Data Sources

Data Sources

1. Primary and secondary data

   • Primary Data
     • Data collected by yourself
     • Collection done via questionnaires, interviews, ect
     • Data is more up to date
     • More reliable
   • Secondary data
     • Data collected by someone else
     • Data comes from census, textbooks, web info, etc
     • Much cheaper
     • Quicker to obtain
     • Isn't subject to bias

2. Data Reliability

   • Data must be complete and accurate
     • Primary data will already be this
   • In surveys
     • Avoid Jargon
     • Avoid Bias
     • use closed answer

3. Data collection methods

   • Questionnaires
     • Great for gathering data from a large group
     • Can be completed anonymously
     • All answer the same questions
     • Poor response rates
     • Poorly worded questions can lead to bias
   • Focus groups
     • Respondents able to build off of answers
     • You can get responses from a wider audience
     • Able to alter questions to fit conversations
     • Respondents can influence each others answers
     • Assembling a group of people together at the same time may be difficult
   • Interview
     • Interviews are very good for drawing out detailed responses through followup questions.
     • Greater honesty in responses can be gained
     • Interviews take a long time to gather information from a wide range of people.
     • Much like focus groups, data gathered from focus groups is much more qualitative and so is difficult to analyse.