DA0-002 Data Concepts and Environments Practice Question
Which TWO are examples of primary data? (Select two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between primary and secondary data by including options that appear firsthand but are actually collected by an external entity, such as purchased datasets or government reports, leading candidates to mistakenly classify them as primary.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Customer survey responses collected by the company themselves
Primary data is data the organization collects firsthand for its own purposes, so option C (customer survey responses collected by the company themselves) is correct because the company designs and gathers the responses directly from the source. Option D (company sales records) is also correct because these records are generated internally by the company's own transactions and systems, making them original first-hand data. By contrast, option A (industry reports from a trade association) and option B (government census data) are secondary data, since they are compiled and published by external organizations and merely reused by the company. Option E (social media data purchased from a vendor) is likewise secondary data, as it is acquired from a third party rather than collected directly by the company.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Industry reports from a trade association
Why it's wrong here
Industry reports are secondary data: they interpret and summarise information already gathered by others, so they cannot be primary. They are tempting because trade associations publish authoritative, convenient market statistics. Such reports would be the right choice when the question asks for secondary sources, or when you need aggregated industry benchmarks rather than data you collected yourself.
- ✗
Government census data
Why it's wrong here
Census data is collected and published by a government body, so it is secondary data gathered by others. It tempts because it is authoritative and quantitative, but primary data must be collected first-hand by the researcher for the current purpose.
- ✓
Customer survey responses collected by the company themselves
Why this is correct
Primary data is collected first-hand by the organisation for its own purpose. Survey responses gathered directly by the company are original, unmediated data, distinguishing them from secondary sources such as published reports or third-party datasets.
- ✓
Company sales records
Why this is correct
Sales records generated internally by the company's own transaction systems are primary data, captured at source for the organisation's own use. They are not derived from external or published sources, which would make them secondary.
- ✗
Social media data purchased from a vendor
Why it's wrong here
Vendor-purchased social media data is secondary data: it was originally generated by users for another purpose and then resold, so the analyst is not the originating collector. It tempts because social media feeds are a genuine data source, and purchasing them is the correct choice when an organisation needs external, third-party behavioural data without collecting it itself.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This DA0-002 question is part of Courseiva's 1,004-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DA0-002 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DA0-002 exam.