UGC NET COMMERCE June 2019 Q47
- Option : D
- Explanation : Secondary data is a published data by some other agency. If the investigator uses already collected and published data (or unpublished) it is secondary data for him.
Meaning: As the name ‘Secondary Data’ indicates, it is used for a second time but not first time. It implies a collected, used and published data. It is defined by W.A. Neiswanger as “A secondary source is a publication reporting data which has been gathered by other authorities and for which others are responsible”. Usually data once collected is made available through internal records, reports, personal records etc.
Sources of secondary data can be broadly classified into two: Published sources and Unpublished sources.
1. Government Publications: Various Ministries and Departments of the Government publish data regularly on number of subjects such as national income, exports, foreign exchange reserves, industrial production etc. Some of these are annual others are monthly statistics and some are weekly. Ex. Important publications of the Government of India are Statistical Abstract of India (Annual) Agricultural Statistics etc.
2. Publications by International Organisations: International organisations such as United Nations Organization, World Bank, IMF, WTO, WHO etc. collect and publish reliable data on various topics regularly, which is a greatest source of secondary data.
3. Reports of Committees and Commissions: Special committees are appointed internationally and nationally by the governments or organizations to conduct special studies. Such committees submit detailed reports which contain valuable data and rich information. Ex. Basele’s Committee Report on financial sector reforms, Finance Commission Report etc.
4. Trading, Banking and Non-Trade Organisations: In India LIC, ECGC, RBI, SEBI etc., publish monthly and annual reports along with relevant data, which are reliable and useful for any purpose of statistical studies.
5. Data Published by Chambers of Commerce and Associations: Chambers of Commerce, Trade Associations, Bankers Associations, Export Promotion Councils etc. collect data and publish regularly.
6. Journals and News Papers: News agencies, newspapers, journals etc. also publish annual and monthly reports with supportive data. The Hindu paper publishes annual reports on various topics. Prominent among them are survey of industries, agriculture etc. Economic and Political Weekly publishes monthly and annual reports regularly.
7. Universities, Research Organizations and other Institutions: Universities such as Oxford, Andhra, Osmania, Central University, JNU etc. are great source of data collected by research scholars on various topics. Research and training institutions such as Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Indian Institute of Packaging also publish research data regularly.
8. Others: Market surveys, project reports, research papers published by authors, surveys conducted by individuals and institutions are great source of secondary data.
9. Internet: Internet became the largest single supplier of the latest information and data on different subjects through web sites.
10. Books: Ancient works stored in libraries are great source of information. Even today there are researchers who refer to ancient scriptures for some information.
11. Institutions: Every institution big or small, trade or non-trade, maintains internal records where data is recorded regularly. This is a good source of secondary data.
