Unpublished sources of data
Topic: Geographical Data: Sources, Compilation and Processing · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Data - Its Source and Compilation"
Meaning
Unpublished sources of data are records that have never been formally printed or released, but that a researcher can still use as secondary data (data already collected by someone else). There are three kinds.
- Government documents, such as village revenue (land) records.
- Quasi-government records, such as development plans and reports of municipal corporations and district councils.
- Private documents, such as records of companies, trade unions, political and non-political organisations, and residents' welfare associations.
Example
In an Indian village, the patwari (village land-records official) keeps revenue records showing who owns each plot and how it is used. A student studying landholding in that village can use these records even though they are not published.
Don't confuse with
- Published sources: Census reports, NSS reports and IMD weather reports are printed and released to the public. Patwari records are not.