Under this method the investigators appoints correspondents in various areas. These correspondents collect important information and send it to the investigator, from time to time. Generally, the information is collected by the informants themselves. Information sent through this method is generally not very accurate. This method is used for newspapers, magazines, market research, etc.
Uses of this Method :
1. When there is no need of high level of purity.
2. When information is to be received for a longer duration.
Merits of Method:
1. This method is suitable for a wide area of investigation.
2. This method saves time, money and labour.
3. This method is easy.
Demerits :
1. In this method a high level of purity is not obtained.
2. This method does not have originality in the collected data.
3. Lack of uniformity in data is found. .
4. The data are affected by the biasness of correspondents.
5. It takes more time in data collection.
