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Secondary Data Sources
Secondary Data Sources 1
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:
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Understand the meaning of primary and secondary data
Get the insight of benefits and limitations of using secondary
data
Understand the classification of secondary data
Use different sources of secondary data for a research problem
Understand the roadmap for using secondary data.
Secondary Data Sources 2
Meaning of Primary and Secondary Data
Primary data are mainly collected by a researcher to address
the research problem. In other words, these are not readily
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available from various sources, rather the researcher has to
systematically collect it for a pre-specified research problem.
Secondary data are the data that have already been collected by
someone else before the current needs of a researcher.
The present researcher only uses these data with related
reference and never collects it from the field.
When compared with the primary data, secondary data can be
collected easily with time and cost efficiency.
Both the primary and the secondary data have its own relative
advantages and disadvantages.
Secondary Data Sources 3
Benefits and Limitations of Using
Secondary Data
The main advantage of using secondary data sources is that they
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already exist; therefore, the time spent on the study is considerably
less than that on studies that use the primary data collection.
The disadvantages of using secondary data are related to the fact
that their selection and quality, and the methods of their
collection, are not under the control of the researcher and that
they are sometimes impossible to validate (Sorensen et al., 1996).
There may be cases when the problem is general, such as the
demographic structure of a population at a particular region, in
such cases there is no meaning in collecting the primary data.
The various available secondary data sources such as the
[Link], the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE)
products, and so on are capable of providing this information and
are easily accessible.
Secondary Data Sources 4
Benefits and Limitations of Using
Secondary Data (Cont.)
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Regarding disadvantages, the accuracy of secondary data is
most of the time questionable as the researcher is unaware
about the pattern of data collection.
In addition, the researcher has no control over the data
collection pattern.
The researcher may try to use the secondary data that are
developed for some other purpose in some other time frame in
some other circumstances.
This poses a great question mark on the currency and relevance
of the data in terms of its use in the current problem.
Moreover, the secondary data become outdated quickly. It is a
big restriction on the frequent use of the secondary data.
Secondary Data Sources 5
Classification of Secondary Data Sources
Secondary data sources can be broadly classified into internal
and external secondary data sources.
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The internal secondary data are generated within the
organization and the external secondary data are obtained
from the sources available outside the organization.
The internal secondary data are the internal records of the
organization.
The external secondary data can be further classified into the
following four groups: books, periodicals, and other published
material; reports and publication from government sources;
computerized commercial and other online data sources; and
media resources ( Figure 6.1 ).
Secondary Data Sources 6
Figure 6.1: Classification of secondary data sources
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Secondary Data Sources 7
Books, Periodicals, and Other
Published Material
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The books, periodicals, and other published material generally
available in most of the libraries are big sources of secondary
data.
Now, most of the big libraries in our country are in the process
of digitizing the published material.
It seems that it will be convenient for a researcher to access any
information after a decade, which will be available in a digital
form.
Libraries also provide access to some good research journals of
the country.
Secondary Data Sources 8
Reports and Publication from
Government Sources
Government sources also provide data. The accuracy and quality of these
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data sources are unquestionable.
Hence, most researchers rely on government sources of data to conduct
their research programme.
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of
India ([Link]
National Statistics Commission, the Central Statistical Organization.
The Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India (
[Link]
Director General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Ministry of
Commerce and Industry, Government of India ([Link]
).
Reserve Bank of India ([Link]
Planning Commission, Government of India([Link]
.[Link])
Secondary Data Sources 9
Computerized Commercial and
Other Data Sources
In India, there are various firms involved in selling data. For
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example, [Link] and CMIE are two private firms involved
in the accumulation and selling of the data.
In India, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has set-
up the “Indian National Digital Library in Engineering Sciences
and Technology (INDEST) Consortium” headquartered at IIT,
Delhi. The Ministry provides funds required for subscription of
electronic resources for 48 institutions including IISc, IITs, NITs,
IIMs, and a few other centrally funded government institutions
through the consortium headquartered at IIT, Delhi.
In addition, 60 government or government-aided engineering
colleges and technical departments in the universities have
joined the consortium with financial support from the All India
Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
Secondary Data Sources 10
FIGURE 6.2 : Home page of [Link]
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Secondary Data Sources 11
Figure 6.3: Home page of Prowess V. 3.1 (a product of the CMIE)
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Secondary Data Sources 12
Figure 6.4: Home page (e-resources) of INDEST
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Secondary Data Sources 13
Media Resources
Some relevant and authentic information can also be gathered from
the broadcast and print media. Apart from the academic
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researchers, the print and electronic media frequently conduct
researches related to personal life, professional life, life style,
change in life style, income status, change in income status, and
many other issues.
Leading news papers such as The Economic Times, Pioneer, The
Hindu, The Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, The Telegraph
(Kolkata), The Asian Age, The Hindu Business Line, Business
Standard, The Financial Express, and many more national and
regional newspapers have plentiful information.
Apart from the daily newspapers, some magazines such as India
Today, Outlook, Business India, Business Today, Competition
Success Review, and so on provide a lot of information related to the
current issues.
Secondary Data Sources 14
Roadmap to Use Secondary Data
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Secondary Data Sources 15