§-Quick questions
NSWInvestigating ScienceModule 5: Scientific Investigations
Quick questions on Primary and secondary data: HSC Investigating Science Module 5
10short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is their expertise and institution?Show answer
| | Accuracy | Is the methodology described? Was it peer reviewed? | | Purpose | Why was it written?
What is primary data?Show answer
Data collected directly by the investigator through observation, measurement, experiment or survey. The investigator controls how the data is gathered.
What is secondary data?Show answer
Data collected by other researchers and accessed through published sources. The investigator did not gather the data themselves.
What is sourcing secondary data?Show answer
Trusted Australian sources for HSC investigations:
What are acknowledging sources?Show answer
Every secondary source used in an investigation must be cited. Standard formats include:
What are strengths?Show answer
Targeted to the investigator's hypothesis, full control over methodology, known provenance.
What are limitations?Show answer
Limited by the investigator's time, budget, equipment and access. Cannot retrospectively gather historical data.
What is q1?Show answer
Distinguish primary, secondary and tertiary data sources, giving one Australian example of each. [3 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
A student investigating sea-level rise downloads tide-gauge data from the Australian Baseline Sea Level Monitoring Project. State two checks they should make on the data before using it. [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
A teacher assigns an inquiry on the link between water hardness and limescale in NSW kettles. (a) Outline one primary data source. (b) Outline one secondary data source.