ABSTRACT
Data collection may be defined as the process of data generation (primary), gathering (secondary) and gleaning (tertiary) through observation, field survey, library visits, archives search, laboratory work, questionnaires, interviews, written source documents, internet access and so on. Data can be in the form of statistics, statements, photographs, text and sketches. The entire exercise has three components, as indicated below:
• Generation of primary data • Gathering of secondary data • Gleaning of tertiary data
One way to characterise the data is to base it on the source of data – primary, secondary and tertiary. The data are primary when it is collected personally for the purpose of a specific study. A geographer, who interviews people living in slums about the place of their origin and reason of migration, is an example of this kind. Secondary data are collected for some other purpose, by someone other than you. An example would be a geographer who uses data made available by organisations like Census of India and Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. Tertiary data are data compiled from primary and/ or secondary sources. Bibliographic Guide to Population Geography is one such example; Geo Abstracts is another.
