Primary + secondary data

• Primary data

  • data gathered for the first time by the researcher
  • experiments, observations, questionnaires, interviews
• Secondary data

  • data already collected by others and is used by someone else for further research
  • data already exists before researcher begins their study
• Meta analysis

  • study that combines findings from research
  • uses a data base and searches journals that have already published research into a specific topic
  • combine results of these studies and draws a conclusion
  • the data is secondary as it already exists and has been conducted by others in the field
• Strength of meta analysis

  • time consuming to carry out same n.o. of studies used and so it is easier to collect data in this way
• Validity

  • primary gathered first hand and therefore has greater validity than secondary, where you are using others data and you cannot be sure how objectively and accurately it has been collected
• Conclusions

  • primary data allows conclusions to be drawn at the time of the study however with secondary data, the conclusions will be drawn some time after the study and may not relate to the time period
• Time consuming

  • primary can be more time consuming to set up and carry out
  • secondary can be less time consuming as the data already exists and can be accessed within minutes