Art Review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Art Review - Assignment Example The painting has drawn much debate down the centuries because of the facial expression displayed on the painting. The Mona Lisa now is on display in Paris at the Louvre. In my opinion, the Mona Lisa is the greatest work of art of all time because of the skillfulness and difficulty of the piece. Da Vinci was an artist who often spent many years on one painting, so it is no surprise that he took so long with this one. The best works of art of those that force the viewer to think about what the painting represents; in this case, Da Vinci paints the facial expression that could be interpreted in one of two ways. In my opinion, the smile of the woman in the painting is not a real smile but a forced one; she may even be hiding something beneath that smile. Rembrandt, full name Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, is considered to be the most famous painter and artist in Dutch history. Many of Rembrandt’s pieces of art contributed to what some experts refer to as the â€Å"Dutch Golden Age.† Early on in his life, Rembrandt was a successful portrait painter but his career did not flourish as much as his early promise showed. Later in life, Rembrandt taught many young Dutch painters how to cultivate works of art. The Night Watch is recognized as one of Rembrandt’s most famous works of art. However, it has also provided much controversy and debate around the militiamen in the painting. This painting was crafted right in the middle of the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish. What may be considered unusual about this painting is that a captain of a Dutch militia group commissioned the painting and paid Rembrandt a large amount of money to do so. However, during this volatile time, it was not uncommon for militia groups to pay for their portraits to be painted. While there are many people in the painting, the light focuses only on two main figures at the front and a

Recruiting, Selection, and Training Essay Example for Free

Recruiting, Selection, and Training Essay The company that I researched is WellPoint (aka Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield). I would love to have a position as a Human Resource Director within the company. As a Human Resources professional at WellPoint, the goal is to lead their workforce and workplace talent strategies into achieving the purpose statement to convert health care with trusted and caring solutions. WellPoint also develop programs that attract individuals with vision and talent to be the future of their industry. Human Resources professionals at WellPoint concentrate on key areas such as talent management, engagement, and Integration to maximize customer focus and efficiency. Analyze the effectiveness of the company’s recruiting efforts and make recommendations for improvement. The HR professionals have a hard time getting qualified applicants to apply for certain positions. So the first challenge is getting enough people to apply to a particular job. In doing so they are able to prepare not to consider those who they deem unfit for the position. It takes a lot of effort to select the applicants that truly qualify for the job. All organizations have to begin with advertising for the position. Other resources used for employment are employee referral, employment agencies, school recruiters, walk-ins, and the internet. To work in human resources, a person must go through an industrial/psychology analysis. WellPoint human resource departments have their own job analysis and all human resource employees must help mangers anticipate and meet changing needs related to gaining deployment, and the utilization of employees. The human resource professionals must estimate the amount and type of employees the organization needs, to keep the business running successfully. Therefore they must hire someone who is qualified to conduct all the important roles as a human resource manager. Human resource departments use multiple aptitude tests to screen potential employees. These tests also determine pay  rates based on these tests. This is due to the quality of demand for a human resource manager. The selection process takes a lot of practice and involves assessing and choosing the right candidates. All selection processes must be legal, technically sound, and must accurately match the people and skills needed f or the position. Analyze the selection process of the company you researched and make recommendations for improvement. The majority of I/O psychologists believe that personality tests are important tools for choosing the right employees. WellPoint and several other big corporations use these tests to measure dimensions of personality and related characteristics. These testing methods are used to foresee insubordinate behaviors, and remove individuals that may cause trouble or hindrance to the organization. WellPoint Corporation has been dedicating numerous amounts of energy into areas such as communication, recognition, and employee retention. They understand that branding the employees doesn’t mean anything if the experience of the individuals does not match. Instead they want to establish higher profits, increased sales, lower turnover, and outstanding customer service to their members. Part of WellPoint’s pre-employment testing includes personality testing and mathematical skills. These tests are based on the individual. Some of these particular measures may be referred to as tempera ments, dispositions, or traits. Also measured in that category are employee reliability, thoroughness, change, trustworthiness, and friendliness. Various personality measures are focused on characterizing people within the standard adult range of functionality while others focus on the identification of psychopathology (Schmidt, Shaffer 2010-2011). The reasons individuals are given a basic math assessment are to measure the accountability for their employees to figure out co-pays and co-insurance amounts are calculated correctly to the claim. WellPoint has spent countless time and money in mastering the art of employee selection, training, and retention. WellPoint has a website for interested candidates to apply for careers within their organization, both online and the corporate offices. During the selection process, candidates are asked to take a variety of assessments that analyze areas ranging from characteristics, skill sets, and basic reading and writing tests. Once a candidate has been selected and has accepted a job offer, there are several types of training encountered within the company. Determine how training and talent management contribute to an  effective labor force of the company you researched. Training is a planned learning experience and it effectively prepares workers for their current and future jobs. Training for human resource managers focuses on the present job industry while development training prepares them for the future growth. Training enhances knowledge and job skills. Methods used to measure the success of the training are performance appraisals. This measures the adequacy of the human resource managers. After their performances are measured their results are discussed with them, and any changes that may need to be made in the training process can be easily detected. These pre-employment tests are used largely in Human Resource and customer service environments for middle paying entry level jobs. Testing is designed to predict proneness for theft and other forms of counterproductive work behavior in job applicants. The organization now proposes quarterly training for employees, and is on the path to training over thousands of new people due to health care reform (wellpoint.com) The whole program is centered on listening to customers, and it recognizes employees who go the extra mile in the name of customer service. Often the new hire will experience on-the-job training, during which he or she will be shown the necessary steps in their assigned tasks. For instance, if a person is assigned to the team and asked to process claims, he or she will be shown how to properly process the claim by the trainer. Other tasks that the new hire will be expected to perform, such as enrolling dependents or ordering ID cards. This training is done in a class room setting environment. Safety courses and other employee training courses are offered periodically. Some of these courses are offered online, while others are done in training sessions within the building. WellPoint corporate employees evaluate the efficiency of nearly every aspect of the training and implementation of new employees. Additional measures are also put in place when a policy or product has changed or a new one has been introduced. The department of Quality Assurance oversees this for their assigned regions. WellPoint takes great care in ensuring that their policies are proficient and products are the best quality. That is why there are several departments in place to oversee these important aspects of the corporations. They include Quality Assurance, Product Development, Legal, Human Resources and Information Services. Another way that WellPoint seeks to improve their employee job satisfaction is career training. A large  majority of WellPoint corporate staff started with the company and took advantage of the leadership training to climb the corporate ladder within the organization. WellPoint takes pride in the training program that the company offers, and this training is held worldwide. They are among many companies who has been certified to grant college credit hours to employees in the training programs. Human Resource managers must be treated ethically like their employees; however there are some cases where they are treated unethically. Human resource managers may face problems involving their employees, promotions, pay, and favoritism. Human resource managers must be very observant of all employees to ensure everyone is treated fairly. It is important that those who qualify for human resource management are the ones hired, not those who look, act, or dress in a certain manner. According to the EEOC, (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), â€Å"Employers are not prohibited from using personality or integrity tests in the workplace. However, the statute is implicated when: (1) an employer uses tests to intentionally discriminate against minorities or (2) the tests have an adverse impact on minorities and are not job-related for the position in question and c onsistent with business necessity. No cases have found that an employers use of personality testing in the workplace resulted in the unequal treatment of protected groups. However, there could be such a cause of action if the tests were used intentionally to exclude members of protected groups. This would usually involve evidence of comparative proof that members of a protected group were treated differently than majority group members. For example, it would obviously be illegal for an employer to test minority applicants, but not majority applicants†. As long as these tests are given in a professional manner, it is not against the law to do such to find out if the individual is the best fit for the job. Employee selection and training will continue to be two of the most important aspects for growing and supporting the workforce for companies in the future. Psychological assessments, such as the ones described in this paper, is one of the many ways that companies can attempt to get the highest quality people and not select people who do not want to be there. While there is speculation of the dependability of using these assessment tools for employee selection and training, the evidence shows that it can be helpful in focusing the time and money into particular areas or people to improve  productivity within the company. WellPoint also uses verbal reasoning, numeracy, spatial awareness battery test. They consist of a number of questions with multiple choice answers, only one of which is right. As a test progresses, the questions may become more difficult, and there are frequently more questions than can comfortably be completed in the time. These tests are designed so that very few people finish the test in the time allowed. The participant’s score is then compared with how other people have done on the test in the past. This enables the selectors to assess reasoning skills in relation to others, and to make judgments about ability to cope with tasks involved in the job. On the flip side, personality inventories are used in order to determine one’s typical reactions and attitudes to a variety of situations. They could be trying to identify how well an individual can get on with others or their normal reaction to stressful situations, or simply their feelings about the kind of people they like to work with (Spector, 2008). Perhaps the biggest challenge related to the use of assessment tools is determining when to use the information obtained to remove an applicant from consideration. References The WellPoint Employee (2008). Retrieved November 13, 2013 from www.wellpoint.com Schmidt, R Shaffer, D. (2010-2011). Personality Testing in Employment. Retrieved November 12, 2013 from http://library.findlaw.com/1999/Dec/22/130153.html. Spector, P. E. (2008). Industrial and Organizational Psychology (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2011) Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964: Employment. Retrieved November 13, 2013 from www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm Holley, W. H., Jr., Jennings, K. M., Mathis, R. L., Jackson, J. H. (2012). Employment Labor Relations. (2nd ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

The True Meaning of Halloween Essay -- History of Halloween

The True Meaning of Halloween Halloween is a holiday which has been around for a lot longer than many may think. Even the traditions which seem so modern and economically rooted are almost as old as the tradition of Halloween itself. There is a lot of confusion as to when the tradition of Halloween began. Many think that Halloween began with the Celts. The Celts celebrated Samhain which was a holiday that symbolized the end of the time of the light and the beginning of the time of the dark. During the time of the dark it was said that the wall between the spirit world and that of the living was weakened and spirits were able to obtain access to the living more easily. Hence this could be one of the reasons children today think of Halloween as a scary holiday, they unknowingly are going along with ancient traditions. Along with the tradition of Samhain other traditions fused into that one to form the Holiday we know today. According to one website their research shows that, â€Å"After the Romans conquered the Celtic world, they merged Samhain with their own festivals, a harvest fest called Poloma, and a celebration for the dead called Feralia.†(A Traditional Halloween) Though the celebration itself has been explained, the acts in which children celebrate it have not. â€Å"Some believe that Druids, who threatened dire consequences to residence who didn’t respond generously to their demands for free goods or money.†(A Traditional Halloween) Yet another clue where the tradition of trick or treating may come from is that author Joan Lee Faust has pointed out that â€Å"The Roman harvest festival honoring Pomona, the goddess of fruits, was held about the same time of year. Historians suggest this festival also infl... ...ty rules and try to be as careful as possible Halloween can stay an enjoyable holiday for all. So centuries later after the Celts and Romans and early Christians the tradition of Halloween still lives on. Though one is unsure who to specifically thank for this exciting day, everyone at one point in their life or another has celebrated this holiday and really has enjoyed the day with family and friends. Sources Cited Faust, Joan Lee â€Å"Around the Garden† New York Times 31 Oct. 1965 Mealia, Bernie personal interview 8 Dec. 2003 Sanders, Dan â€Å"Halloween Traditions Change from Childhood to Adulthood† The Keystone 8 Dec. 2003 http://www.keystoneonline.com/story.asp?Art_id=779 â€Å"A Traditional Halloween† www.a-traditional-halloween.com 8 Dec. 2003 Wilson, Jerry â€Å"History and Customs of Halloween† http://wilstar.net/holidays/halloween.htm 8 Dec. 2003

Nabakov and Orwell: The Politics of World-Building Essay

Nabakov’s primary point in â€Å"Good Readers and Good Writers† is to embrace the notion that the best writers create new realities out of chaos in their writing. Good readers, then, must abandon traditional notions of history and socioeconomic theory, and approach works with a sense of imagination and a well-honed sense of aesthetics. Orwell’s famous â€Å"Politics and the English Language† bears certain similarities to this, and may well have been a precursor to Nabakov’s theories. Orwell believes that politics led to the over-complication of language, from flowery metaphors to indecipherable scientific jargon. This seems readily apparent during election season, when candidates hide true perspectives and platforms behind a bevy of blinding buzzwords. However, it is important to note that what Orwell excoriates, Nabakov celebrates—after all, Nabakov insists that a good reader will have a good dictionary, the better with which to map out this new world that their favorite author is shaping. This is certainly true in a college education, where one cannot simply advocate simplicity and refuse to learn any complexity. In Orwell’s defense, he was not attempting to offer criticism on a literary level, but wished to comment on the political rhetoric of the time, which then (as now) sought to use inflated phrases to inflate candidates who, in reality, were downright hollow inside. Nabakov advocates something closer to a cause/effect structure—he does not denigrate the (often complicated) politics embedded within literary fiction. Rather, he urges good readers to enjoy the stories they read as fantastic literature first, and political screed second. Orwell would be unlikely to agree with this view, as his two most famous works (Animal Farm and 1984) serve as political warnings against Communism, and the stories wrapped around these warning are, for all intents and purposes, ornamental only. To extend the metaphor further, Nabakov’s theory stresses the necessity of the ornaments in order to appreciate the whole tree; viewing a story with a pre-packaged idea of what it means was just as unseemly to Nabakov as the reuse of political slogans was to Orwell: it is nothing more than an excuse to avoid original thought, which is necessary to good writers, readers, and politicians.

Primary and Secondary Data Essay

1. PRIMARY ANDSECONDARY DATA We explore the availability and use of data (primary and secondary) in the field of business research.Specifically, we examine an international sample of doctoral dissertations since 1998, categorizingresearch topics, data collection, and availability of data. Findings suggest that use of only primarydata pervades the discipline, despite strong methodological reasons to augment with secondary data. INTRODUCTION Data can be defined as the quantitative or qualitative values of a variable. Data is plural of datum which literally means to give or something given. Data is thought to be the lowest unit of information from which other measurements and analysis can be done. Data can be numbers, images, words, figures, facts or ideas. Data in itself cannot be understood and to get information from the data one must interpret it into meaningful information. There are various methods of interpreting data. Data sources are broadly classified into primary and secondary data.Knowing how the data was collected allows critics of a study to search for bias in how it wasconducted. A good study will welcome such scrutiny. Each type has its own weaknesses andstrengths. Primary Data is gathered by people who can focus directly on the purpose in mind.This helps ensure that questions are meaningful to the purpose but can introduce bias in thosesame questions. Secondary data doesnt have the privilege of this focus but is only susceptibleto bias introduced in the choice of what data to reuse. Stated another way, those who gatherPrimary Data get to write the questions. Those who gather secondary data get to pick thequestions. IMPORTANCE OF DATA AND DATA COLLECTION Data is one of the most important and vital aspect of any research studies. Researchers conducted in different fields of study can be different in methodology but every research is based on data which is analyzed and interpreted to get information. Data is the basic unit in statistical studies. Statistical information like census, population variables, health statistics, and road accidents records are all developed from data .Data is important in computer science. Numbers, images and figures in computer are all data . DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES There are two sources of data collection techniques. Primary and Secondary data collection techniques, Primary data collection uses surveys, experiments or direct observations .Secondary data collection may be conducted by collecting information from a diverse source of documents or electronically stored information, census and market studies are examples of a common sources of secondary data. This is also referred to as â€Å"data mining.† PRIMARY DATA Primary data means original data that has been collected specially for the purpose in mind. It means someone collected the data from the original source first hand. Data collected this way is called primary data .Primary data has not been published yet and is more reliable, authentic and objective .Primary data has not been changed or altered by human beings; therefore its validity is greater than secondary data.The people who gather primary data may be an authorized organization, investigator, enumerator or they may be just someone with a clipboard. These people are acting as a witness so primary data is only considered as reliable as the people who gathered it. IMPORTANCE OF PRIMARY DATA Importance of Primary data cannot be neglected. A research can be conducted withoutsecondary data but a research based on only secondary data is least reliable and may havebiases because secondary data has already been manipulated by human beings. In statisticalsurveys it is necessary to get information from primary sources and work on primary data: forexample, the statistical records of female population in a country cannot be based onnewspaper, magazine and other printed sources. One such sourceis old and secondly theycontain limited information as well as they can be misleading and biased. Validity Validity is one of the major concerns in a research. Validity is the quality of a research thatmakes it trustworthy and scientific. Validity is the use of scientific methods in research tomake it logical and acceptable.Using primary data in research can improves the validity of research. First-hand informationobtained from a sample that is representative of the target population will yield data that willbe valid for the entire target population.AuthenticityAuthenticity is the genuineness of the research. Authenticity can be at stake if the researcherinvests personal biases or uses misleading information inthe research. Primary research tools data can become more authentic if the methods chosen to analyze and interpret data arevalid and reasonably suitable for the data type.Primary sources are more authentic because the facts have not been overdone. Primary sourcecan be less authentic if the source hides information or alters facts due to some personalreasons. There are methods that c an be employed to ensure factual yielding of data from thesource. Reliability Reliability is the certainty that the research is enough true to be trusted on. For example, if aresearch study concludes that junk food consumption does not increase the risk of cancer andheart diseases. This conclusion should have to be drawn from a sample whose size, samplingtechnique and variability is not questionable.Reliability improves with using primary data. In the similar research mentioned above if theresearcher uses experimental method and questionnaires the results will be highly reliable.On the other hand, if he relies on the data available in books and on internet he will collectinformation that does not represent the real facts. SOURCES OF PRIMARY DATA Sources for primary data are limited and at times it becomes difficult to obtain data fromprimary source because of either scarcity of population or lack of cooperation. Regardless ofany difficulty one can face in collecting primary data; it is the most authentic and reliabledata source. Following are some of the sources of primary data. Experiments Experiments require an artificial or natural setting in which to perform logical study to collectdata. Experiments are more suitable for medicine, psychological studies, nutrition and forother scientific studies. In experiments the experimenter has to keep control over theinfluence of any extraneous variable on the results.SurveySurvey is most commonly used method in social sciences, management, marketing andpsychology to some extent. Surveys can be conducted in different methods. Questionnaire is the most commonly used method in survey. Questionnaires are a list ofquestions either an open-ended or close -ended for which the respondent give answers. Questionnaire can be conducted via telephone, mail, live in a public area, or in an institute,through electronic mail or through fax and other methods. Interview is a face-to-face conversation with the respondent. It is slow, expensive, and theytake people away from their regular jobs, but they allow in-depth questioning and follow-upquestions.The interviewer can not only record the statements the interviewee speaks but he can observethe body language or non-verbal communication such as face-pulling, fidgeting, shrugging,hand gestures, sarcastic expressions that add further meaning to spoken words and otherreactions to the questions too. A problem with interviews is that people might say what they think the interviewer wants tohear; they might avoid being honestly critical in case their jobs or reputation might suffer.And the respondent deliberately hides information otherwise it is an in depth source ofinformation. So this enables the interviewer to draw conclusions easily. Observations can be done while letting the observing person know that he is being observedor without letting him know. Observations can also be made in natural settings as well as inartificially created environment.Primary data can be relied on because you know where it came from and what was done to it.Its like cooking something yourself. You know what went into it. ADVANTAGES OF PRIMARY RESEARCH Targeted Issues are addressedThe organization asking for the research has the complete control on the process and theresearch is streamlines as far as its objectives and scope is concerned. Researching companycan be asked to concentrate their efforts to find data regarding specific market rather thanconcentration on mass market.Data interpretation is betterThe collected data can be examined and interpreted by the marketers depending on theirneeds rather than relying on the interpretation made by collectors of secondary data. Efficient Spending for Information Unlike secondary research where the marketer may spend for information that is not needed,primary data collections’ focus on issues specific to the researcher improves the chances thatresearch funds will be spent efficiently. Decency of Data Usually secondary data is not so recent and it may not be specific to the place or situationmarketer is targeting. The researcher can use the irrelevant seeming information for knowingtrends or may be able to find some relation with the current scenario. Thus primary databecomes a more accurate tool since we can use data which is useful for us. Proprietary Issues Information collected by using primary research is their own and is generally not shared withothers. Thus, information can be kept hidden from competitors and potentially offer anâ€Å"information advantage† to the company that undertook the primary research. This gives anedge over competitors replying on secondary data. Addresses Specific Research Issues Carrying out their own research allows the marketing organization to address issues specificto their own situation. Primary research is designed to collect the information the marketerwants to know (Step 2) and report it in ways that benefit the marketer. For example, whileinformation reported with secondary research may not fit the marketer’s needs (e.g., differentage groupings) no such problem exists with primary research since the marketer controls theresearch design.Greater ControlNot only does primary research enable the marketer to focus on specific issues, it also enablesthe marketer to have a higher level of control over how the information is collected. In thisway the marketer can decide on such issues as size of project (e.g., how many responses),location of research (e.g., geographic area) and time frame for completing the project. DISADVANTAGES OF PRIMARY RESEARCH High Cost Compared to secondary research, primary data may be very expensive since there is a greatdeal of marketer involvement and the expense in preparing and carrying out research can behigh and has to design everything. Time Consuming To be done correctly primary data collection requires the development and execution of aresearch plan. Going from the start-point of deciding to undertake a research project to theend-point to having results is often much longer than the time it takes to acquire secondarydata, which can be collected in much lesser time duration.Inaccurate Feed-backs In case the research involves taking feedbacks from the targeted audience, there are highchances that feedback given is not correct. Feedbacks by their basic nature are usually biasedor given just for the sake of it. More number of resources is required Leaving aside cost and time, other resources like human resources and materials too are needed in larger quantity to do surveys and data collection. SECONDARY DATA Secondary data is the data that has been already collected by and readily available from othersources. When we use Statistical Method with Primary Data from another purpose for ourpurpose we refer to it as Secondary Data. It means that one purposes Primary Data is anotherpurposes Secondary Data. So that secondary data is data that is being reused. Such data arecheaper and more quickly obtainable than the primary data.These secondary data may be obtained from many sources, including literature, industrysurveys, compilations from computerized databases and information systems, andcomputerized or mathematical models of environmental processes. IMPORTANCE OF SECONDARY DATA Secondary data can be less valid but its importance is still there. Sometimes it is difficult toobtain primary data; in these cases getting information from secondary sources is easier andpossible. Sometimes primary data does not exist in such situation one has to confine theresearch on secondary data.Sometimes primary data is present but the respondents are not willing to reveal it in such casetoo secondary data can suffice: for example, if the research is on the psychology oftranssexuals first it is difficult to find out transsexuals and second they may not be willing togive information you want for your research, so you can collect data from books or otherpublished sources. SOURCES OF SECONDARY DATA Secondary data is often readily available. After the expense of electronic media and internetthe availability of secondary data has become much easier.Published Printed SourcesThere are varieties of published printed sources. Their credibility depends on many factors.For example, on the writer, publishing company and time and date when published. Newsources are preferred and old sources should be avoided as new technology and researchesbring new facts into light. Books Books are available today on any topic that you want to research. The uses of books startbefore even you have selected the topic. After selection of topics books provide insight onhow much work has already been done on the same topic and you can prepare your literaturereview. Books are secondary source but most authentic one in secondary sources. Journals/periodicals Journals and periodicals are becoming more important as far as data collection is concerned.The reason is that journals provide up-to-date information which at times books cannot andsecondly, journals can give information on the very specific topic on which you areresearching rather talking about more general topics. Magazines/Newspapers Magazines are also effective but not very reliable. Newspaper on the other hand is morereliable and in some cases the information can only be obtained from newspapers as in thecase of some political studies. Published Electronic Sources As internet is becoming more advance, fast and reachable to the masses; it has been seen thatmuch information that is not available in printed form is available on internet. In the past thecredibility of internet was questionable but today it is not. The reason is that in the pastjournals and books were seldom published on internet but today almost every journal andbook is available online. Some are free and for others you have to pay the price. E-journals: e-journals are more commonly available than printed journals.Latest journals are difficult to retrieve without subscription but if your university has an e-library you can view any journal, print it and those that are not available you can make anorder for them.General Websites; Generally websites do not contain very reliable information so theircontent should be checked for the reliability before quoting from them.Weblogs: Weblogs are also becoming common. They are actually diaries written by differentpeople. These diaries are as reliable to use as personal written diaries. Unpublished Personal Records Some unpublished data may also be useful in some cases. Diaries: Diaries are personal records and are rarely available but if you are conducting adescriptive research then they might be very useful. The Anne Franks diary is the mostfamous example of this. That diary contained the most accurate records of Nazi wars. Letters: Letters like diaries are also a rich source but should be checked for their reliabilitybefore using them. Government Records Government records are very important for marketing, management, humanities and socialscience research. Census Data/population statistics Health records Educational institutes records Public Sector Records NGOs survey data Other private companies records ADVANTAGES OF SECONDARY DATA Ease of AccessThere are many advantages to using secondary research. This includes the relative ease ofaccess to many sources of secondary data. In the past secondary data accumulation requiredmarketers to visit libraries, or wait for reports to be shipped by mail. Now with theavailability of online access, secondary research is more openly accessed. This offersconvenience and generally standardized usage methods for all sources of secondary research.Low Cost to AcquireThe use of secondary data has allowed researchers access to valuable information for little orno cost to acquire. Therefore, this information is much less expensive than if the researchershad to carry out the research themselves. Clarification of Research Question The use of secondary research may help the researcher to clarify the research question.Secondary research is often used prior to primary research to help clarify the research focus. May Answer Research Question The use of secondary data collection is often used to help align the focus of large scaleprimary research. When focusing on secondary research, the researcher may realize that theexact information they were looking to uncover is already available through secondarysources. This would effectively eliminate the need and expense to carry out their ownprimary research. May Show Difficulties in Conducting Primary Research In many cases, the originators of secondary research include details of how the informationwas collected. This may include information detailing the procedures used in data collectionand difficulties encountered in conducting the primary research. Therefore, the detaileddifficulties may persuade the researcher to decide that the potential information obtained isnot worth the potential difficulties in conducting the research. DISADVANTAGES OF SECONDARY DATA Quality of Research There are some disadvantages to using secondary research. The originators of the primaryresearch are largely self-governed and controlled by the marketer. Therefore, the secondaryresearch used must be scrutinized closely since the origins of the information may bequestionable. Moreover, the researcher needs to take sufficient steps to critically evaluate thevalidity and reliability of the information provided.Not Specific to Researcher’s NeedsIn many cases, secondary data is not presented in a form that exactly meets the researcher’sneeds. Therefore, the researcher needs to rely on secondary data that is presented andclassified in a way that is similar to their needs.Incomplete InformationIn many cases, researchers find information that appears valuable and promising. Theresearcher may not get the full version of the research to gain the full value of the study. This is because many research suppliers offer free portions of their research and then chargeexpensive fees f or their full reports. Not Timely When using secondary research, one must exercise caution when using dated informationfrom the past. With companies competing in fast changing industries, an out-of-date researchreports many have little or no relevance to the current market situation. EVALUATION OF SECONDARY DATA Because of the above mentioned disadvantages of secondary data, we will lead to evaluation of secondary data. Evaluation means the following four requirements must be satisfied:- 1. Availability- It has to be seen that the kind of data you want is available or not. If it is not available then you have to go for primary data. 2. Relevance- It should be meeting the requirements of the problem. For this we have two criterion:- a. Units of measurement should be the same. b. Concepts used must be same and currency of data should not be outdated. 3. Accuracy- In order to find how accurate the data is, the following points must be considered: – a. Specification and methodology used; b. Margin of error should be examined; c. The dependability of the source must be seen. 4. Sufficiency- Adequate data should be available.Robert W Joselyn has classified the above discussion into eight steps. These eight steps aresub classified into three categories. He has given a detailed procedure for evaluatingsecondary data. 1. Applicability of research objective. 2. Cost of acquisition. 3. Accuracy of data. CONCLUSION Primary research entails the use of immediate data in determining the survival of the market.The popular ways to collect primary data consist of surveys, interviews and focus groups,which shows that direct relationship between potential customers and the companies.Whereas secondary research is a means to reprocess and reuse collected information as anindication for betterments of the service or product.Both primary and secondary data are useful for businesses but both may differ from eachother in various aspects. In secondary data, information relates to a past period. Hence, it lacksaptness and therefore, it has unsatisfactory value. Primary data is more accommodating as itshows latest information.Secondary data is obtained from some other organization than the one instantaneouslyinterested with current research project. Secondary data was collected and analyzed by theorganization to convene the requirements of various research objectives. Primary data isaccumulated by the researcher particularly to meet up the research objective of the subsistingproject.Secondary data though old may be the only possible source of the desired data on thesubjects, which cannot have primary data at all. For example, survey reports or secret recordsalready collected by a business group can offer information that cannot be obtained fromoriginal sources.Firm in which secondary data are accumulated and delivered may not accommodate the exactneeds and particular requirements of the current research study. Many a time, alteration ormodifications to the exact needs of the investigator may not be sufficient. To that amountusefulness of secondary data will be lost. Primary data is completely tailor-made and there isno problem of adjustments.Secondary data is available effortlessly, rapidly and inexpensively. Primary data takes a lot oftime and the unit cost of such data is relatively high.Often secondary data have been pre-processed to give totals or averages and the original details are lost so you cant verify it byreplicating the methods used by the original data collectors.In short, primary data are expensive and difficult to acquire, but they are trustworthy.Secondary data are cheap and easy to collect, but must be treated with caution. REFERENCES 1. http://www.ianswer4u.com/2012/02/primary-research-advantages- and.html#ixzz2B6ioqOwT 2. http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/impact/methods/datacoll.htm 3. Bryman, A. and E. Bell: 2003, Business Research Methods (Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York). 4. Dillman, Don A. Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method. New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1978. 5. Galpin, T. The Use of Mail Questionnaires as a Method of Data Collection. (Sept, 1987) 14 of 15