Secondary sources involve generalization, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation of the original information. … Their reliability
and validity are open to question
, and often they do not provide exact information required by a sociologist.
How is a secondary source reliable?
However, if people begin to research their topics, secondary articles
expand their knowledge
. Moreover, credible secondary articles can be used for research papers to make valid conclusions. Therefore, a secondary source covers primary studies to expand the understanding of the research topic.
How do you know if secondary data is reliable?
- Who collected the data.
- What is the data provider’s purpose or goal.
- When was the data collected.
- How the data was collected.
- What type of data was collected.
- Whether the data is consistent with data from other sources.
How do you know if a source is reliable?
- 1) Accuracy. Verify the information you already know against the information found in the source. …
- 2) Authority. Make sure the source is written by a trustworthy author and/or institution. …
- 3) Currency. …
- 4) Coverage.
What is an advantage of a secondary source?
Advantages: Secondary sources
provide a variety of expert perspectives and insights
. Also, peer review usually ensures the quality of sources such as scholarly articles. Finally, researching secondary sources is more efficient than planning, conducting, and analyzing certain primary forms of research.
What are the credible secondary sources?
Common examples of secondary sources include
academic books, journal articles, reviews, essays, and textbooks
. Anything that summarizes, evaluates or interprets primary sources can be a secondary source.
What are unreliable secondary sources?
The following are unreliable sources because they require confirmation with a reliable source: Wikipedia: although this is a good starting point for finding initial ideas about a topic, some of their information and attached resources may not be reliable. Blogs, tweets.
Personal websites
.
Forums
.
What are the disadvantages of using secondary data?
Disadvantages of Secondary Data Analysis
A major disadvantage of using secondary data is that
it may not answer the researcher’s specific research questions or contain specific information that the researcher would like to have
.
What is the best example of secondary source?
- Articles from magazines, journals, and newspapers after the event.
- Literature reviews and review articles (e.g., movie reviews, book reviews)
- History books and other popular or scholarly books.
- Works of criticism and interpretation.
- Commentaries and treatises.
- Textbooks.
- Indexes and abstracts.
Are all secondary data reliable and valid?
You don’t conduct validity and reliability for secondary data
. it is only done for primary data, whether it is face validity, content validity, or construct validity, its about the measurement instrument (questionnaire). Reliability on the other hand is also about the questionnaire.
How do you know if a Web source is reliable?
- Look for Established Institutions. …
- Look for Sites with Expertise. …
- Steer Clear of Commercial Sites. …
- Beware of Bias. …
- Check the Date. …
- Consider the Site’s Look. …
- Avoid Anonymous Authors. …
- Check the Links.
How do you know if a Internet source is reliable?
- Be skeptical. …
- Examine the source’s and author’s credentials and affiliations. …
- Evaluate what sources are cited by the author. …
- Make sure the source is up-to-date. …
- Check the endorsements and reviews that the source received. …
- Check if the publisher of the source is reputable.
What makes a good source?
A reliable source is one that provides a thorough, well-reasoned theory, argument, discussion, etc.
based on strong evidence
. Scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or books -written by researchers for students and researchers. Original research, extensive bibliography.
What is the value of a secondary source?
Sociologists often use secondary sources for practical reasons. They
can save time and money
and they may provide access to historical data that cannot be produced using primary research because the events concerned took place before current members of society were born.
What are the advantage and disadvantage of secondary sources?
Pros: As it is largely based on already existing data derived from previous research, secondary research can be conducted more quickly and at a lesser cost. Cons: A major disadvantage of secondary research is
that the researcher may have difficulty obtaining information specific to his or her needs
.
Why are secondary sources unreliable?
Their experiences and biases will color how the information is presented. Two different authors can interpret the same piece of original material in two wildly different ways. As such, secondary sources are
unreliable as primary points of evidence
.
