Primary and Secondary Data Flashcards
1
Q
Primary Data
A
- Data collected by the researcher themselves
2
Q
Advantages of Primary Data
A
+ Researcher can ensure that all data collected is relevant to the research aims.
+ Designed their own method of collecting data so is aware of any potential issues in terms of the validity of the data.
3
Q
Disadvantages of Primary Data
A
- More time consuming and expensive for a researcher to gather their own data.
- Sample used is likely to be a lot smaller so the results might not be as representative than if secondary data had been used.
4
Q
Secondary Data
A
- Data which has been collected by someone else
> e.g. if studying gender differences in educational attainment we might use official government statistics in the form of exam results to analyse
5
Q
Advantages of Secondary Data
A
- Quicker and cheaper to use secondary data as it already exists.
- More representative sample than they would be able to get on their own
6
Q
Disadvantages of Secondary Data
A
- Data has not been collected with the researcher’s aims in mind
- The researcher wasn’t present at the time of data collection and so won’t be aware of any issues with validity.
7
Q
Meta- Analysis
A
- Type of secondary data analysis which involves looking at several studies with the same aim.
- General conclusions are then drawn
> eg. Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s study into cross cultural differences in attachment.
8
Q
Advantages of Meta- Analysis
A
+ More generalisable data as a number of studies with a number of participants are taken into account,
+ Conclusions may be more trustworthy (number of researchers working separately have found similar results)
9
Q
Disadvantages of Meta- Analysis
A
- Prone to ‘publication bias’.
> Researchers don’t find support for their hypothesis this research is often not published (‘positive findings’) - The research designs of the studies might vary so much that it is not appropriate or possible to compare