Primary vs Secondary Research Methods: 15 Key Differences

Research is an important piece of writing that students usually have to do a lot in their academic careers, especially while pursuing higher education. Research writing requires the writer to select a certain topic, collect relevant data to present arguments on that topic, and analyze the collected data according to their thesis and the under-discussion problem.

Research is a completely different domain compared to an essay. Where an essay requires the essay writer write my essay to discuss a particular topic and present arguments and pieces of evidence to make the content more authentic, a research paper also demands similar things but on a larger scale. A research paper is much lengthier and detailed than an essay. It requires you to properly introduce the subject, discuss the literature you read regarding it, explain methods used in conducting the research, and demonstrate the findings and results you obtained in the research.

When you carry out research, you can either collect all the data yourself directly – known as the primary research – or refer to other sources and use the data already acquired and used in other pieces of research – known as secondary research. The main aspect that distinguishes both types of research includes the participation of the researchers themselves in gathering the data. This article will highlight some of the key differences that exist between primary and secondary types of research methods, which can surely help you decide what technique you will want to implement in your upcoming research assignment.

If you are assigned research, the first thing that comes to your mind will be how to collect the data and information when I write essay for me . The answer is that you need to decide what kind of data collection process you require. Are you going to collect the data based on your own evaluations, or are you going to use the already collected information? The two types of methods that describe these data collection ways are known as primary and secondary research.

Primary research, as defined earlier, is the method of collecting data that requires the researcher to directly participate in the process of data collection. When conducting primary research, the researcher does not use any existing information, but they collect raw data by conducting experiments and investigation themselves. The data collected in primary research belongs to the researcher, and he or she receives total ownership of it. Primary research is difficult to conduct. You need to utilize various complex and arduous methods to collect the data and analyze it. Usually, researchers approach qualified teams and personnel to help them conduct research using appropriate amenities. To conduct primary research, different methods can be used. These include open and close-ended surveys, polls, checklists, observations, focus groups, and interviews. When gathering primary data, the researcher needs to directly contact the subjects. For instance, if you are using surveys, you will hand them out to your target audience to fill them. Primary research is advantageous as it provides the researchers with complete ownership of the data, and unlike secondary research, the data being used is unique and authentic.

Secondary research involves the collection of already existing data. This type of method does not require the researcher to be directly involved in the collection of data. In simple words, using already collected data from other sources and utilizing them in your research. This data can be taken from census, organizations, institutes, libraries, and the internet. The researchers do not have any ownership over the secondary data and they need to properly reference the original source in their research. In secondary research, you need to gather data from different sources. These sources will either be free or require you to pay a cost to access them. Secondary research is also referred to as desk research because this type of research method does not require you to go to a certain place in order to gather data. You can easily acquire secondary data by making a few calls, conducting an online search contacting relevant organizations. The advantage of secondary research is that it is comparatively less time-consuming and expensive than primary research. Secondary research can also provide researchers with the opportunity to compare the results from their primary research to the secondary data. Therefore secondary data is also important while conducting research.

For example, if you are researching the effects of social media on children, then the data you collect by asking children and parents to fill surveys and conducting interviews will be considered as your primary data. However, in this case, you can use the data from years back from another credible source that tells how different children and their activities were before social media was introduced. The data that you will gather from other sources will be secondary data.

To sum it up, there are two significant methods of research that you can conduct in order to collect the data that is to be utilized in your research. You can include either one of primary or secondary data or even use both of them to strengthen your research. Writing a research paper is surely not easy. You need to plan various things like the discussed research methods before you start writing the paper. If you believe you are still confused about how to write a good and effective paper, you can always consult a paper writing service write my essay for me that will not only guide you regarding writing a good research paper but will also help you gather authentic data and compose a paper for you themselves.

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