What is Secondary Research? Definition, Steps, Pros and Cons

Secondary research is a process of market research. It helps to understand the market trends. Also, it is a cost-effective research method that is used in different sectors, like business, academics, etc. So, if you are looking for the answer to ‘What is Secondary Research?' the following discussion will give you a detailed insight into it. Besides understanding the marketing trends, it helps to identify the gaps in previous research and supports all types of primary research works. In the following discussion, you will learn about the advantages and disadvantages of secondary research.

What Is Secondary Research?

In marketing research, primary and secondary research methods are two essential methods of conduction research works. Both the methods are used to collect data to run market research and understanding the market trends.

Secondary market research, or desk research, is a method of marketing research where researchers compile data collected through primary research. It helps you to understand the market trends, competition, industry, customer behaviour, etc. In secondary research methods, data is collected from different government resources, financial reports of different companies, online articles, etc. So, here you get the secondary research definition. Now, you will get further details to understand the marketing research method in detail.

Common Sources of Secondary Data

So far, you have an idea about what is secondary research. Now, you must understand the common sources of secondary data so that you can conduct thorough market research. The researchers collect information through primary research. Then, they arrange the information from different sources. However, if you use assignment help services, they can guide you in understanding it. They have explained a bit here:

• Government Publication: One can gather data from different economic reports, census reports, policy documents, trade statistics, etc.
• Academic Journals: Students can collect information from different books, journals, dissertations, etc., from scholarly authors.
• Company Data:Different types of financial reports, annual reports of the companies, press releases, etc., can be valuable sources for secondary data.
• Industry Reports: Also, you can collect information from different market research studies, forecasts of different firms, white papers, etc.

These are the sources that can help you in conducting secondary data collection methods. In the next segment, we will focus on the proper ways of conducting secondary research. Read on to know more.

How to Conduct Secondary Research Effectively?

Whether you use Biology assignment help or any other professional writing help, you can be assured about conducting secondary research as they are efficient in it. However, you must know the ways to conduct secondary research effectively. Have a look-

Identify the Research Topic

You must understand the definition of secondary research to know how to conduct the research. First of all, you must know the research topic. Then, you should understand if the topic answers the research question well. Here, you must understand why you should conduct the research. Then, you must identify what you are going to achieve through the research. Thus, you become clear about running primary research and secondary research.

Look for the Best Data Sources

In the next step, you should look for the sources to gather secondary data. Understanding the sources will help you to know what is secondary data and where you should use it. Thus, you can create a list of sources, like government organizations, company policies, several data sources, interviews of people, etc.

Collect the Existing Data

So, you have the list of sources of secondary data examples. It is time to access and collect the useful data in an organized manner. To do that, you can arrange interviews with people or make telephone calls to verify the details of the data that you gather through primary research. Now, you must make sure the source is credible. Also, you should check if the information is relevant to your topic. Finally, you must use a suitable methodology for your research. Always begin your research on a small scale. Once you start gaining results, you can dig deeper.

Combine and Compare the Data

Finally, you have all secondary data ready in your hand. Now, you must understand those well and combine them to organize them in an orderly way. Once you are done with one dataset, you can check the others. Then, you can compare the similar kinds of datasets that give results at different times. Thus, you can notice the changing trends in the market. Such a comparison always helps you to understand the value of research and the importance of data for your assignment. In case, you face issues while analyzing, it is always best to seek Assignment help London from experts.

So, here you get to know what is secondary research in business. You can apply a similar format while writing assignments. However, you should understand the secondary research advantages and disadvantages. Follow our next segment to learn more about it.

Advantages and Limitations of Secondary Research

You get an idea about secondary market research definition. Also, you get to know about sources of secondary data and conducting the research. Now, it is time to figure out the pros and cons of this research method. First of all, we will discuss the benefits of secondary research.

Pros of Secondary Research

It is a simple and cost-effective research method. So, here are the best advantages you must understand. Have a look-

• Data Is Easily Available: This is one of the most significant advantages of secondary research. You can easily find relevant data from different online sources, like online articles, news journals, magazines, etc. Also, you can gather information from government policies, companies' reports, etc. Once collected, you can arrange data on a spreadsheet for easy use.
• It Is Time-Saving: In this method, you already have published data. So, you don't need to waste time researching data like you do in primary research. Therefore, this method is quite time-saving.
• It Is Cost-Effective: While talking about secondary research advantages, this one will always appear at the top of the list. As most of the data sources are free, you don't need to pay for conducting secondary research. Here, sometimes, you need to pay a minimum for purchasing data.

Cons of Secondary Research

Besides so many advantages, you may face certain secondary research disadvantages, too. Knowing those will help you to conduct the research effectively. Have a look-

• Data Can be Outdated: You must pay attention to this disadvantage of secondary research. If you are not a primary researcher, you get readymade data in hand. So, you may access the data between two updates. In such cases, you may get outdated data that is of no use.
• No Control Over Secondary Research:In secondary research, researchers don't get the chance to get involved in the research method. So, sometimes, they may get invalid data that can damage your interpretation. So, you must review the methodologies closely so that you get an error-free result.
• Secondary ResearchIs Not Verified: In secondary research, you gather data from different sources. So, a researchers must verify each source closely to know its credibility. Therefore, they compare data against different datasets and get ensured about their right choice.

So, here you get to know about the advantages and limitations of secondary research. To understand it better, you can go through a primary research vs secondary research study. In the next segment, you will find a brief account of it.

Difference Between Primary and Secondary Research

A thorough discussion on the difference between these two types of research method can give you a clear idea about the secondary and primary research definition, cost, sources, time etc.

 Aspect 1: Definition

Primary research method includes collecting data from the original sources that can address the specific research question. Also, it gives a deeper understanding of the topic where data is collected directly through surveys, interviews, observations, or experiments.

Secondary research is all about collecting and interpreting data that are already published. So, here, the researchers don't need to dig deep for data collection and can focus on sources like government reports, companies' reports, online journals, news articles, etc.

Aspect 2: Sources

In Primary research, researchers collect data from original sources, like interviews, focus groups, surveys, experiments, trials, field works, etc.

In seconadry, researchers collect data from academic resources like research papers, thesis, dissertations, government publications, like economic reports, trade figures, industry reports, market analysis, etc.

Aspect 3: Cost

The cost of primary research depends on certain factors, like sample size, types of methods, and scope. Here, surveys are cost-effective while interviews and focus groups are quite expensive ways to gather data. Field trials and experiments can cost you thousands, depending on the complexity of research work.

On the contrary, secondary research is a cost-effective method as researchers use existing data here. You may need to pay a minimum amount only to get the subscription to read any journals or articles. Besides, you can get information at completely free of cost from government portals and public websites.

Aspect 4: Time

Primary research is time-consuming, based on the methods you follow. Usually, it can run for weeks to months.

Secondary research is quicker than the primary research method. You can conduct this research within a few hours to a few days.

Aspect 5: Specificity

Primary data is required when you are looking for the answer of a particular research question. So, it is specific for researching on niche topics.

It provides lesser specific data than primary as it has to depend on data collected for several other purposes. So, such data may not be relevant to your specific needs.

So, regarding your question, ‘What is primary and secondary research?', this comparison table can give you a quick insight into both methods. You can understand the method even better once you go through secondary research examples.

An Example of Using Secondary Research

You don't need to collect any new information. You can go through the survey reports and different statistics to collect data on employment. With the following example of secondary research, you can understand how this method is helpful for you.

So, secondary research is useful in the above cases. You can always get custom writing services at the Assignment Desk, as we can help with a specific part of the assignment or your dissertation. You can look for pre-existing data that can give insights into economic conditions.

Try Seeking Our Help with Secondary Research!

So, here you get to know what is secondary research. The detailed account will show you how to conduct the research effectively. Also, you get ideas about the common sources of this research method. Yes, you can take the help of our subject matter experts. And while talking about such professional help, you can always contact us! We are the best team to handle secondary research for you. We use our excellent online grammar checker and other tools to help you in the process.