Q.Classify each of the following as Primary Data or Secondary Data:

The test is simple: was the data collected firsthand by (or for) the present study, or was it already collected by someone else for a different purpose?

Step 1 — Apply the definition to part (i). The student personally approaches 50 classmates and collects their answers directly, specifically for this survey. This is data collected for the first time, for the purpose of the present enquiry — the defining feature of Primary Data.

Step 2 — Apply the definition to part (ii). The RBI compiled and published these figures in its own annual report, for its own regulatory/reporting purposes, at an earlier time. The researcher is merely making use of data that already existed. This is the defining feature of Secondary Data.

Step 3 — Note the practical implication. Because part (ii)'s data is secondary, the researcher should critically examine it for suitability (does the RBI's definition of "bank credit" match what the study needs?), adequacy, reliability, and comparability before using it — a check that part (i)'s freshly collected primary data does not need in the same way, since the student controls its collection directly.

A frequent confusion is assuming that any data taken from a written/published source is automatically "secondary," even when the student or investigator is the one who conducted the survey and simply wrote it down. The real test is whether the CURRENT investigator collected it firsthand for the CURRENT purpose (primary) or is reusing someone else's earlier collection (secondary) — not merely whether it ends up in written form.