Which of the following is an example of primary data?

• A. Questionaries
• B. Information from the internet
• C. Published statistics
• D. Data from a system

Answer: (A)

Primary data are collected firsthand for a specific study. A questionnaire involves asking people directly and gathering their fresh responses for the research purpose, so it is primary data. This gives you information that is current and tailored to your questions, though it requires time and effort to design and administer.

Information from the internet and published statistics are produced for other purposes and are used as secondary data. Data from a system typically exist already for day-to-day operations and are generally treated as secondary data unless you’re collecting new data from the system specifically to address your study.