What are the Precautions to be taken before using Secondary Data-

Meaning of Secondary Data

Secondary data refers to data which is gathered by a secondary party, other than the user himself. Common sources of secondary data for social science include statements, data collected by government agencies, organizational documents and data that was basically collected for other research objectives. However, Primary data, by difference, is gathered by the investigator conducting the research.

Precautions to be taken while using Secondary Data

The investigator must take precautions before using secondary data. In this juncture, the following precautions should be taken into consideration:

  1. Suitable Purpose of Investigation
  2. Inadequate Data
  3. Definition of Units:
  4. Degree of Accuracy
  5. Time and Condition of Collection of Facts:
  6. Homogeneous Conditions
  7. Comparison
Important Topics in Economics:

What are the Precautions before using Secondary Data

Following are the main precautions to be taken before using secondary data:
(1) Reliable agency
  • We must ensure the agency that has published the data should be reliable.
(2) Suitability for the purpose of an enquiry
  • The Investigator must ensure that the data are suitable for the purpose of the present enquiry.
  • The suitability of the data is determined by investigating the nature, objectives, time of collection, etc. of the secondary data.
(3) Adequacy and accuracy to avoid the impact of bias
  • It is necessary to use adequate data to avoid biases and prejudices leading to incorrect conclusions.
(4) Method of collecting data used
  • The investigator should also ascertain as to what method was used in collecting the data.
  • Sampling method may be biased depending upon the mode of selection of samples.
  • All these should be ascertained before making use of the secondary data.
Q.1 Which of the following are the precautions to be taken before using secondary data?
a. Data must be from Reliable Agency

b. Data must be suitable for the purpose of Enquiry

c. Data must be adequated

d. All of the above

Q.2 __________ method of collecting data may be biased depending upon the mode of selection of samples.
a. Census

b. Sampling

c. Both (a) and (b)

d. None of the above

Q.3 __________ must be ensured to reduce the impact of business which may lead to incorrect conclusions.
a. Adequacy of data

b. Accuracy of data

c. Both (a) and (b)

d. None of the above

Answers
1-d, 2-b, 3-c

The above-mentioned concept is for CBSE Class 11 Statistics for Economics – Precautions to be taken while using Secondary Data. For solutions and Class 11 Statistics for Economics syllabus, visit CoolGyan’S or download the app for the best learning experience.