Primary data
Topic: Economic Data: Census, NSS, Surveys and Statistical Tools · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "Collection of Data"; Class 11, Ch 8 "Use of Statistical Tools"
Meaning
Primary data are collected first-hand by the researcher through their own enquiry, such as a survey or interview. They fit the exact purpose of the study, but collecting them is costly and slow. Data are primary only for the agency that first collects them. For every later user, the same data are secondary.
Example
NSS unit-level data are primary data for the NSO, because the NSO collected them. A school project in which students interview 100 households about toothpaste spending also produces primary data.
Don't confuse with
- Secondary data: these are data already collected and processed by someone else, such as a government report, and then reused. They save time and cost.
Related concepts
- Secondary data
- Survey
- Variable
- Observation
- Questionnaire
- Enumerator
- Informant
- Closed-ended question
- Open-ended question
- Leading question