Sources of Data

Sources of Data can be classified into 2 types. Statistical sources refer to data that are gathered for
some official purposes and incorporate censuses and officially administered surveys. Non-statistical
sources refer to the collection of data for other administrative purposes or for the private sector.

What are the different sources of data?

Following are the two sources of data:
1. Internal Source

 When data are collected from reports and records of the organization itself, it is known as the
internal source.
 For example, a company publishes its ‘Annual Report’ on Profit and Loss, Total Sales,
Loans, Wages etc.
2. External Source

 When data are collected from outside the organization, it is known as the external source.
 For example, if a Tour and Travels Company obtains information on ‘KarnatakaTourism’ from
Karnataka Transport Corporation, it would be known as external sources of data.

Types of Data
A) Primary Data

 Primary data means ‘First-hand information’ collected by an investigator.

 It is collected for the first time.
 It is original and more reliable.
 For example Population census conducted by the government of India after every 10 years.
B) Secondary Data

 Secondary data refers to ‘Second-hand information’.

 These are not originally collected rather obtained from already published or unpublished
sources.
 For example the Address of a person taken from the Telephone Directory or Phone number
of a company taken from ‘Just Dial’.
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In statistics, the term measurement is used more broadly and is more appropriately termed scales of
measurement. Scales of measurement refer to ways in which variables/numbers are defined and
categorized. Each scale of measurement has certain properties which in turn determines the
appropriateness for use of certain statistical analyses. The four scales of measurement are nominal,
ordinal, interval, and ratio.

 Nominal: Categorical data and numbers that are simply used as identifiers or names represent a
nominal scale of measurement. Numbers on the back of a baseball jersey (St. Louis Cardinals 1 =
Ozzie Smith) and your social security number are examples of nominal data. If I conduct a study
and I'm including gender as a variable, I will code Female as 1 and Male as 2 or visa versa when I
enter my data into the computer. Thus, I am using the numbers 1 and 2 to represent categories
of data.
 Ordinal: An ordinal scale of measurement represents an ordered series of relationships or rank
order. Individuals competing in a contest may be fortunate to achieve first, second, or third
place. First, second, and third place represent ordinal data. If Roscoe takes first and Wilbur takes
second, we do not know if the competition was close; we only know that Roscoe outperformed
Wilbur. Likert-type scales (such as "On a scale of 1 to 10 with one being no pain and ten being
high pain, how much pain are you in today?") also represent ordinal data. Fundamentally, these
scales do not represent a measurable quantity. An individual may respond 8 to this question and
be in less pain than someone else who responded 5. A person may not be in half as much pain if
they responded 4 than if they responded 8. All we know from this data is that an individual who
responds 6 is in less pain than if they responded 8 and in more pain than if they responded 4.
Therefore, Likert-type scales only represent a rank ordering.
 Interval: A scale which represents quantity and has equal units but for which zero represents
simply an additional point of measurement is an interval scale. The Fahrenheit scale is a clear
example of the interval scale of measurement. Thus, 60 degree Fahrenheit or -10 degrees
Fahrenheit are interval data. Measurement of Sea Level is another example of an interval scale.
With each of these scales there is direct, measurable quantity with equality of units. In addition,
zero does not represent the absolute lowest value. Rather, it is point on the scale with numbers
both above and below it (for example, -10 degrees Fahrenheit).
 Ratio: The ratio scale of measurement is similar to the interval scale in that it also represents
quantity and has equality of units. However, this scale also has an absolute zero (no numbers
exist below the zero). Very often, physical measures will represent ratio data (for example,
height and weight). If one is measuring the length of a piece of wood in centimeters, there is
quantity, equal units, and that measure can not go below zero centimeters. A negative length is
not possible.
 Probability Sampling Methods
 1. Simple random sampling
 In this case each individual is chosen entirely by chance and each member of the
population has an equal chance, or probability, of being selected. One way of
obtaining a random sample is to give each individual in a population a number, and
then use a table of random numbers to decide which individuals to include.1 For
example, if you have a sampling frame of 1000 individuals, labelled 0 to 999, use
groups of three digits from the random number table to pick your sample. So, if the
first three numbers from the random number table were 094, select the individual
labelled “94”, and so on.
 As with all probability sampling methods, simple random sampling allows the
sampling error to be calculated and reduces selection bias. A specific advantage is
that it is the most straightforward method of probability sampling. A disadvantage of
simple random sampling is that you may not select enough individuals with your
characteristic of interest, especially if that characteristic is uncommon. It may also
be difficult to define a complete sampling frame and inconvenient to contact them,
especially if different forms of contact are required (email, phone, post) and your
sample units are scattered over a wide geographical area.
 
 2. Systematic sampling
 Individuals are selected at regular intervals from the sampling frame. The intervals
are chosen to ensure an adequate sample size. If you need a sample size n from a
population of size x, you should select every x/nth individual for the sample.  For
example, if you wanted a sample size of 100 from a population of 1000, select every
1000/100 = 10th member of the sampling frame.
 Systematic sampling is often more convenient than simple random sampling, and it
is easy to administer. However, it may also lead to bias, for example if there are
underlying patterns in the order of the individuals in the sampling frame, such that
the sampling technique coincides with the periodicity of the underlying pattern. As a
hypothetical example, if a group of students were being sampled to gain their
opinions on college facilities, but the Student Record Department’s central list of all
students was arranged such that the sex of students alternated between male and
female, choosing an even interval (e.g. every 20th student) would result in a sample
of all males or all females. Whilst in this example the bias is obvious and should be
easily corrected, this may not always be the case.
 
 3. Stratified sampling
 In this method, the population is first divided into subgroups (or strata) who all
share a similar characteristic. It is used when we might reasonably expect the
measurement of interest to vary between the different subgroups, and we want to
ensure representation from all the subgroups. For example, in a study of stroke
outcomes, we may stratify the population by sex, to ensure equal representation of
men and women. The study sample is then obtained by taking equal sample sizes
from each stratum. In stratified sampling, it may also be appropriate to choose non-
equal sample sizes from each stratum. For example, in a study of the health
outcomes of nursing staff in a county, if there are three hospitals each with different
numbers of nursing staff (hospital A has 500 nurses, hospital B has 1000 and
hospital C has 2000), then it would be appropriate to choose the sample numbers
from each hospital proportionally (e.g. 10 from hospital A, 20 from hospital B and 40
from hospital C). This ensures a more realistic and accurate estimation of the health
outcomes of nurses across the county, whereas simple random sampling would over-
represent nurses from hospitals A and B. The fact that the sample was stratified
should be taken into account at the analysis stage.
 Stratified sampling improves the accuracy and representativeness of the results by
reducing sampling bias. However, it requires knowledge of the appropriate
characteristics of the sampling frame (the details of which are not always available),
and it can be difficult to decide which characteristic(s) to stratify by.
 
 4. Clustered sampling
 In a clustered sample, subgroups of the population are used as the sampling unit,
rather than individuals. The population is divided into subgroups, known as clusters,
which are randomly selected to be included in the study. Clusters are usually already
defined, for example individual GP practices or towns could be identified as clusters.
 In single-stage cluster sampling, all members of the chosen clusters are then
included in the study. In two-stage cluster sampling, a selection of individuals from
each cluster is then randomly selected for inclusion. Clustering should be taken into
account in the analysis. The General Household survey, which is undertaken annually
in England, is a good example of a (one-stage) cluster sample. All members of the
selected households (clusters) are included in the survey.1
 Cluster sampling can be more efficient that simple random sampling, especially
where a study takes place over a wide geographical region. For instance, it is easier
to contact lots of individuals in a few GP practices than a few individuals in many
different GP practices. Disadvantages include an increased risk of bias, if the chosen
clusters are not representative of the population, resulting in an increased sampling
error.
 
 Non-Probability Sampling Methods
 1. Convenience sampling
 Convenience sampling is perhaps the easiest method of sampling, because
participants are selected based on availability and willingness to take part. Useful
results can be obtained, but the results are prone to significant bias, because those
who volunteer to take part may be different from those who choose not to (volunteer
bias), and the sample may not be representative of other characteristics, such as
age or sex. Note: volunteer bias is a risk of all non-probability sampling methods.
 
 2. Quota sampling
 This method of sampling is often used by market researchers. Interviewers are given
a quota of subjects of a specified type to attempt to recruit. For example, an
interviewer might be told to go out and select 20 adult men, 20 adult women, 10
teenage girls and 10 teenage boys so that they could interview them about their
television viewing. Ideally the quotas chosen would proportionally represent the
characteristics of the underlying population.
 Whilst this has the advantage of being relatively straightforward and potentially
representative, the chosen sample may not be representative of other characteristics
that weren’t considered (a consequence of the non-random nature of sampling). 2
 
 3. Judgement (or Purposive) Sampling
 Also known as selective, or subjective, sampling, this technique relies on the
judgement of the researcher when choosing who to ask to participate. Researchers
may implicitly thus choose a “representative” sample to suit their needs, or
specifically approach individuals with certain characteristics. This approach is often
used by the media when canvassing the public for opinions and in qualitative
research.
 Judgement sampling has the advantage of being time-and cost-effective to perform
whilst resulting in a range of responses (particularly useful in qualitative research).
However, in addition to volunteer bias, it is also prone to errors of judgement by the
researcher and the findings, whilst being potentially broad, will not necessarily be
representative.
 
 4. Snowball sampling
 This method is commonly used in social sciences when investigating hard-to-reach
groups. Existing subjects are asked to nominate further subjects known to them, so
the sample increases in size like a rolling snowball. For example, when carrying out a
survey of risk behaviours amongst intravenous drug users, participants may be
asked to nominate other users to be interviewed.
 Snowball sampling can be effective when a sampling frame is difficult to identify.
However, by selecting friends and acquaintances of subjects already investigated,
there is a significant risk of selection bias (choosing a large number of people with
similar characteristics or views to the initial individual identified).