Question

Define primary and secondary data.

Answer 1

Hint:
Try to work based on categorizing the two kinds of data that are primary and secondary. Primary data is also considered as raw data or first-hand information whereas secondary as the second-hand data. Use this information to define these two separately.

Complete step by step solution:
Here in this problem, we need to define the two basic kinds of data that are there in the field of statistics, i.e. primary data and secondary data.
In the analysis of statistics, the process of collecting information plays a crucial role. After the completion of the process of collecting data, the data can be classified into two major parts, primary data and secondary part. This classification is done based on whether the data collected is first-hand or second-hand, whether the collected is collected for the first time or not.
The primary data is the data collected for the first time by the personal experience or through evidence, for the analysis. It can also be described as raw data or first-hand information. The secondary data is the second-data that is already collected by person or organization for their own purpose and not for the current problem.
When the originality is considered, the primary data is original data because these are collected by the investigator for the first time. And the secondary data are not original because these are collected by someone else for their purpose. The primary data is present in form of raw material as they were never processed before but the secondary data are in ready and finished form.
The method of collecting data is through observations, physical testing, surveys, case studies etc. Whereas the secondary data can be accessed through sources like books, journals, government publications, census, websites, reports etc.

Note:
The most important characteristics of primary data are, it is original and first-hand, whereas, secondary data is the interpretation and analysis of the primary data. And this makes the collection of primary data more costly than the secondary data. Do not confuse if the investigator is the same and the investigation is different. Only the data collected for the first time for any analysis will be called primary data.