Primary and Secondary Data
Experiments and other research methods involve gathering primary data, but psychology researchers also make use of secondary data (i.e. data taken from existing sources).
Primary data
- Methods such as observation, experiments and self-report are all ways of gathering primary data. This means that the researcher is obtaining data that did not previously exist.
Secondary data
- Some researchers also gather secondary data - data obtained from existing sources.
- For example, they may analyse government statistics, school exam results, and other public sets of data.
- Another form of secondary data is the use of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
Systematic reviews
- A systematic review is where a psychologist reviews studies that have already been done, drawing conclusions on the basis of multiple studies and identifying gaps in the research literature.
Meta-analysis
- A meta-analysis is where the researcher calculates an overall finding on the basis of multiple previous studies.
- This is usually a more reliable result than the finding of a single study.