[Year 12 Its] Primary vs Secondary Data Sources

[Kevork Krozian]

Hi again,

    Let's take the example of the sample SAC as used in the VITTA CD -- Happy Homes Security systems. 
A company sells and installs alarms . They have problems with orders ( lost, misplaced ), delays with installations and excessive costs associated with storage of stock ordered but not used for months.

 Many texts make the distinction between primary and secondary as not the amount of "interpretation" or "reworking" of the data as the criterion for it transforming to secondary data, but the level of separation from the Information System in question. Eg. Building Information Systems Fitzpatrcik et al p 107 -- " .. primary data directly from the people and documents associated with the information system and its problems. Secondary data is collected from people and documents one step removed and not directly linked to the information system and its problems".

  Therefore, revisiting the question and answer ( Question 2 ) :

Question 2:  What other information would you collect and how and who would you collect this information from? Also identify which of these are primary or secondary sources of data. 

Answer: Primary sources of data would include the collection of the forms presently used to write quotes, any output produced by the system for example the 'order' printout produced by the 'jobs' database and screen dumps of input screens. 

Interviews of the customer service staff who process the quotes and the salesmen, would provide additional sources of primary data. Secondary sources of information would include the customer satisfaction surveys and customer complaints log. Observation and performance of the processes would provide another source of primary data and help to get a more defined view of the present system and its problems.

            < end of answer>

So what is primary data here ?  customer satisfaction surveys and customer complaints logs because they are still directly connected to the system in question with or without interpretation attached to it by a customer as they are "primary" witnesses to how the system is working.  The "official" answer placed these at secondary which was really the only thrust or issue in my original email.

What about secondary data in this context ? Perhaps a survey of use, satisfaction, uptake, growth or decline of home security systems as conducted in an across the board survey ( outside of Happy homes Security Systems )  in a city region, or state or country , as found in a newspaper or industry magazine or web site. No reinterpretation or processing here . You can have raw data and still consider it secondary as it is removed from the information system under review.

  So the amount of processing I would have thought is not a sufficient ( or even necessary ? )  criterion to transform data from primary to secondary rather the degree of separation from the system under discussion. Obviously adding a heavy bias even from people directly involved in the system may dilute the level of "primary" value the data has but it would be the job of the data collector to prevent this coming through.

  Now that we are all semi confused let's see what you would answer to Q2 of the IT Systems 2004 exam as follows:  

    Question 2
   Identify each of the following data sources as primary or secondary.
    i. The technical documentation of a software program
    ii. The error log of an information system

 The examiner's report is due in a few weeks I believe !

Best Wishes
Kevork



Kevork Krozian
IT Manager , Forest Hill College
Mailing List(s) Creator and Administrator
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k.krozian at edulists.com.au
Mobile: 0419 356 034

>>> timmer at melbpc.org.au 05/13/05 05:57pm >>>
I agree Charmaine, it depends on whether the data has been interpreted or
re-worked

hence I would qualify this statement somewhat (as per BJ Winzer)

> Computer output - wouldn't that be secondary data?  It's been
> processed, either automatically or manually.  I'm thinking that
> primary = "raw" data, so if it undergoes any process then it's not raw
> any more.

If the computer output is only what was input (input > store > retrieve >
output) then it is still primary data. Going through a computer does not
automatically qualify data as 'secondary' - it depends on what happens to it
on the way through!

Regards
Robert T-A

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