Primary & Secondary Data Definitions

Primary Data: Data that has been generated by the researcher himself/herself, surveys,
interviews, experiments, specially designed for understanding and solving the research problem
at hand.
Secondary Data: Using existing data generated by large government Institutions, healthcare
facilities etc. as part of organizational record keeping. The data is then extracted from more
varied datafiles.
Supplementary Data: A few years ago the Obama Administration judged that any research that
is done using Federal Public funds should be available for free to the public. Moreover Data
Management Plans should be in place to store and preserve the data for almost eternity. These
data sets are published as Supplementary Materials in the journal lliterature, and data sets can
downloaded and manipulated for research.
NOTE: Even though the research is Primary source, the supplemental files downloaded by
others becomes Secondary Source.

Pros and Cons for each.

Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR
PRIMARY DATA SECONDARY DATA
COMPARISON

Meaning Primary data refers to the Secondary data means data

first hand data gathered by collected by someone else
the researcher himself. earlier.

Data Real time data Past data

Process Very involved Quick and easy

Source Surveys, observations, Government publications,

experiments, questionnaire, websites, books, journal
personal interview, etc. articles, internal records etc.

Cost effectiveness Expensive Economical

Collection time Long Short

Specific Always specific to the May or may not be specific to

researcher's needs. the researcher's need.
 BASIS FOR
PRIMARY DATA SECONDARY DATA
COMPARISON

Available in Crude form Refined form

Accuracy and More Relatively less

Reliability

Quantitative & Qualitative Research Methods

Quantitative Research Definition: Data that can be measured, quantified. Basically Descriptive
Statistics.
Read: Introduction to Quantitative Methods
Qualitative Research Definition: Data collected that is not numerical, hence cannot be quantified.
It measures other characteristics through interviews, observation and focused groups among a
few methods. It can also be termed as "Categorical Statistics".
Read: Qualitative methods in public health
Mixed methods research. When quantitative and qualitative research methods are used.
Qualitative Research Methods:

Method Overall Purpose Advantages Challenges

Surveys • Quickly and/or • can complete • might not

easily gets lots anonymously get careful
of information • inexpensive to feedback
from people in a administer • wording can
non threatening • easy to compare and bias client's
way analyze responses
• administer to many • impersonal
people • may need
• can get lots of data sampling
• many sample expert
questionnaires already • doesn't get
exist full story

Interviews • Understand • get full range and • can take ime

someone's depth of information • can be hard
impressions or • develops relationship to analyze
experiences with client and
• Learn more about • can be flexible with compare
answers to client • can be
questionnaires costly
• interviewer
can bias
Method Overall Purpose Advantages Challenges

client's
responses

Observation • Gather firsthand • view operations of a • can be

information about program as they are difficult to
people, events, or actually occurring interpret
programs • can adapt to events as seen
they occur behaviors
• can be
complex to
categorize
observations
• can
influence
behaviors of
program
participants
• can be
expensive

Focus • Explore a topic in • quickly and reliably • can be hard

Groups depth through get common to analyze
group discussion impressions responses
• can be efficient way to • need good
get much range and facilitator
depth of information in for safety
short time and closure
• can convey key • difficult to
information about schedule 6-
programs 8 people
together

Case • Understand an • depicts client's • usually time

Studies experience or experience in program consuming
conduct input, process and to collect,
comprehensive results organize
examination • powerful means to and describe
through cross portray program to • represents
comparison of outsiders depth of
cases information,
rather than
breadth
Primary Data Sources
A primary source provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or work of
art. Primary sources provide the original materials on which other research is based and enable
students and other researchers to get as close as possible to what actually happened during a
particular event or time period. Published materials can be viewed as primary resources if they
come from the time period that is being discussed, and were written or produced by someone
with firsthand experience of the event. Often primary sources reflect the individual viewpoint of a
participant or observer. Primary sources can be written or non-written (sound, pictures, artifacts,
etc.). In scientific research, primary sources present original thinking, report on discoveries, or
share new information.
Examples of primary sources:

• Autobiographies and memoirs

• Diaries, personal letters, and correspondence
• Interviews, surveys, and fieldwork
• Internet communications on email, blogs, listservs, and newsgroups
• Photographs, drawings, and posters
• Works of art and literature
• Books, magazine and newspaper articles and ads published at the time
• Public opinion polls
• Speeches and oral histories
• Original documents (birth certificates, property deeds, trial transcripts)
• Research data, such as census statistics
• Official and unofficial records of organizations and government agencies
• Artifacts of all kinds, such as tools, coins, clothing, furniture, etc.
• Audio recordings, DVDs, and video recordings
• Government documents (reports, bills, proclamations, hearings, etc.)
• Patents
• Technical reports
• Scientific journal articles reporting experimental research results

Common Data Types in Public Health Research

Data Types
Quantitative Data

• Quantitative data is measurable, often used for comparisons, and involves counting of
people, behaviors, conditions, or other discrete events (Wang, 2013).
• Quantitative data uses numbers to determine the what, who, when, and where of health-
related events (Wang, 2013).
• Examples of quantitative data include: age, weight, temperature, or the number of people
suffering from diabetes.

Qualitative Data

• Qualitative data is a broad category of data that can include almost any non-numerical
data.
• Qualitative data uses words to describe a particular health-related event (Romano).
• This data can be observed, but not measured.
• Involves observing people in selected places and listening to discover how they feel and
why they might feel that way (Wang, 2013).
• Examples of qualitative data include: male/female, smoker/non-smoker, or questionnaire
response (agree, disagree, neutral).
 • Example of qualitative data from a health care setting includes (Curry, Nembhard, &
Bradley, 2009):
o Measuring organizational change.
o Measures of clinical leadership in implementing evidence-based guidelines.
o Patient perceptions of quality of care.

Data Sources
Primary Data Sources

• Primary data analysis in which the same individual or team of researchers designs,
collects, and analyzes the data, for the purpose of answering a research question (Koziol
& Arthur, nd).
• Advantages to Using Primary Data
o You collect exactly the data elements that you need to answer your research
question (Romano).
o You can test an intervention, such as an experimental drug or an educational
program, in the purest way (a double-blind randomized controlled trial (Romano).
o You control the data collection process, so you can ensure data quality, minimize
the number of missing values, and assess the reliability of your instruments
(Romano).

Secondary Data Sources

• Existing data collected for another purposes, that you use to answer your research
question (Romano).
• Advantages of Working with Secondary Data
o Large samples
o Can provide population estimates : for example state data can be combined
across states to get national estimates (Shaheen, Pan, & Mukherjee).
o Less expensive to collect than primary data (Romano)
o It takes less time to collect secondary data (Romano).
o You may not need to worry about informed consent, human subjects restriction
(Romano).
• Issues in Using Secondary Data
o Study design and data collection already completed (Koziol & Arthur, nd).
o Data may not facilitate particular research question o Information regarding study
design and data collection procedures may be scarce.
o Data may potentially lack depth (the greater the breadth the harder it is to
measure any one construct in depth) (Koziol & Arthur, nd).
o Certain fields or departments (e.g., experimental programs) may place less value
on secondary data analysis (Koziol & Arthur, nd).
o Often requires special techniques to analyze statistically the data.

Primary and Secondary Legal Sources

The materials used for legal research are generally divided into two broad
categories: primary sources and secondary sources. Primary legal sources are
the actual law in the form of constitutions, court cases, statutes, and
administrative rules and regulations. Secondary legal sources may restate the
law, but they also discuss, analyze, describe, explain, or critique it as
well. Secondary sources are used to help locate primary sources of law, define
legal words and phrases, or help in legal research. In short, anything that is more
than the actual law is considered a secondary source.
Examples
Primary law consists of sources that state the actual law. These sources include:
o Constitution (either federal or state)
[United States Constitution, Washington State Constitution]
o Statutes (laws enacted by legislatures); municipal codes (enacted by local
councils)
[United States Code, Revised Code of Washington,
King County Code, Seattle Municipal Code]
o Cases (opinions handed down by courts)
[United States and state appellate courts, including the
U.S. Supreme Court and WA State Supreme Court]
o Rules and Regulations (established by administrative government agencies)
[examples include U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
WA State Department of Social and Health Services)
o Treaties
[Geneva Convention, North American Free Trade Agreement,
Worldwide Chemical Weapons Convention)
____________________________________________
Secondary Law consists of sources that explain, criticize, discuss, or help locate
primary law. Examples of secondary legal sources include:
o Legal dictionaries
[Black’s Law Dictionary, Nolo’s Plain English Law Dictionary]
o Legal encyclopedias and digests
[Gale Encyclopedia of American Law, American Jurisprudence,
Washington Digest]

o Law reviews and journals

[Virginia Law Review, Seattle University Law Review, Yale Law Journal]
o Legal treatises, nutshells, hornbooks, deskbooks
[Criminal Law in a Nutshell, Principles of Employment Law,
American Constitutional Law, Washington Civil Procedure Deskbook]
o Manuals and guides on how to practice law
[Washington Practice, Washington Lawyers Practice Manual]

Seeing the Difference

The U.S. Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education 347 U.S. 483
(1954) was a landmark case in which the Court declared that state laws allowing
for separate public schools for whites and blacks were unconstitutional. The
actual case is primary law. The book Simple Justice : the History
of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle for Equality discusses
the case and its historical context and is a secondary legal source. The Gale
Encyclopedia of American Law has an article on the case analyzing it, and is
a secondary legal source.
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that "The right of the
people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall
issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be
seized." Because this is straight from the actual Constitution, it is primary
law. The 2012 William and Mary Law Review article "The Fourth Amendment Rights
of Children at Home: when Parental Authority Goes Too Far," is an analysis and
discussion of one aspect of the Fourth Amendment. This makes it a secondary
legal source.
References:
Curry, L. A., Nembhard, I. M., & Bradley, E. H. (2009). Qualitative and Mixed Methods Provide
Unique Contributions to Outcomes Research. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.742775
Koziol, N., & Arthur, A. (nd). An Introduction to Secondary Data Analysis CYFS Statistics and
Measurement. Romano, P. S. Using secondary data. Department of Medicine and Pediatrics.
University of California,.
Shaheen, M., Pan, D., & Mukherjee, S. Secondary data sources for research epidemiological
and statistical considerations. Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Charles Drew University of
Medicine and Science,
Wang, H. (2013). Data Detective: Finding the Gems of Health Data. Information and Education
Services. University of Connecticut Health Center.