Weakness and strength of Primary and secondary data

Weakness and strength of Primary and secondary data

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  1 It’s true that,diagnosis is a critical process that involves data collection, interpretation and identification of problem area. The following are the methods of data collection as well as their strength and weakness in diagnosis process. Data can be defined as the quantitative or qualitative values of a variable. Data can be numbers, images, words, figures, facts or ideas. Data in itself cannot be understood and to get information from the data one must interpret it into meaningful information Data Collection is the process of collecting and preparing data for the purpose of obtaining information to keep record and make decisions. In collecting data there are two main methods that are normally used. These methods include primary and secondary data. Primary Data Primary data is the method of data collection where by someone collected the data from original sources. Under Primary data, the methods used to collect data involve experiment, surveys, questionnaire, observations, interview, and sociometric approach. Using Primary data as the method of data collection during the diagnosis process has its own strength and weakness as follows; The strength of using primary data in diagnosis process Targeted Issues are addressed Primary data are collected in regards of specific issues or problems at hand by using procedures that fit the problem best. The organization can much concentrate and address issues specific to its own situation. Primary data reveals problems for which timely remedial measures may be instituted Efficient Spending for Information Primary data collections focus on issues specific to improve the chances that organizations’ funds will be spent efficiently. Primary data collection is designed to collect the information that the organization wants to know and consultants report it in ways that benefit the organization. For example, while information reported with secondary data may not fit the organizations’ needs, no such problem exists with primary data collection since consultants get data from the field. Unbiased information Primary data is more of objectivity rather than subjectivity since it is extracted from the field. There are no personal biases or misleading information. This justifies that it is easy to measure
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  2 validity and reliabilityof the data by using primary data collection methods in the diagnosis process. First-hand information obtained from the field is always valid and trustworthy. Primary data collection is more authentic if the methods chosen to analyze and interpret data are valid and reasonably suitable for the data type. It is very much on participation for responses and reality The use of questionnaire and interviews facilitates full participation of the respondents and it is always easy to understand the respondents’ feelings, attitudes, experiences, opinions and perception toward the matter, problem or particular issues. To ensure valid responses, interview questions must be carefully designed, evaluated and tested. Greater Control Not only does primary data collection enable the consultant to focus on specific issues, it also enables him/her to have a higher level of control over how the information is collected. In this way the consultant can decide about his/her set or size of respondents (e.g., how many responses), detect the problem areas (e.g., department, whole organization) and time frame for completing the data collection process. The collected data can be examined and interpreted by the consultants depending on their needs rather than relying on the interpretation made by collectors of secondary data. Some primary data can, in fact, be used for predictions of alternative solutions. Weakness of using primary data in diagnosis process Time consuming Most of the primary data collection methods take time from preparation throughout obtaining information. Also it requires development and execution of research plan which also takes time. High cost Compared to secondary data, primary data may be very expensive since there is a great deal in preparation, designing and carrying out questionnaire, interviews, survey, observations and experiments. Inaccurate feedback In case the research involves taking feedbacks from the targeted respondents thus, there is high chance that feedback given is not correct and biased. A person may give the feedback just for answering the question. On the other hand, the major disadvantage of primary data is that it has design problems like how to design the surveys. The questions must be simple and understandable. Some respondents do not give timely responses. Sometimes, the respondents may give fake, socially acceptable and sweet answers and try to cover up the realities. In some
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  3 primary data collectionmethods there is no control over the data collection. Incomplete questionnaire always give a negative feedback. It require large amount of resources Leaving aside cost and time, other resources like human resources and materials are needed in larger quantity to do surveys, conducting questionnaire, and experiments. Most of consultants lack these important resources. Secondary data Secondary data is the data that has been already collected by and readily available from other sources. Such data are cheaper and quickly obtainable than primary data. These data may be obtained from many sources, including literature, government Records, E-journals, magazines/newspapers, industry surveys, compilations from computerized databases and information systems. Normally these data are generated from other organization for the purpose that can be used as a reference in identifying problem areas such as performance, production. Secondary data also have weakness and strength as follows; Strength of using secondary data in diagnosis process Time saving It saves time that would otherwise be spent collecting data. Due to the availability of information about consultation from different organizations, consultant may use a very short time to obtain the data required for intervention. Therefore it may lead to better time securing. Low cost to acquire the data The use of secondary data allows consultants to access valuable information for little or no cost to acquire. This information is much less expensive than carrying out primary data collection methods although the cost can vary widely depending on the type of the document and how far one must travel in order to gain access or obtain the data. Easy to access data Secondary data is relatively easy to obtain. Recently information can be available on line [e.g. E˗Journals, Weblogs, and Websites]. Also available in books, government records, journals, magazine and news papers. This offers convenience and general standardize usage methods for all sources of secondary data. May answer the targeted problems or issues The use of secondary data collection method is often used to faster the access to relevant information. When focusing on secondary data, the consultants may realize that the exact information they were looking to uncover is already available through secondary sources. This would effectively eliminate the need and expense to carry out the primary data collection.
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  4 Provide bases forcomparison Secondary data collection provides a wide range to consultants to obtain and compare some new ideas which other organizations used to solve the likely problems and prove to be effective and efficient for the targeted issues. Although, documents vary tremendously in quality, many documents, such as journals, articles, books, papers, written by professional consultants may be more valuable than, for example poor responses from the questionnaire or interviews. Ensures no duplication Secondary data can also ensure that there is no duplication of an investigation already made. It also helps in the formulation of specific questions, assumptions, framework, methods, sampling techniques, implications, and conclusions. Weaknesses of using secondary data in diagnosis process Incomplete information In many cases consultants find information that appears to be valuable and promising. But to obtain the full vision of valuable study of information is difficult. This is due to confidentiality and expensive charge in literature. Data may be outdated or inaccuracy Although one of the advantages of secondary data is that comparison which may be made between the past information and the presence events, but due to drastic changes over time to time in environment and technology, secondary data may have little or no relevance to the current situation and using such outdated data may provide misleading information unless corrections are made. More subjective and bias Sometimes when using secondary data a consultant can obtain information which are not realistic to the current situation where by such data may lack the quality of objectivity. Example personal documents such as articles, autobiographies, journals are often written by famous people or people who have a lot of experience and professionalism such as having been a witness to a specific event. While often providing a unique and valuable secondary data, these documents usually are written for the purpose of making money and normally exaggerated even fabricated to make good stories. They also tend to include those events that make the issue or problem look easier and exclude those events that are very difficult and tough to approach. Not specific to the consultants’ needs and can lack quality In many cases most secondary data are not presented in a form that meets the consultant needs as they lack control over the framing and wording of the data and normally the questions important
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  5 to the studyor problems are not included in the data. Therefore secondary data just provide information which is at least similar to the problem/issue. This is because the data were originally collected for a different purpose and therefore may not be optimal for the targeted problems or issues of the organization. In the case of quality, the information may be questionable based on its validity and reliability [how well can the data meet the quality requirement of the current situation]. Generally, both primary and secondary data are useful in the process of diagnosis, although secondary data is less expensive than primary data; it's not as accurate, or as useful, as specific as primary data. The reliability of secondary data is not always assured. The best thing about using primary data collection methods is the consultant will be presented with original and unbiased data. Unlike the secondary data collection methods, the consultant will directly interact with the source of information and get the data that is original and not analyzed to suit specific problems or issues.
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  6 REFERENCES Wendell L French;Cecil Bell Organization Development Behavioral Science Interventions for Improvement, Englewood Cliffs, N.J, Prentice-Hall. Bradford, D.L & Burke, W.W. eds, [2005]. Organization Development, San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Cummings, Thomas G,; Worley, Christopher G, Organization Development & Change, Thomson South Western. Http: II: www.slideshare.net/hezc/3210/primary- secondary data.