2. Speeches, diaries, letters and interviews - what the people involved said or wrote. A secondary source is generally one or more steps removed from the event or time period and are written or produced after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. For example, if a Tour and Travels Company obtains information on ‘Karnataka Tourism’ from Karnataka Transport Corporation, it would be known as external sources of data. 1. Sources of secondary data include (but are not limited to): Government statistics are widely available and easily accessed online, and can provide insights related to product shipments, trade activity , business formation, patents, pricing and economic trends, among other topics. Finding Primary Sources Primary Sources from DocsTeach Thousands of online primary source documents from the National Archives to bring the past to life as classroom teaching tools. Newspaper reports, by reporters who witnessed an event or who quote people who did. Sources of Primary Data. Datasets, survey data, such as census or economic statistics. Primary data can be collected in a number of ways. Primary Data: These are the data which are collected from some primary sources i.e., a source of origin where the data generate. However, the most common techniques are self-administered surveys, interviews, field observation, and experiments. Types of Data. External Source. Original research. A) Primary Data. Researchers collect the data themselves, using surveys, interviews and direct observations. Following methods are used to collect data from primary units usually and these methods depends on the nature of the primary unit. When data are collected from outside the organisation, it is known as the external source. One of the biggest advantages of conducting a primary data analysis is the fact that you know the source of the data. A primary source is direct or firsthand evidence about a topic. The sources of primary data are primary units such as basic experimental units, individuals, households. The source of your primary data is the population sample from which you collect the data. These are collected for the first time by an investigator or an agency for any statistical analysis. The term primary data may sometimes be used to refer to first hand information. Beginning Research Activities Student activities Each of these sources may have other primary purposes, so there are advantages and challenges when they are used for the purposes of quality measurement and reporting. The following are illustrative examples of a primary source. This can be contrasted with secondary sources that describe, discuss, interpret or analyze information based on primary sources. Primary data. Primary sources can include: Texts of laws and other original documents. Depending on the measure, data can be collected from different sources, including medical records, patient surveys, and administrative databases used to pay bills or to manage care. Sources of Primary Data. In essence, the questions the researchers ask are tailored to elicit the data that will help them with their study. Secondary sources describe, discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources. Advantages of primary data analysis. An advantage of using primary data is that researchers are collecting information for the specific purposes of their study. “Data which are gathered originally for a certain purpose are known as primary data.” — Horace Secrist There are a number of key advantages for using primary data for an analysis. The first step in the process is determining your target population. National Archives Catalog Find online primary source materials for classroom & student projects from the National Archive's online catalog (OPA). A primary data source is an original data source, that is, one in which the data are collected firsthand by the researcher for a specific research purpose or project. You can validate the reliability of the data.