Primary resource study includes the activities connected to the finding or searching for first-hand information or data to be used for research purposes. A researcher may apply a number of strategies in locating a primary source. One of the processes includes identifying, contextualizing, exploring, analyzing, and evaluating the source. An analysis conducted during the study or afterwards reflects the true data or real situation on the ground. Resource study in social work involves collection of individual data from client that may involve medical data for a patient, performance results of student for one term and completed questionnaires. This kind of information may be reserved for the purposes of retrieval later. Some of the forms by which data is reserved includes books, letters, photographs, audio recordings, magazines and journals among many other print and media forms (Leicester & Taylor, 2010).
Important of Primary Documents
These data sources have a number of benefits to a researcher who aspires to study the history of social welfare. First, it facilitates the process of establishing an interrelationship between the current situations and historical events in the same field of study. Student gets motivated in a special way hence able to conduct a fruitful research endeavor. Secondly, they offer an explicit explanation about a scenario that took place in the past and measures undertaken to solve the underlying problems. Depending on the prevailing conditions, students are in a position to find first-hand solutions for problems they may face similar to past events. Moreover, primary source incorporates original data hence represents actual observations made by the researcher. Using these data increases the accuracy and possibility of finding an optimal answer/solution in case of a problem (Finkelman & Percoco, 2010).
References
Finkelman, P., & Percoco, J. A. (2010). Milestone documents of American leaders: Exploring the primary sources of notable Americans. Dallas, TX: Schlager Group.
Leicester, M., & Taylor, D. (2010). Critical thinking across the curriculum: Developing critical thinking skills, literacy and philosophy in the primary classroom. Maidenhead: Open University Press.