Quantitative Methods: Primary and Secondary Data
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Quantitative Methods: Primary and Secondary Data
Primary data is a method of quantitative research whereby the researcher collects data directly through surveys, interviews, and observations. Primary data is an important part of community needs assessment because it helps researchers gather new information from a targeted population and fill in the gap from secondary data (McKenzie et al., 2017). On the other hand, secondary data entails the use of already generated data for a different purpose (Piet et al., 2020). Secondary data is obtained from government records and health institutions, organizational websites, journals, and magazines (Peat et al., 2020).
It is also an important part of community needs assessment because it provides information on the targeted population, which is crucial for determining the appropriate health interventions (McKenzie et al., 2017). Therefore, secondary data differs from primary data because it is collected indirectly through existing records. However, primary data is considered more valid and reliable because it is original and has not been altered through different interpretations. The main advantages of using secondary data over primary data are that it is cost-effective and less time consuming (Peat et al., 2020). Overall, using both primary and secondary data is key to assessing the needs of people with alcohol and drug addiction problems.
Questions on TAADAS’ Community Needs Assessment
1. How many times a week have you experienced the urge to use alcohol or other addictive drugs?
2. Do you feel guilty when you use drugs?
3. Have you ever ended up in hospital after using drugs in the past year?
4. How would you rate the accessibility of alcohol and drug addiction services?
o Easy to access
o Hard to access
o Inaccessible
5. What do you think of the available alcohol and drug addiction recovery programs?
o They are helpful in addiction treatment and recovery
o They are not helpful in addiction treatment and recovery