Primary Data Source

Primary Data Sources Versus Secondary Data Sources

In the conduct of research, researchers rely on two kinds of data sources—primary and secondary. The term primary source is used broadly to embody all sources that are original. This can be contrasted with the term primary data source, which refers specifically to the firsthand collection of data for a particular purpose. In the context of the broader definition, primary sources may be published (e.g., census data) or unpublished (e.g., President Lincoln’s personal diary), and could be from the past (e.g., artifacts) or present (e.g., poll for a national election). In many types of research, these sources are often created at the time of the event for a specific purpose (e.g., President Obama’s inauguration speech, a company’s marketing survey of 2009 teenage fashions). However, primary sources may also encompass records of events as described by an eyewitness to the event or someone who actually experienced the event. Both primary data sources and primary sources provide firsthand, unmediated information that is closest to the object of study. This is not a guarantee, however, that these sources are always accurate. For example, if data are collected via face-to-face interviews, the data quality may be affected by a number of issues, such as interviewee characteristics, data transcription, data entry, and so on. Likewise, when eyewitness accounts are given, they can be deliberately or unconsciously distorted.

The delineation of primary and secondary sources first arose in the field of historiography, when historians attempted to classify sources of handwriting. Over time, various disciplines have attempted to normalize the definition for primary and secondary sources. However, these two classifications remain highly subjective and relative. This is because these terms are highly contextual. A particular source may be considered as either primary or secondary depending on the context in which it is examined.

Primary data sources are most often created using survey research. There are a number of different survey techniques that can be used to collect primary data, such as interviews (e.g., face-to-face, telephone, e-mail, fax) or self-administered questionnaires. When polls, censuses, and other direct data collection are undertaken, these all constitute primary data sources. However, when these sources are subsequently used by others for other research purposes, they are referred to as secondary data sources. Primary data sources may also be created using other methods, such as field observation and experiments (e.g., pretests and test marketing). The latter technique is particularly important in marketing research projects and can be done in either a laboratory or a field setting. In contrast, some common examples of primary sources include speeches, letters, diaries, autobiographies, interviews, official reports, legislation, court records, tax records, birth records, wills, newsreels, artifacts, poetry, drama, films, music, visual art, paintings, photographs, and drawings, along with all those sources that are classified as primary data sources.

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