Q. What's the difference between primary and secondary sources?

Primary & Secondary Sources

Primary information sources are original documents. Primary sources have not been edited or reinterpreted. Examples include:

• journal articles (original research)
• conference papers
• theses and dissertations
• government publications
• clinical trials
• legislation, case law, and standards
• original artworks

Secondary information sources are materials that analyse, interpret, or comment on primary sources. Examples include:

• journal articles (e.g. literature reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses)
• textbooks
• dictionaries
• encyclopedias
• documentaries
• biographies

Primary & Secondary Data

Research publications can also draw on primary and secondary research data.

Primary data is qualitative or quantitative data that is collected specifically to address the research question or problem that is being examined by the researcher. Examples include:

• interviews
• focus groups
• clinical trials
• experiments
• observations

Secondary data is information or data that has already been collected for another reason and that may be able to address a new research question or problem. Using data that has already been collected for another purpose can save you time in your own research. You may still need to conduct your own research and collect your own data if the secondary data does not completely answer your research question. Examples include:

• data from government reports and statistics
• data from industry reports
• data from internal business operations
• data from published academic studies

Further Reading

Polonsky, M. J., & Waller, D. S. (2019). Designing and managing a research project: A business student’s guide (4th ed.). SAGE Publications. https://go.openathens.net/redirector/torrens.edu.au?url=https://methods.sagepub.com/book/designing-and-managing-a-research-project-4e

See Chapter 8: Data Gathering (pp. 166-194)