Evaluation of Secondary Data

Because of the above mentioned disadvantages of secondary data, we will lead to evaluation of secondary data. Evaluation means the following four requirements must be satisfied:-

1.      Availability- It has to be seen that the kind of data you want is available or not. If it is not available then you have to go for primary data.

2.      Relevance- It should be meeting the requirements of the problem. For this we have two criterion:-

·         Units of measurement should be the same.

·         Concepts used must be same and currency of data should not be outdated.

1.      Accuracy- In order to find how accurate the data is, the following points must be considered: -

·         Specification and methodology used;

·         Margin of error should be examined;

·         The dependability of the source must be seen.

2.      Sufficiency- Adequate data should be available.

Robert W Joselyn has classified the above discussion into eight steps. These eight steps are sub classified into three categories. He has given a detailed procedure for evaluating secondary data.

·         Applicability of research objective.

·         Cost of acquisition.

·         Accuracy of data.