Understanding Data: Primary and Secondary

Which of the following best describes primary data?

• Data collected by someone else for a different purpose

• Data collected first-hand by the researcher for a specific study

• Data found in textbooks and encyclopaedias

• Data that has been processed and analysed

Which of the following is an example of secondary data?

• Results from your own experiment

• Data from the Office for National Statistics

• Observations you made in a classroom

• Answers from a survey you conducted

What is a key advantage of using primary data?

• It is always more accurate than secondary data

• It is tailored to the specific needs of the research

• It is less expensive to collect

• It is always quicker to obtain

Which of the following is NOT a method of collecting primary data?

• Conducting interviews

• Distributing questionnaires

• Analysing published reports

• Making direct observations

Which data analysis technique is best suited for identifying patterns in qualitative data?

• Thematic analysis

• Regression analysis

• Chi-square test

• T-test

What is the main disadvantage of using secondary data?

• It is always out of date

• It may not be relevant to the current research question

• It is always more expensive to obtain

• It is always less reliable

Which of the following is a quantitative data analysis technique?

• Content analysis

• Thematic coding

• Descriptive statistics

• Narrative analysis

Which of the following is an example of primary data collection?

• Using census data from 2011

• Reading a published journal article

• Conducting a focus group

• Referring to a government report

What is the main purpose of data analysis in research?

• To collect more data

• To interpret and draw conclusions from data

• To store data securely

• To publish data in journals

Which of the following is a source of secondary data?

• Your own experiment results

• A published academic article

• A survey you designed and conducted

• Observations you made in the field