18 Secondary data collection: Unpublished source – II

S. Gandhimathi

Introduction

The data (Published or unpublished), which have been collected and processed by some agency or person and are used by other agency or person for their statistical purpose is called secondary data. For example, population data collected and published by Registrar General of India, in the form of Censuses, will be secondary data for any agency or person, who utilizes it for their statistical purposes. According to M.M.Blair, “Secondary data are those already in existence and which have been collected for some other purpose than answering of the question at hand”.

1. Primary data are original and like raw materials for statistical inquiry, whereas secondary data are like finished / constructed goods, because they have been processed and analysed earlier also.
2. Primary data are collected by some agency or person by using the method of data collection, whereas secondary data are already collected and processed by some person / agency and is ready for use.
3. The collection of primary data requires a considerable amount of money, time and personals as whole plan of investigation is initiated, whereas secondary data are less time consuming and cheaper as they are taken from published / unpublished material.
4. Primary data fulfil the requirements of statistical investigations objectives whereas secondary data are not always according to the objectives of the users. That is the reason that they are used after a deep scrutiny, filtration and alterations. In otherwords, it has to be critically examined.

In fact, the difference between primary and secondary data is only quantity, ie., a matter of degree or relativity, not that of nature. The same set of data may be secondary in the hands of one and primary in the hands of others. In general, the data are primary to the sources who collects and processes them for the first time and are secondary for all other sources who later use such data.

Method of Collection of Secondary Data

The secondary data can either be collected from published materials like, census, survey reports, abstracts, etc., or from unpublished materials like dissertations, official records, memorandums etc.

Sources of Published Statistics:

There are many organisations, viz., government, non-government, autonomous, etc. (both at national and international level) which collect and publish statistics in journals, periodicals, abstracts, directives, etc. relating to business, trade, finance, labour markets, exchange positions, share prices, health, population etc. regularly. It is the source of knowledge, which serves as a powerful aid to investigators / researchers interested in analyzing and interpreting the scenario both at national and incarnation levels. The chief sources of published statistics are:

1. Central Government Publications

a) Various ministries and departments of Central Government publish regularly statistics on a number of subjects of current interest – prices, wages, production etc.

Some of worth mentioning publications of different ministries like Commerce, Defence, Labour Planning, Agriculture and Irrigations are: Monthly Abstract of statistics, monthly statistics of production of selected Industries in India is Agricultural Statistics of India; Annual Survey of Industries; Abstract of Agricultural Statistics; Indian Trade Journals, Indian Labour Statistics, etc.

b) Reports of Committees and Commissions: Government of India and State Governments, generally appoint certain commissions related to some special field. The findings of these commissions are published in the form of reports which contain valuable statistical informations. For example, the reports of National Labour Commissions, Reports of various Wage Committees for different industries, Reports of Mandal Commission on Backward Classes; National Agricultural Commissions etc. are the store house of data.

c) Census data for India and states; Vital Statistics of India; Population Bulletin; etc., are few important publications in the field of population of data, published by R.G. of India.

Besides, these, a number of departments in the State and Central Governments like Income Tax Departments, Directorate of Food and Civil Supplies, Railways, Post Offices, Excise Departments, etc., also publish Statistical Reports on current problems and information supplied by them is, in general, more authentive and reliable than that obtained from other sources on the same subject.

2. Semi-Government Publications: Like Central Government, Semi-Government, Statistical Organizations like, RBI., The Institute of Economic Growth, Directorate of Economics and Statistics of States, etc., also publish Statistics in their publications; like RBI Bulletin, Currency and Finance, Bank of India Bulletin, etc., Likewise Municipal and District Board, Corporations, Block and Panchayat Samiti, etc., also publish statistics related to births, deaths, health, sanitation, etc., which are fairely reliable and authentic.

3. University and Research Institute’s Publications: There are several universities, departments and institutes which are actively engaged in researches. The finding of these researches are regularly published in magazines, journals and periodicals. They are quite reliable and authentic, as they are collected, processed and analysed by the specialists in the field. Some of these institutes are: Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta and New Delhi, National Council of Applied Economics and Research (NCAER), New Delhi, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI), New Delhi, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi, Indian Space Research, Bangalore, etc.

4.Publications of Commercial and Financial Institutions: A number of private commercial and Trade Associations collect and publish statistics related to trade and commerce. In India, Indian Cotton Mill’s Federation, Jute Mill’s Association; Sugar Mill Associations; Paper Manufacturer’s Association; Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI); Institutes of Chartered Accountants of India; Trade Unions; Stock Exchanges; Banks; etc., also collect and publish statistics. In the last few years,there has been enormous growth in the statistical literature issued by private agencies in the country.

5. Periodicals, Journals and Newspapers: Statistics related to varied field of knowledge can be had from periodicals, journals and newspapers, like Economic Times, Financial Express, Commerce, Eastern Economist, Productivity, Manpower Journal, Year Books and many others. The daily, weekly and monthly situations of prices, shares, productions, money supply, foreign exchange situation and many other related subjects can well be studied through the statistics published in these journals.

6. International Organisation’s Publications: The publications of United Nations Organisations (UNO) like statistical year Books, Demographic year book, International

Labour year Book, World Bank Report, I.M.P. Publications, L.L.O’s Publications, ESCAP and IFC Publications are few indispensable statistical sources on International basis. Perhaps, the statistics published in these volume are most exhaustive and highly reliable. Besides these, there are many other international bodies which are actively engaged in publishing statistics on variety of subjects.

7.  Other Sources: Many other sources like market reviews and reports. All India Ratio, etc., are also important source of secondary data.

Unpublished Sources

Statistical data can also be obtained from unpublished materials like, doctoral dissertations of different universities and research institutes; personal records of business houses and government offices; personal researches of individuals and voluntary organisations, etc.

E sources

1.  www.rbi.org.in  Reserve bank of India

2.  https://www.indiastat.com/

3.  mhrd.gov.in/statist

4.  https://data.gov.in/

5.  www.mospi.gov.in/slider/grapth1

6.  https://india.gov.in/data-portal-india

7.  www.secondarydata.com/secdata/intl.asp

8.  planningcommission.nic.in/data/datatable

9.  www.worldbank.org/  — World Bank

10. https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationReportDetails.aspx?ID=796, —Reserve Bank of India Reports and so on

Precautions in the Use of Secondary Data

Statistical data obtained from secondary sources of informations, though are in many ways advantageous, but should not be used without scrutiny of their reliability accuracy, suitability and adequacy. It is essential to use these data in critical manner, as they may be erroneous, inadequate incomplete, inappropriate, unsuitable to the subject of enquiry. Proper care should be taken to edit it so that it is free from inconsistencies, errors and omissions.

The researcher using secondary source of data for this work, must satisfy himself with regard to the following facts:

(a) Reliability of the Data: The reliability of Secondary data can be judged by the integrity and experience, of the agency source of information and method of data collection used.

(b)  Suitability for the Purpose: Data suitable for one purpose may not be useful for other. Hence, one should find out the suitability of the data by investigating the nature; score; objectives; units and terms; homogenerity and time of collectionetc., of the Secondary data.

C. Adequacy: It is necessary to use adequate data to avoid biases Hence, researcher should use secondary data with great care and caution. Following General Steps of precautions may help him in judging the secondary data about its reliability, suitability and adequacy:

The following are the advantages of secondary data

ADVANTAGES OF SECONDARY DATA

1.IT  SAVES TIME

In the internet era, the secondary are available in various websites, it saves time. For example the time series data on Indian economy in the hand book of statistics on Indian economy published by the Reserve Bank of India, Bombay. Similarly in the web site of Reserve Bank of India, the other secondary sources such as the Hand book of statistics on states in which state wise data are available. The economic survey is available in the website. The census report is also available in the website. Hence, it saves time and the researcher need not travel and approaches the respondents as in the primary data collection

2.Easy accessibility The accessibility of secondary data is very easy. Just simple click of websites , we can assess the data.

3.The secondary data saves money. The collection of primary data is very expensive. But the collection of secondary data saves money.

4.Continuous or regular surveys such as government censuses or official registers are especially good for such research purposes. The fact of being performed on a regular or continuous basis allow researchers to evaluate.

5.Reanalyzing data can also lead to unexpected new discoveries. For example, the World Values Survey Association usually publish the so called World Values Survey Books. They are a collection of publications based on data from the World Values Surveys. Since the database used may be accessible for outsider, you can analyze the data and come up with new relevant conclusions or simply verify and confirm previous results.

1.Inappropriateness of the data. Data collected by oneself (primary data) is collected with a concrete idea in mind. Usually to answer a research question or just meet certain objectives. In this sense, secondary data sources may provide you with vast amount of information, but quantity is not synonymous of appropriateness. This is simply because it has been collected to answer a different research question or objectives. The inappropriateness may be, for instance, because of the data was collected many years ago, the information refers to a entire country when one aims to study a specific region, or the opposite, one aims to study an entire country but the information is given in a region wide. There are two possible ways to be taken when SD is not appropriate:

1)answering your research question partially with the subsequent lack of validity;

2) you need to find an alternative technique of data collection, such as survey or interviews.

2.Lack of control over data quality . Government and other official institutions are often a guarantee of quality data, but it is not always the case. The quality of available secondary data depends on the sources of data. If the sources of data are reliable sources, the research outcome may be good. If the data are from unreliable source, the research outcome may not be strong.

3.Non availability of adequate data. For example, we may be in need of data on gross domestic product from the year 1950 -2017. But the data may availed only from the year 1980 -2015. It reveal inadequacy of data.

4.The required data may not be availed in required classification. The data may be availed in one classification and the required classification may be different.

5.If the secondary data is not availed for one particular period of time, the process of research may be withheld.

6.Sometimes the objectives of the study may not be based on the research problem and research gap. But it may be based on the availability of secondary data.

Conclusion

Let us summarize, a proper care and caution in use of secondary data based on above points may help the researcher to have a valid and reliable data. The purpose of the investigation that led to the collection of the data in the first place and the definition of the terms employed should be known in order to ensure the applicability to the problem in hand. In addition, the nature and reputation of the collecting agency should be considered. Needless to say, the investigator must have sufficient confidence in the integrity of his source to use their data without fear of undue bias or misrepresentation.

• Web links   http://businessjargons.com/secondary-data-collection-methods.html
• Reference  books  S.P. Gupta (2006), “Statistical Methods”, Sultan Chand & Sons., New                     Delhi.