A primary data source is the original first hand account of the authors/researchers of a study. Surveys, interviews, questionnaires are all primary data collection tools as they directly access the subjects/volunteers in a study. The data directly comes from their first hand accounts. Other primary data sources are:
case reports
clinical reports
journal articles
dissertations
autobiographies
poetry
eyewitness acounts
records
Secondary Data Sources:
A secondary data source describes, summarizes, reports or analyses primary data. Secondary data is used to obtain a general overview of the topic of interest or to review/analyse the conclusions drawn in primary data. Secondary data sources include: