Secondary Data:

Secondary data is a type of data which has already been obtained from primary sources and that researchers can use readily for their own research.

In statistics, as in all scientific activities, the researcher does not have to start fresh; he can use things already discovered by others and consider them. As a result, we should read the current literature before beginning statistical research and discover what is already known about the general area in which our particular topic falls. Hence, it is clear that secondary data is used when an investigator uses information that has already been collected by others.

To put it another way, secondary data is research data that has already been obtained and is available to researchers. The term is in contrast to primary data, which is data acquired directly from its source.

A researcher may have gathered data for a specific topic and then made it available for other researchers to use. As in the case of the national census, the data may have been collected for general use rather than for specialised research purposes. Data that is classed as secondary in one study may be considered primary in another. This is the situation when data is reused, making it primary data for the initial research and secondary data for the subsequent research.

Secondary data can be collected via government publications, publications of research organisations, professional associations, journals, reports, trade and so on. Secondary data, on the other hand, must be used with extreme caution.

The investigator should consider the following factors before using secondary data:

• Whether the data is appropriate for the investigation.
• Whether the data is acceptable (sufficient) for the investigation’s objective.
• Whether the data is trustworthy.

Read Also: Types, Sources & Methods of Data Collection: Primary Data, Secondary Data, Internal Data

(Source – Various books from the college library)

Tags: Secondary data collection methods, Different methods of data collection, Secondary sources of data collection

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