There are mainly two sources of collecting secondary data:
- Published and
- Unpublished.
In published form the secondary data are obtained from the following sources:
1. Government Publications:
Government publications is the main source of secondary data. The central and state governments collect certain data for their administrative use and publish them regularly in the interest of public information. On results of population census, index number of wholesale prices, statistics of imports and exports, vital statistics, agricultural statistics, statistics related to five-year plans, etc. are easily available from government publications, published by Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Statistical Buletin of RBI, Statistical Abstract of Gujarat State, Social Economic Review of Gujarat, etc.
2. Semi-government Publications:
Semi-government organisations like the Life Insurance Corporation of India, State Electricity Boards, City Municipalities, etc. regularly publish various data in their publications.
3. Publications of International Institutes:
Information can be obtained by the publications of International organisations like United Nations Organisation (UNO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Labour Organisation (ILO), World Health Organisation (WHO), etc.
4. Reports of Research Organisations:
Research institutions such as Ahmadabad Textile Industry’s Research Association (ATIRA), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmadabad; Tata Research Centre; Management Associations, etc. provide useful data in their reports and publications.
5. Local Self-government Institutions and Autonomous Educational Institutions:
Municipal Corporations and Jilla Panchayats, Agricultural Universities and other Universities supply secondary data through their reports and publications.
6. Publications of Business and Commerce Organisations:
Federations of Chamber of Commerce, Worker’s unions, Various business organisations, Nationalized banks, etc. publish data on regular basis which can be used as secondary data.
7. Newspapers and Periodicals:
Different periodicals and newspapers are important sources of secondary data. Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), Commerce, Eastern Economist, Business India, Business Today, Economic Times, Financial Express, etc. are the important periodicals which publish secondary data in a well organised manner.
In an unpublished form the secondary data are obtained as follows ;
Some of the statistical data are collected and compiled but are not published. However, private and public institutions keep the registers for such data for their reference. Such data can be obtained on request to the concerned institutions and can be used as secondary data. Research papers of universities, private publications such as dissertations, monographs, etc. of IIM, are such kind of unpublished data.
