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WGU C803 Task 1: Data Types and Structures| 2025
update with complete solutions.
Data Types and Structures
College of Health Professions, Western Governors University
Bridgette Stasher-Booker
14 March, 2025
, 2
Data Types and Structures
DATA TYPE CHARACTERISTICS
Primary data is original information that has been collected directly from the source. This
means that this is information gathered from patients, laboratory results, imaging results, or even
direct observation. Primary data is collected directly by the researcher (Key Differences, n.d.).
An example of primary data in health care is the health record.
Secondary data is data that was collected for other purposes, by different people, but has
been repurposed to find a solution to a problem (Key Differences, n.d.). The information from
the health record can be used as secondary data to create a registry. With this registry, patient’s
length of stay, diagnoses, and treatment can be tracked to see the effective treatment (Oachs &
Watters, 2020).
Primary data and secondary data are similar in that they are both utilized in healthcare.
They both provide insight into improving patient care and the performance of a healthcare
system. The information gathered can be qualitative or quantitative.
The differences between the two data include how they are collected. Primary data is
collected directly from the source, while secondary data is reprocessed to fit the need (McCully,
n.d.). Secondary data can be used without patient information, so there is no HIPAA violation
(Oachs & Watters, 2020). Another difference is the cost. Primary data is typically more
expensive to collect. Other differences to note include collection time, where primary data will
take longer. How accurate and relative the data will be is also different between the two, where
primary data is more accurate and more relative. (Wagh, n.d.).
WGU C803 Task 1: Data Types and Structures| 2025
update with complete solutions.
Data Types and Structures
College of Health Professions, Western Governors University
Bridgette Stasher-Booker
14 March, 2025
, 2
Data Types and Structures
DATA TYPE CHARACTERISTICS
Primary data is original information that has been collected directly from the source. This
means that this is information gathered from patients, laboratory results, imaging results, or even
direct observation. Primary data is collected directly by the researcher (Key Differences, n.d.).
An example of primary data in health care is the health record.
Secondary data is data that was collected for other purposes, by different people, but has
been repurposed to find a solution to a problem (Key Differences, n.d.). The information from
the health record can be used as secondary data to create a registry. With this registry, patient’s
length of stay, diagnoses, and treatment can be tracked to see the effective treatment (Oachs &
Watters, 2020).
Primary data and secondary data are similar in that they are both utilized in healthcare.
They both provide insight into improving patient care and the performance of a healthcare
system. The information gathered can be qualitative or quantitative.
The differences between the two data include how they are collected. Primary data is
collected directly from the source, while secondary data is reprocessed to fit the need (McCully,
n.d.). Secondary data can be used without patient information, so there is no HIPAA violation
(Oachs & Watters, 2020). Another difference is the cost. Primary data is typically more
expensive to collect. Other differences to note include collection time, where primary data will
take longer. How accurate and relative the data will be is also different between the two, where
primary data is more accurate and more relative. (Wagh, n.d.).
