original data has been directly observed and collected specifically for the purpose of the investigation - arrives first hand from participants themselves - e.g. data gathered from own experiment, questionnaire, interview or observation you have designed and conducted yourself
secondary data
data collected by someone other than the person conducting the research - data that already exists before psychologist begins investigation - second hand data - e.g. journals, books, websites, government data, meta analysis
Primary data evaluation
advantages - can control quality and accuracy of data - can ensure data covers research objectives
disadvantages - difficult to access data, doesn't already exist - significance not known
Secondary data evaluation
advantages - easy to access data as it already exists - significance already known
disadvantages - can't control quality and accuracy of data - can't ensure data covers research objectives
