Group Seven

Members.

1.GROUP SEVEN

1.ROBERT MUNENE BE100/G/17660/22

2.PAULINE WAMBUI BE100/G/12604/21

3.MWIKYA MUTUA BE100/G/12688/21

4.IBRAHIM SALIM BE100/G/12570/21

5.EPHANTUS MUINDI BE100/G/12663/21

6.JOSPHINE KARUANA BE100/G/12603/21

7.SIMON WANYOIKE BE100/G/12581/21

8.HELLEN NJERI

9.DENNIS MUTINDA BE100/G/12648/21

10.MICHAEL NGUGI BE100/G/12768/21

11.JAMES MAKAU

12.SAUSTIN MBAMBI BE100/G/12789/21

13.GERALD WAHOME

14.SAMUEL MULUKA

15.AGNES NDEGWA BE100/G/8720/20

Q. Expound on the following types and sources of data in research: -

Primary data
Secondary data

Data is a set of values of subjects with respect to qualitative or quantitative variables. It is raw,
unorganized facts that need to be processed. Data can be something simple and seemingly random and
useless until it is organized. When data is processed, organized, structured or presented in a given
context so as to make it useful, it is called information. Information is necessary for research activities
and the choice of type of data depends on the facilities available, the extent of accuracy required in
analysis, the expertise of the investigator, the time span of the study and the amount of money and
other resources required for data collection.

Data may be classified as

i) Primary
ii) Secondary

depending on it's source.

Primary Data
* This is dats which is collected afresh and for the first time,
•It is original in character,
•collected specially for a research purpose ,
•may be shared publicly to be used for other research,

• often reliable, authentic, and objective

Secondary Data

*This is data already collected by someone else and which have already been passed through some
statistical process.It is usually once primary data but become secondary when used by someone else.It is
sually easily accessible to researchers and individuals because they are mostly shared publicly.The data
is usually general and not tailored specifically to meet the researcher's needs .

Some common sources of secondary data include trade publications, government statistics, journals,etc

SOURCES OF PRIMARY DATA

*It is collected during the course of doing experiments in an experimental research and performing
surveys during descriptive research .It can be obtained either through observation or through direct
communication with respondents in one form or another.

Thus, the several methods of collecting primary data are:

(i) Observation method

(ii)Interview method

(iii) Questionnaires.

Observation Method of data collection

The investigator just observes and records the behavior as it occurs of an event which he is interested
in.Sometimes mechanical devices can also be used to record the desired data such. This type of method
of data collection is best suited for researches which require non-self report descriptive data.This
method is most appropriate when respondent’s behavior is to be understood without asking them so as
to record their true behavior in the given setting.
The main advantages of this method are:
▪Elimination of subjective bias, if accuracy in observation is maintained.

▪The information obtained relates to current happenings.

▪It is not affected by either the past behavior or future intentions.
▪This method is independent of respondents’ willingness to respond
Limitations
▪An expensive method.

▪Information provided by this method is very limited.

▪ Sometimes unforeseen factors may interfere with the observational task.
▪Some people are rarely accessible to direct observation.

Interview Method
Interviews can be conducted either face to face (Personal Interview) or over telephone (Telephonic
Interviews).
Personal interviews

Requires a person known as the interviewer asking questions generally in a face-to-face contact to the
other person or persons (interviewee).Usually the interviewer initiates the interview and asks questions
and collects the information from the respondent(interviewee).
This method is particularly suitable for intensive investigations.

Personal interviews are expensive and time consuming if there is a big sample.

* Interviewers’ biases also come in the way

Telephonic Interview

It helps establish contact with the respondent spread over distinctly separated geographic
locations.Telephonic interviews canobtain responses quickly . This method is effective only when the
interviewer has specific questions to ask. Interviewer in this case cannot observe the nonverbal
responses of the respondent.Also the respondent if not interested can terminate the interview without
informing or explanationTelephonic interview is more flexible in comparison to mailing method.Recall is
easy; callbacks are simple and economical. The level of non-response is generally very low.Replies can
be recorded without causing embarrassment to respondents.No field researchers required.

Limitations of Telephonic Interviews

°Surveys are restricted to respondents who have telephone facilities.

°Extensive geographical coverage may get restricted by cost considerations.

°Suitable for intensive surveys where comprehensive answers are required to various questions.

°Possibility of the bias of the interviewer is relatively more.

°Questions have to be short and to the point;

°Probes are difficult to handle

Questionnaire Method
Questionnaire is as an instrument for research, which consists of a list of questions, along with the
choice of answers, printed or typed in a sequence on a form used for acquiring specific information from
the respondents. The questionnaire is distributed or mailed to respondents who are expected to reply
by writing down their opinion or marking the correct option. The respondents have to answer the
questions on their own. The method of collecting data by mailing the questionnaires to respondents is
largely used in various economic and business surveys.

Advantages

●There is low cost even when the universe is large and is spread geographically.
●It is free from the bias of the interviewer.
●Answers are in respondents’ own words.
● Respondents have adequate time to give well thought out answers.
●Large samples can be made use of .
● The results can be made more dependable and reliable.

Disadvantages of Questionnaires
● Low rate of return of the duly filled in questionnaire,
●No-response cannot be anticipated,
● It can be used only when respondents are educated,
● The control over questionnaire is lost once it is sent,
●There is inbuilt inflexibility as the questions or even their order cannot be changed,
●This method is likely to be the slowest of all.

Advantages of Primary Data

▪It is specific to the needs of the researcher at the moment of data collection.
▪Researcher is able to control the kind of data that is being collected.
▪The data is not subjected to personal bias.

▪The researcher has ownership of this type of data. He or she may choose to make it available publicly,
patent it, or even sell it.

▪It is collected in real-time and not collected from old sources.

Limitations of Primary Data
▪It is expensive compared to secondary data.
▪It is time-consuming.

▪It may not be feasible to collect primary data in some cases due to its complexity and required
commitment.

SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data it refers to those data which have been collected earlier for some purpose other than
the analysis currently being undertaken .
Sources of such data are as follows:

• Government Publications

•The national accounts statistics published by Statistical Organisation such as Kenya Bereau of statistics.
•Wholesale price index published by the office of the Economic Advisor Ministry of Commerce and
Industry.
• Consumer Price Index.
•Central Bank
• Economic survey

•Publications of various industrial and trade associations.

• Various Chambers of Commerce.

•Nairobi Stock Exchange which publishes a directory containing financial account key profitability and
other relevant data.
•The data generated within an organization in the process of routine business activities are referred to ;
Financial accounts, production, quality control and sales records are examples of such data sources.

Advantages of Secondary Data

It is easily accessible compared to primary data.

It is available on different platforms that can be accessed by the researcher.

It is very affordable as it requires little or no cost to acquire them.

The time spent on collecting secondary data is far less compared to that of primary data.
It helps to generate new insights into existing primary data.
Limitations of Secondary Data
Secondary data may not be authentic and reliable. A researcher may need to further verify the data
collected from theavailable sources.

Researchers may have to deal with irrelevant data before finally finding the required data.
Some of the data is exaggerated due to the personal bias of the data source.

Secondary data sources are sometimes outdated with no new data to replace the old ones.

References

1. Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches.
Sage Publications.

2. Neuman, W. L. (2014). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Pearson.

3. Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2020). Business research methods (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.