Assignment: Sociology Primary Source Data Question

Core assessment assignment requirements: Questions:

1. Describe/explain the difference between primary source data and secondary data analysis.
2. Answer the following questions about the research method: Survey

Describe/explain the research method: Survey. Be sure to describe/explain any important concepts in your explanation.

1. Identify a research study/project/activity mentioned or described in your text that used this research method.

Answer the following questions about the research method: Participant Observation.

Describe/explain the research method: Participant Observation. Be sure to describe/explain any important concepts in your explanation.

1. Identify a research study/project/activity mentioned or described in your text that used this research method.

Answer the following questions about the research method: Experiments

1. Describe/explain the research method: Experiment. Be sure to describe/explain any important concepts in your explanation.
2. Identify a research study/project/activity mentioned or described in your text that used this research method.

What is Primary Data
Primary data is a type of data researchers directly collect from main sources. A researcher produces primary data for the first time with direct efforts and by acquiring experiences. Through this data, he or she attempts to analyze and address his/her research problem. Raw data is another name for primary data. Compared to collecting secondary data, primary data collection is relatively expensive. This is because it demands more resources like manpower and capital investments.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource

Primary vs Secondary Data

The process of primary data collection usually happens under the direct supervision of the researcher. Researchers usually use methods like observations, surveys, questionnaires, physical testing, online questionnaires, personal or telephone interviews, case studies, and focused group discussions on collecting primary data.

What is Secondary Data
Secondary data refers to the second-hand information which is already recorded by other researchers other than the user for different purposes. Secondary data includes readily available sources of data such as books, reports, journal articles, censuses, internal records of the organization, websites, and government publications.

Primary Data and Secondary Data – What is the difference?

Compared to primary data, secondary data is easily accessible. Therefore, it does not waste much time and costs less for the researcher. Since secondary data is gathered for varying purposes, they might not directly address the user’s research problem. Hence, compared to primary data, the usefulness, accuracy and relevancy of the secondary data are questionable.

Similarities Between Primary and Secondary Data
Both primary and secondary data are two methods of data collection highly useful in any field of research.

They are studied by different researchers to address their research problems.
Difference Between Primary and Secondary Data
Definition
Primary data is a type of data researchers directly collect from main sources, while secondary data refers to already existing data produced by the previous researchers.

Time Factor
Primary data includes real-time data, whereas secondary data is related to the past.

Purpose
While primary data is collected to address a current research problem, secondary data was primarily collected to address previously existed research problems and can be used to address the current research problem as well.

Accessibility
Accessing primary data includes a relatively long process while referring to secondary data is quick and easy.

Data Collection Tools
Primary data collection tools include observations, surveys, questionnaires, physical testing, online questionnaires, personal or telephone interviews, case studies, and focused group discussions, while secondary data collection tools include journal articles, websites, books, government publications, records, etc.

Conclusion
The main difference between primary and secondary data is that the primary data is collected by a researcher for the first time while secondary data refers to already existing data produced by previous researchers. In addition, data collected through primary sources are more reliable and accurate than secondary sources. This is because primary data always addresses the researcher’s needs in contrast to the secondary data, which is not specific to the researcher’s need.