Innovative Data Sources
In addition to traditional data sources, such as information gathered during surveys, data can be collected from a variety of alternative sources.
Read First
- Primary data is the main type of information that comes to mind when people talk about collecting data. It consists of gathering data through surveys, interviews, or experiments.
- Occasionally, researchers find that data has already been collected, sometimes by the government and sometimes by a third party. Previously collected information that the field team then makes use of is known as secondary data.
- Any source of data, such as secondary data, that is not collected first-hand is an innovative data source.
- Examples of secondary data include administrative and monitoring data, geospatial data, and many more discussed in below.
Acquiring Secondary Data
The easiest way to acquire secondary data is simply to inquire if the government of the country in which the research is conducted possesses it, whatever its content is and however it is stored, and request that it be shared. Data collected through existing government ministries, programs and projects is called administrative data.
For example, national statistics offices (NSOs) possess censuses and geospatial data while regulatory agencies have tax, price, and trade data. Line ministries, agencies responsible for delivering government programs to citizens, have access to administrative data as well.
Admin Data
Mobile Big Data
Mobile big data is anonymized, aggregated data generated from personal mobile devices (phones) and mobile network operators. There is ongoing research to harness this information to track population trends, augment statistics, and deliver policy insights which can be used to provide targeted services. For example, mobile big data can be used to predict the spread of infectious diseases which would allow governments to optimize delivery of public health services; or it can be used to track migration patterns in response to climate disasters which could be used to improve government response.