Are you struggling to find the source of data? At the time of selecting a collection method for research, you have to be careful about several aspects. When you get the right information about its several aspects, it becomes easy to make a selection and ensure the best end results of the study. You must mark these words that research work demands a logical connection between every step. There cannot be any random decision, but you have to rely on relevant features.
In the case of data sources, it is your problem statement and objective of research which help you make a decision. Whenever a researcher plans to do research, he has to check if there is literature available on the designed problem. If the literature is available, there must be existing sources. Such sources have research work done by other researchers. If you use such sources wisely, it can help you make your research easy to conduct. Therefore, this article aims to discuss existing sources in detail.
1. What are the Types of Existing Sources?
There are three types of existing sources, as mentioned below:
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Primary Sources
All the sources which have records of first-hand data or information are termed as primary sources of research. In such sources, you would not find any interruption of external factors, and it is always taken as original data. The primary data play a role as original and up to the date data, which impacts significantly on research. In the case of primary sources, there are more chances to get innovative results while developing a research study. Here, you can take the example of a record present at an organizational level, which is collected through surveys or interviews.
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Secondary Sources
Whenever you use data collected by another researcher, it is taken as a secondary source. It would not be wrong to say that when you research by collecting primary data of some other researcher, it is taken as a secondary source. In such cases, you can get better summaries of the work of other researchers. You can take the example of books and journals to understand secondary sources.
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Tertiary Sources
When you prefer to extract information from sources like dictionaries, and there is not a big deal about the author, such sources are taken as tertiary ones. for more info https://technewshunt.com/
2. Why are Existing Sources Important for Research?
The existing sources are important to consider for research. One of the primary importance is that it adds value to the research and lends it credibility. Using existing sources in research has significant importance because it is compulsory to provide references from multiple sources. Every type of research paper or dissertation requires the usage of sources as evidence in research. Authors who support their claims with strong evidence win the admiration of colleagues in the academic community.
3. What are the Main Uses of Existing Sources in Research?
Following are the uses of existing sources in research:
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Craft the Convenience in Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is interpretative and entails a critical analysis of the sources. You can access the rich repository of information from multiple sources. You can use it for analyzing a qualitative research problem. The interpretative and theme-based techniques in qualitative studies help you gain a deep perspective of the research problem. It helps you justify the significance of research and lay the foundation of new ideas and theories in research. Exploratory studies and systematic literature reviews necessitate using multiple sources. They help identify broad themes and lay the ground for future researchers. It facilitates future researchers who aim to analyze the issue quantitatively.
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Determine the Design of Research
Sources such as books, journals and articles help researchers understand the research design and methodology. Research published in reputable journals is peer-reviewed and approved by renowned academic experts. These academic experts subject the research to meticulous testing and analysis. It means that if the existing sources get approved by experts, it includes systematic research methodologies that you can use in your research. Using such sources helps you structure the design of the research.
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Inclusiveness
Using existing sources in research helps make your research inclusive and supplemented. It contextualizes your research problem and provides a thorough background for the readers. Also, including multiple sources enables the researchers to analyze an issue deeply. The rich insights gathered by evaluating the multiple sources add value to the literature. Read about thejobplus Also : job plus
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Beneficial for Secondary Type of Research
Using existing sources aids in secondary research. There are some topic areas for which it is difficult to collect primary data. You may face various constraints, such as time limitations, financial issues, and outreach problems. If you conduct secondary research on an issue, it can use multiple sources to analyze a problem deeply. You can consult books, journals, magazines, editorial articles, government documents, reports, archival documents, and statistics from reputable sources. Also, you do not have to go through the arduous task of collecting primary information, which exacts a heavy peal on finances. For example, the research area is a whole state. In this case, you would have to spend days and nights dealing with information collected across the state. In contrast to a physical survey, you may use existing sources. So, you can consult online sources and collect information from reputable databases and libraries for conducting secondary research.
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Concluding Lines
The existing sources add value to the research work and help to make it reliable and credible. It synthesizes knowledge and lays the foundations for novel concepts and theories. You can better develop their arguments coherently by consulting multiple sources. Furthermore, it works well to justify the significance of research and contextualize the research problem and questions. The above-mentioned points can clarify the queries related to sources. Furthermore, your credibility as a researcher increases in the eyes of the readers due to the ability to use evidence to verify the assertions.
