Question 1 · 214 words written
Secondary sources of data collection
Opening · a definition
Secondary sources of data are the sources which have been already compiled, collected and analysed by someone else. Such data can be of 2 types - Features of secondary sources
Body · points and prose
es --> Published
- official records, reports, census
- Ethnographies, Biographies, Published Books
- Research papers etc. --> Unpublished
- Notings, diaries
- Field notes, oral records etc.
Features of secondary sources
- Readymade and Readily available
- No time spent or cost of devising methods to collect the data
- Bound by someone else's methodology.
- No limits of space & time. we can use historical data. No need for researcher to be in the field.
Uses of secondary data
- Reference material for future research methods
- Benchmarking information to compare with our own data.
- Sole purpose of collecting the data without own efforts.
- when fieldwork is not possible. e.g. During world war II, scholars such as Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead used study of culture from distance method - based on secondary data.
Limitations of secondary data
- official data - governments try to hide negative picture, thus inadequate
- Ethnographer bias - e.g. ethnographies by early colonial administrators
- Methodologies used for collection may not be accurate or suitable
- changing nature with time - may not be relevant now.
Thus caution must be taken for -
- Reliability - of sources, methods, bias
- Authenticity - true picture
- Adequacy - scope of data
- Suitability - of our study.
Close · no separate close
None written.