topic that you want to research. The uses of books
start before even you have selected the topic. After selection of topics books provide insight
on how much work has already been done on the same topic and you can prepare your literature
review. Books are secondary source but most authentic one in secondary sources.
Journals/periodicals: Journals and periodicals are becoming more important as far as data
collection is concerned. The reason is that journals provide up-to-date information which at
 times books cannot and secondly, journals can give information on the very specific topic on
which you are researching rather talking about more general topics.
Magazines/Newspapers: Magazines are also effective but not very reliable. Newspaper on the
other hand is more reliable and in some cases the information can only be obtained
from newspapers as in the case of some political studies.
Published Electronic Sources: As internet is becoming more advance, fast and reachable to
the masses; it has been seen that much information that is not available in printed form is
available on internet. In the past the credibility of internet was questionable but today it is not.
The reason is that in the past journals and books were seldom published on internet but today
almost every journal and book is available online. Some are free and for others you have to
pay the price.
E-journals: e-journals are more commonly available than printed journals. Latest journals are
difficult to retrieve without subscription but if your university has an e-library you can view
any journal, print it and those that are not available you can make an order for them.

ADVANTAGES OF SECONDARY DATA

Ease of Access: There are many advantages to using secondary research. This includes the
relative ease of access to many sources of secondary data. In the past secondary data
accumulation required marketers to visit libraries, or wait for reports to be shipped by mail.
Now with the availability of online access, secondary research is more openly accessed. This
offers convenience and generally standardized usage methods for all sources of secondary
research.
Low Cost to Acquire: The use of secondary data has allowed researchers access to valuable
information for little or no cost to acquire. Therefore, this information is much less expensive
than if the researchers had to carry out the research themselves.

DISADVANTAGES OF SECONDARY DATA

Quality of Research: There are some disadvantages to using secondary research. The
originators of the primary research are largely self-governed and controlled by the marketer.
Therefore, the secondary research used must be scrutinized closely since the origins of the
 information may be questionable. Moreover, the researcher needs to take sufficient steps to
critically evaluate the validity and reliability of the information provided.
Incomplete Information: In many cases, researchers find information that appears valuable
and promising. The researcher may not get the full version of the research to gain the full value
of the study. This is because many research suppliers offer free portions of their research and
then charge expensive fees for their full reports.

.
BASIS FOR PRIMARY DATA SECONDARY DATA
COMPARISON

Meaning Primary data refers to the Secondary data means data

first hand data gathered by collected by someone else earlier.
the researcher himself.

Data Real time data Past data

Process Very involved Quick and easy

Source Surveys, observations, Government publications,

experiments, questionnaire, websites, books, journal articles,
personal interview, etc. internal records etc.

Cost effectiveness Expensive Economical

Collection time Long Short

Specific Always specific to the May or may not be specific to the

researcher's needs researcher's need.

Available in Crude form Refined form

Accuracy and More Relatively less

Reliability
CONCLUSION

Primary research entails the use of immediate data in determining the survival of the market. The
popular ways to collect primary data consist of surveys, interviews and focus groups, which shows
that direct relationship between potential customers and the companies. Whereas secondary
research is a means to reprocess and reuse collected information as an indication for betterments
of the service or product.

Secondary data is available effortlessly, rapidly and inexpensively. Primary data takes a lot of time
and the unit cost of such data is relatively high.Often secondary data have been pre-processed to
give totals or averages and the original details are lost so you can't verify it by replicating the
methods used by the original data collectors.

In short, primary data are expensive and difficult to acquire, but they are trustworthy. Secondary
data are cheap and easy to collect, but must be treated with caution.

REFERENCES

1. http://www.ianswer4u.com/2012/02/primary-research-advantages-
and.html#ixzz2B6ioqOwT
2. http://study.com/academy/lesson/secondary-data-in-marketing-research-definition-
sources-collection.html
3. http://www.mymarketresearchmethods.com/primary-secondary-market-research-
difference/
4. http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/agriculture/different-ways-of-collecting-primary-
data/44384/
5. Naresh K. Malhothra, Fourth Edition 2005, Marketing Research (Pearson Education)