Question

Data and information or knowledge is often used interchangeably; however, data becomes information when it is viewed in context or in post-analysis. While the concept of data is commonly associated with scientific research, data is collected by a huge range of organizations and institutions, including businesses (e.g., sales data, revenue, profits, and stock price), governments (e.g., crime rates, unemployment rates, literacy rates) and non-governmental organizations (e.g., censuses of the number of homeless people by non-profit organizations). Having in mind the concept of business research data, compare and contrast the primary and secondary source of data.?

Answer 1

There are two sources of collection business research data:

A. Primary source

B. Secondary source.

Primary Source: primary source of data implies collection of data from its source of origin. It offers you first-hand quantitative information relating to your study. You and your team of investigators are contacting the respondents ( people offering basic information) and obtaining the desired quantitative information.

Primary source of collecting data of offers primary data. Data collected by the investigator for his own purpose, for the first time, from beginning to end are called primary data. These are collected from the source of origin. Dickinson investigator is the first person who collect this information.

For example, a marketer is interested in knowing the taste and preferences of its potential customers. For this purpose we conduct online survey in which the questions about the customers preferences are asked. all this information would be termed as primary information for primary data.

Before developing the product, marketers conduct market research to gathered information about the recent market trends.

Secondary source: secondary source of collection of data in implies obtaining the relevant statistical information from an agency or institution which is already in possession of that information. for example data relating to the quality of people or taste and preference of customers may have already been collected by some other organisation. Thus secondary sources implies that the desired information already exist and you are simply to collected from the concern agency of the department. In this case surveys are not conducted.

secondary data are those data which are already in existence and which have been collected for some other purpose than the answering of the question in hand. These data are therefore called second hand data. obviously since these data save already been collected by somebody else these are available in the form of published or unpublished reports.

1. Difference in originality: primary data are original because these are collected by the investigator from the source of their origin. Against this secondary data are already in existence and therefore are not original.

2. Difference in objective: primary data are always related to a specific objective of the investigator. These data therefore do not need any adjustment for the concerned study. on the other hand secondary data have already been collected for some other purpose therefore these data need to be adjusted to suit the objective of the study in hand.

3. Difference difference in cost of collection: primary data are costly in terms of time, money and efforts involved then the secondary data. this is because primary data collected for the first time from the source of origin. Secondary data or simply collected from the published on published reports. Accordingly these are much less expensive.

Published sources includes government publication's, reports of committees and commissions, publications of trade associations, publications of research institutions, journals and papers, publications of research scholars and international publications. Unpublished sources are collected by the government organisations and others generally for their self use for office record. This data or not published

Data which are primary in the hands of one party may be secondary in the hands of other.