Primary and secondary data sources
Name:
Date:
Class:
A
Quick Questions
Shade in the A or B circle for each question.
1. Your class asks 20 students which pet they like best and writes down the answers. What kind of data is this?
2. You download a table of Australian rainfall from the Bureau of Meteorology website. What kind of data is this?
3. Which one is a way to collect primary data?
4. True or false: Secondary data is data that someone else collected before you used it.
5. You use a stopwatch to time how long your friends take to run 50 metres. Which type of data is the list of times?
B
Match the Pairs
Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.
| Left column | Right column | |
|---|---|---|
| 1Primary data | AData from a database or website was collected by someone else, so it is secondary data, not primary. | |
| 2Secondary data | BA survey you ran yourself is primary data, not secondary data. You collected it first-hand. | |
| 3You measure how tall every student in your class is with a tape measure | Csource = "secondary" | |
| 4You download rainfall numbers from a weather website to use in your project | Dsource = "primary" | |
| 5My class survey results = secondary data | EData you collect yourself, such as answers from your own class survey | |
| 6Data from a database = primary data | FData that someone else collected, such as a table from a website or database |
C
Definitions
primary data vs secondary data
D
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.
1.
Data you collect yourself is _______ data.
2.
Data from someone else is _________ data.
3.
Running a ______ gives you primary data.
4.
A website or ________ holds secondary data.
5.
Before using secondary data, check that
you can trust the ______.
E
Spot the Error
Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.
Question 1
A
source = "class survey"
B
collected_by = "me"
C
kind = "secondary"
D
print(kind)
Question 2
A
source = "ABS website"
B
collected_by = "someone else"
C
kind = "primary"
D
print(kind)
Question 3
A
if collected_by == "me":
B
kind == "primary"
C
else:
D
kind = "secondary"
Question 4
A
source = "random blog"
B
author = "unknown"
C
date = "none"
D
trust = "high"
Question 5
A
source = "my own survey"
B
kind = "secondary"
C
print(kind)
Answer Key
Primary and secondary data sources
Section A: Quick Questions
Q1
A — Primary data
Q2
B — Secondary data
Q3
A — Measuring how tall each plant grows with a ruler
Q4
B — True
Q5
A — Primary data
Section B: Match the Pairs
Q1
Primary data → Data you collect yourself, such as answers from your own class survey
Q2
Secondary data → Data that someone else collected, such as a table from a website or database
Q3
You measure how tall every student in your class is with a tape measure → source = "primary"
Q4
You download rainfall numbers from a weather website to use in your project → source = "secondary"
Q5
My class survey results = secondary data → A survey you ran yourself is primary data, not secondary data. You collected it first-hand.
Q6
Data from a database = primary data → Data from a database or website was collected by someone else, so it is secondary data, not primary.
Section C: Definitions
Q1
primary data vs secondary data — Primary data is data you collect yourself, like a survey. Secondary data was collected by someone else, like data from a website or database.Section D: Fill in the Blanks
Q1
Data you collect yourself is primary data.Q2
Data from someone else is secondary data.Q3
Running a survey gives you primary data.Q4
A website or database holds secondary data.Q5
Before using secondary data, check that
you can trust the source.Section E: Spot the Error
Q1
C — A survey the student runs themselves is primary data, not secondary. The line should be kind = "primary".
Q2
C — Data from a website that someone else collected is secondary data. The line should be kind = "secondary".
Q3
B — A single = stores a value in a variable. Two == only compares values. The line should be kind = "primary".
Q4
D — A source with no known author and no date should not be trusted much. The line should be trust = "low".
Q5
A — The kind is secondary, so the source must be collected by someone else, such as a weather website. A survey you ran yourself would be primary.