2.1c Primary and Secondary Data

Primary data is data that the researcher and their team collect themselves. They may conduct interviews, administer surveys, or do fieldwork observations to obtain this data. Primary data is useful for exploring topics where data is nonexistent or inadequate to answer the researcher’s questions. However, it can be costly and time-consuming to collect primary data. Moreover, secondary data may already exist that can answer the question the research seeks to answer. Secondary data is data collected by other researchers or organizations. Sociologists use primary and secondary data to answer sociological questions.

This textbook uses secondary data to describe trends in the demographics and attitudes of the U.S. population. The secondary data comes from many sources, including the Pew Research Center, the National Opinion Research Center’s General Social Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Pew Research Center is a nonprofit opinion polling organization. The last two sources are funded and run by the federal government. They collect data on the characteristics of the U.S. population and work. The National Opinion Research Center also conducts opinion polls. The National Science Foundation (the federal government) funds it, and the University of Chicago (a private university) houses it. This section uses these four data sources to describe U.S. trends in family life.