Primary data is data that is collected by the user; this can come from surveys interviews, focus groups, medical records and more. Primary data is collected for specific purposes of a study.
Secondary data is data that is collected by anyone other than the user; this can mean the government, historical documents or the mass media. When comparing secondary data to primary data, secondary data tends to be readily available and less inexpensive to obtain
There are two types of secondary data:
Raw data: meaning that the user is only collecting that data itself
Compiled data: which can be collected by someone else! Compiled data is data that has already been analyzed.
There are three classifications of secondary data:
There is Documentary Secondary data that is pretty much used for business research. Written forms of this type of data could be notices, minutes of meetings, emails, public records. Non-Written Forms include video recordings, pictures, and organizations databases
Secondly, there is Survey-based Secondary Data which is data collected through a survey strategy. Often collected through census. This is when the entire population takes part. It also can be collected through continuous surveys, which are repeated over time. And Ad hoc Surveys, which are data that can be, collected from materials such as questionnaires that are taken by independent researchers.
Lastly there is Multiple-Source secondary data
This type of secondary data happens when you use various forms of other secondary data to form your own database for your work. This type of data can be collected by combining comparable variables from different surveys or cohort studies which is data collected from the same population over time.
Advantages/Disadvantages
Some advantages of secondary data include:
It is economical- saves expenses
2) Has population of interest
3) It is quick to obtain- since this data has already been collected by someone else you can use it to cater to your specific topic. Saves a lot of time.
4) It helps primary data collection be more specific; we are able to make out what are the gaps and deficiencies and what additional information needs to be collected
5.) Helps to improve our understanding of the problem
6) Provides the basis for comparison for the data that is collected by the researcher.
7) good quality of data
Disadvantages include:
Access to specific secondary data may be difficult to find, this can prove to be costly in terms value of time
You don’t have any real control over the quality of the data because you’re relying on someone else’s work
The data may be collected for a purpose that does not match your needs so then that data becomes useless
The data might be outdated
There may be an insufficient level of detail given by the data, which makes it difficult to apply to the scenario at hand
The data might be significantly different to other types of data being used, meaning it cannot be aggregated
The tools needed to analyze the data might not be available
There may be privacy and security issues associated with the data, or ethical and moral issues that have not been clarified in the primary source
There are a number of different uses for secondary data that are important to consider when assessing whether it is the right type of data for a certain report. Additionally, there are a number of different key issues that must be considered when making the choice to use secondary data. These are:
Cooperation and connectivity, for things like personal health management
Privacy and security issues associated with using secondary data
Technology, including the types of applications that the data has
Governance, standards, and compliance
Quality and value, which can have an impact on the reliability of the data for use in reports
Patient-centric information networks
One potential source of secondary data is electronic health records. These contain patient information that can be used to compile reports. There are a number of difficulties with using secondary health data, as noted above, and one of the biggest issues is the lack of electronic health records. If these are implemented, and the correct aggregation and analysis tools are available, electronic health records will be a major source of secondary data in the health sciences. Health records are also collected routinely, which means that they are a low-cost, simple option. Making these records electronic means that more stakeholders can have access to them to conduct secondary research, although there are privacy and consent issues that should not be overlooked.
When evaluating secondary data sources, the user must evaluate the source to be aware of the risks that are present. You have to ask yourself if the source is worth using. Are the benefits associated with the source greater then the cost? Is it legal for you to access the data or do you need some sort of permission?
All in all when using secondary data one must make sure that they take in consideration measurement validity. This means that they must make sure that the measurements they used are actually valid. They must also take in consideration coverage and unmeasured variables. Meaning population, time period. You must also take into consideration reliability in regards to author’s accreditation. This would be like if the author is well known, and are you able to examine the methods that were used by the author to attain that information. One must also take into account the measurement bias. This is common in companies! Changes in the way data is collected is also important because if someone changed the methods of collecting data can effect the source accreditation.
