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Sources of Data

This document discusses primary and secondary sources of information for research. Primary sources are original documents created by direct observers or participants, while secondary sources are existing information or analyses. Examples include oral histories, diaries, media reports, studies, statistics, interviews, and records. Primary sources allow more detailed examination but can influence respondents, while secondary sources are quicker but can't ensure accuracy or objectivity. When using sources, researchers should consider relevance, objectivity, adequacy, authenticity, and believability to evaluate source quality and draw valid conclusions.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
284 views6 pages

Sources of Data

This document discusses primary and secondary sources of information for research. Primary sources are original documents created by direct observers or participants, while secondary sources are existing information or analyses. Examples include oral histories, diaries, media reports, studies, statistics, interviews, and records. Primary sources allow more detailed examination but can influence respondents, while secondary sources are quicker but can't ensure accuracy or objectivity. When using sources, researchers should consider relevance, objectivity, adequacy, authenticity, and believability to evaluate source quality and draw valid conclusions.

Uploaded by

Jamion Knight
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sources of Information

Primary and Secondary Sources


Primary sources constitute first hand information. These
are original documents and reports by actual participants
or direct observers.

Secondary sources constitute already existing information.

Examples of both: oral histories, diaries, mass media


reports, case studies, existing literature, interviews,
official statistics, experiments, public records.
Strengths and Weaknesses of
Primary and Secondary Sources
Primary
Strengths:
- the researcher can examine the respondents in greater
detail
- the researcher is likely to acquire more information
- the researcher is more likely to find out the truth.

Weakness:
- the researcher’s presence is likely to influence the
respondents behaviour (interviewer bias).
Secondary
Strengths:
- are cheap and quick to use
- allow the researcher to go back in time
- compare one period with another
Weaknesses:
The researcher may not be able to check :
- how accurate they are
- how objective they are
- -the purpose for which they were originally collected
Criteria for Judging Data Sources
• Relevance – the information taken from existing
literature must be relevant to the problem under study. It
is also suggested that information that is older than 10
years should not be used.
• Objectivity – the researcher must be aware of a number
of issues when gathering data. For example, the source
could be biased, could have an interest in the outcome
or could be influenced by monetary rewards.
• Adequacy – this concerns whether the souces from
which the data are gathered are sufficienct to generalize
the findings.
Research conclusions cannot be taken seriously if there is
a question about the quality of the data from which the
conclusions are drawn. Researchers must scrutinize
data to make sure that they are authentic and believable.
Authenticity: Is the evidence genuine or fake? Can if be
verified? Is there any attempt to deliberately mislead the
researcher?
Believablility: Are the facts correct? Do the data come
from real people, objects or events? Is the respondent
being truthful?

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