Secondary Biological Data

Secondary data refers to data that is collected by someone other than the user.^[1] Common sources of secondary data for social science include censuses, information collected by government departments, organizational records and data that was originally collected for other research purposes.^[2] Primary data, by contrast, are collected by the investigator conducting the research.

Secondary data analysis can save time that would otherwise be spent collecting data and, particularly in the case of quantitative data, can provide larger and higher-quality databases that would be unfeasible for any individual researcher to collect on their own. In addition, analysts of social and economic change consider secondary data essential, since it is impossible to conduct a new survey that can adequately capture past change and/or developments. However, secondary data analysis can be less useful in marketing research, as data may be outdated or inaccurate.^[1]

Sources of secondary data[edit]

Secondary data can be obtained from different sources:

• information collected through censuses or government departments like housing, social security, electoral statistics, tax records
• internet searches or libraries
• GPS, remote sensing
• km progress reports

Administrative data and census[edit]

Government departments and agencies routinely collect information when registering people or carrying out transactions, or for record keeping – usually when delivering a service. This information is called administrative data.^[3]

It can include:

• personal information such as names, dates of birth, addresses
• information about schools and educational achievements
• information about health
• information about criminal convictions or prison sentences
• tax records, such as income

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. It is a type of administrative data, but it is collected for the purpose of research at specific intervals. Most administrative data is collected continuously and for the purpose of delivering a service to the people.

Advantages and disadvantages of secondary data[edit]

Secondary data is available from other sources and may already have been used in previous research, making it easier to carry out further research. It is time-saving and cost-efficient: the data was collected by someone other than the researcher. Administrative data and census data may cover both larger and much smaller samples of the population in detail. Information collected by the government will also cover parts of the population that may be less likely to respond to the census (in countries where this is optional).^[4]

A clear benefit of using secondary data is that much of the background work needed has already been carried out, such as literature reviews or case studies. The data may have been used in published texts and statistics elsewhere, and the data could already be promoted in the media or bring in useful personal contacts. Secondary data generally have a pre-established degree of validity and reliability which need not be re-examined by the researcher who is re-using such data. Secondary data is key in the concept of data enrichment, which is where datasets from secondary sources are connected to a research dataset to improve its precision by adding key attributes and values.^[5]

Secondary data can provide a baseline for primary research to compare the collected primary data results to and it can also be helpful in research design.

However, secondary data can present problems, too. The data may be out of date or inaccurate. If using data collected for different research purposes, it may not cover those samples of the population researchers want to examine, or not in sufficient detail.^[1] Administrative data, which is not originally collected for research, may not be available in the usual research formats or may be difficult to get access to.

Secondary analysis or re-use of qualitative data[edit]

While 'secondary data' is associated with quantitative databases, analysis focused on verbal or visual materials created for another purpose, is a legitimate avenue for the qualitative researcher. Actually one could go as far as claim that qualitative secondary data analysis “can be understood, not so much as the analysis of pre-existing data; rather as involving a process of re-contextualizing, and re-constructing, data.”^[6]

In the analysis of secondary qualitative data, good documentation cannot be underestimated as it provides future researchers with the background and context and allows replication.^[7]

Secondary data is extremely useful, if less reliable, type of data that many researchers will collect to corroborate their findings or expand the scope of their research. Secondary data is data that is not collected directly by the researcher themselves but is relayed to them by an outside source. For instance, anecdotal accounts of animal sightings may be used to corroborate the data on animal sightings in a region without needing primary data.

This data is very useful because it can be gathered with little additional effort or expense from the researchers, and there is a wealth of it readily available. Many people have had these secondary experiences or have performed their own studies on the same topic. Therefore, instead of continuing to pursue primary data, researchers can improve their volume of data by including some secondary data. It can be relayed improperly and is subject to some bias (you may only gather data that supports your hypothesis without exploring the sum total of information, even unintentionally). However, it is still very useful for research.

Secondary Research: Definition

Secondary research or desk research is a research method that involves using already existing data. Existing data is summarized and collated to increase the overall effectiveness of research.

Secondary research includes research material published in research reports and similar documents. These documents can be made available by public libraries, websites, data obtained from already filled in surveys etc. Some government and non-government agencies also store data, that can be used for research purposes and can be retrieved from them.

Secondary research is much more cost-effective than primary research, as it makes use of already existing data, unlike primary research where data is collected first hand by organizations or businesses or they can employ a third party to collect data on their behalf.

Learn More: Primary Research- Examples, Methods and Purpose

Secondary Research Methods with Examples

Secondary research is cost effective and that’s one of the reasons that makes it a popular choice among a lot of businesses and organizations. Not every organization is able to pay huge sum of money to conduct research and gather data. So, rightly secondary research is also termed as “desk research”, as data can be retrieved from sitting behind a desk.

Following are popularly used secondary research methods and examples:

1. Data available on the internet: One of the most popular ways of collecting secondary data is using the internet. Data is readily available on the internet and can be downloaded at the click of a button.

This data is practically free of cost or one may have to pay a negligible amount to download the already existing data. Websites have a lot of information that businesses or organizations can use to suit their research needs. However, organizations need to consider only authentic and trusted website to collect information.

2. Government and nongovernment agencies: Data for secondary research can also be collected from some government and non-government agencies. For example, US Government Printing Office, US Census Bureau, and Small Business Development Centers have valuable and relevant data that businesses or organizations can use.

There is a certain cost applicable to download or use data available with these agencies. Data obtained from these agencies are authentic and trustworthy.

3. Public libraries: Public libraries are another good source to search for data for secondary research. Public libraries have copies of important research that were conducted earlier. They are a storehouse of important information and documents from which information can be extracted.

The services provided in these public libraries vary from one library to another. More often, libraries have a huge collection of government publications with market statistics, large collection of business directories and newsletters.

4. Educational Institutions: Importance of collecting data from educational institutions for secondary research is often overlooked. However, more research is conducted in colleges and universities than any other business sector.

The data that is collected by universities is mainly for primary research. However, businesses or organizations can approach educational institutions and request for data from them.

5. Commercial information sources: Local newspapers, journals, magazines, radio and TV stations are a great source to obtain data for secondary research. These commercial information sources have first-hand information on economic developments, political agenda, market research, demographic segmentation and similar subjects.

Businesses or organizations can request to obtain data that is most relevant to their study. Businesses not only have the opportunity to identify their prospective clients but can also know about the avenues to promote their products or services through these sources as they have a wider reach.

Key Differences between Primary Research and Secondary Research

Primary Research	Secondary Research
Research is conducted first hand to obtain data. Researcher “owns” the data collected.	Research is based on data collected from previous researches.
Primary research is based on raw data.	Secondary research is based on tried and tested data which is previously analyzed and filtered.
The data collected fits the needs of a researcher, it is customized. Data is collected based on the absolute needs of organizations or businesses.	Data may or may not be according to the requirement of a researcher.
Researcher is deeply involved in research to collect data in primary research.	As opposed to primary research, secondary research is fast and easy. It aims at gaining a broader understanding of subject matter.
Primary research is an expensive process and consumes a lot of time to collect and analyze data.	Secondary research is a quick process as data is already available. Researcher should know where to explore to get most appropriate data.

How to conduct Secondary Research?

Here are the steps involved in conducting secondary research:

1. Identify the topic of research: Before beginning secondary research, identify the topic that needs research. Once that’s done, list down the research attributes and its purpose.

2. Identify research sources: Next, narrow down on the information sources that will provide most relevant data and information applicable to your research.

3. Collect existing data: Once the data collection sources are narrowed down, check for any previous data that is available which is closely related to the topic. Data related to research can be obtained from various sources like newspapers, public libraries, government and non-government agencies etc.

4. Combine and compare: Once data is collected, combine and compare the data for any duplication and assemble data into a usable format. Make sure to collect data from authentic sources. Incorrect data can hamper research severely.

4. Analyze data: Analyze data that is collected and identify if all questions are answered. If not, repeat the process if there is a need to dwell further into actionable insights.

Advantages of Secondary Research

1. Most information is secondary research is readily available. There are many sources from which relevant data can be collected and used, unlike primary research, where data needs to collect from scratch.

2. This is a less expensive and less time-consuming process as data required is easily available and doesn’t cost much if extracted from authentic sources. A minimum expenditure is associated to obtain data.

3. The data that is collected through secondary research, gives organizations or businesses an idea about the effectiveness of primary research. Hence, organizations or businesses can form a hypothesis and evaluate cost of conducting primary research.

4. Secondary research is quicker to conduct because of availability of data. Secondary research can be completed within a few weeks depending on the objective of businesses or scale of data needed.

Disadvantages of Secondary Research

1. Although data is readily available, credibility evaluation must be performed to understand the authenticity of the information available.

2. Not all secondary data resources offer the latest reports and statistics. Even when the data is accurate, it may not be updated enough to accommodate recent timelines.

3. Secondary research derives its conclusion from collective primary research data. The success of your research will depend, to a greater extent, on the quality of research already conducted by primary research.

Secondary market research will always have second priority over primary market research. However, in many cases, secondary market research itself plays a pivotal role. Such that in the end you wont need primary market research. Hence, for many companies, secondary market research is the first step in conducting market research. At the same time, if you want to conduct a primary market research, then you need to have enough background information so that you can form the right market research questionnaire. Thus, the first usage of secondary market research is to pave way for primary market research.

On the other hand, many a times secondary market research is all that is required for the company. Take for example –  a company wants to find out how much competition is present in the detergent segment and how many SKU’s are already present. This can be easily researched online as well as by industry information. Thus, in this case, the company may avoid primary market research at all. Secondary market research is enough to find out the single detergent which is not present in the market and which the company can launch. However, to finalize the characteristics which should be included in the new detergent, the company will have to do new product development which again will involve primary market research.

Primary and secondary research are the foundations of market research. Combined, they can provide companies with crucial information necessary to make strategic business decisions.

What is secondary research?

Secondary research, or “desk research”, is the synthesis of information and data that has already been collected. Journals, books, import and export data, production data, and government statistics and censuses are all examples of secondary research. In today’s digital age, there is an abundant supply of secondary research easily accessible, and often free. This information can be useful for many research topics, providing a general overview of a market to showing market trends. However, it is often not detailed, specific nor recent enough to answer those common business questions. This is where primary research comes into play.

What is primary research?

Primary research, sometimes referred to as “field research”, is the collection and analysis of information and data that is not already available. This generates your own datasets and information, and the research methodology can be tailored to meet your own objectives. The results provide a company with new, strategic information.

Primary research includes interviews, store checks, surveys, focus groups, questionnaires and experiments. It can be both quantitative and qualitative.

Is raw data enough?

As the world becomes increasingly connected and digital, an endless amount of primary data exists but it is often useless if left raw with no analysis. There is data floating around, which by itself doesn’t tell us anything. But if you collate the information, connect the dots, find patterns, and analyze the meaning, you can create powerful information.

For example, if you collated internet sales data from various countries of a certain industry, you could assess which brands are most popular in which countries, in which months there are greater sales, and if sales are growing or shrinking among many other points. The data can even be used to predict future trends. This analysis helps businesses create strategies such as whether to enter a market or how they could improve sales.

Which type of research should I choose?

Good analysis incorporates both secondary and primary research. Often one approach will not provide sufficient results to answer common business questions such as “I am thinking of exporting medical devices to Colombia, what is the current market size and which channels should I target?” or “What is the size of the illegal market of tobacco and what is the fiscal loss?”.

To assess the current market size of illegal tobacco in a certain country, secondary research from a variety of sources will help to create the picture: The number of smokers in a country (World Health Organization), sales of tobacco (Euromonitor International´s market research database, Passport), overall population (World Bank) and news articles on the seizure of contraband tobacco. This information will allow you to calculate a population size of how many people buy tobacco, but not illegal tobacco. However, primary research such as interviews with actors across the supply chain, store checks in informal channels and consumer surveys will provide the crucial, up-to-date, data to be able to estimate the actual illegal market size and thus calculate the fiscal loss.

This combined methodology of primary and secondary research adds greater value to any research project and provides the strategic insights to answer important business questions

Secondary data collection methods in Research

Secondary data means data that are already available i.e., they refer to the data which have already been collected and analysed by someone else. When the researcher utilises secondary data, then he has to look into various sources from where he can obtain them. In this case he is certainly not confronted with the problems that are usually associated with the collection of original data. Secondary data may either be published data or unpublished data. Usually published data are available in: (a) various publications of the central, state are local governments; (b) various publications of foreign governments or of international bodies and their subsidiary organisations; (c) technical and trade journals; (d) books, magazines and newspapers; (e) reports and publications of various associations connected with business and industry, banks, stock exchanges, etc.; (f) reports prepared by research scholars, universities, economists, etc. in different fields; and (g) public records and statistics, historical documents, and other sources of published information. The sources of unpublished data are many; they may be found in diaries, letters, unpublished biographies and autobiographies and also may be available with scholars and research workers, trade associations, labour bureaus and other public/ private individuals and organisations.

Secondary data collection in Research Methodology

Researcher must be very careful in using secondary data. He must make a minute scrutiny because it is just possible that the secondary data may be unsuitable or may be inadequate in the context of the problem which the researcher wants to study. In this connection Dr. A.L. Bowley very aptly observes that it is never safe to take published statistics at their face value without knowing their meaning and limitations and it is always necessary to criticise arguments that can be based on them.
By way of caution, the researcher, before using secondary data, must see that they possess following characteristics:

1. Reliability of data: The reliability can be tested by finding out such things about the said data: (a) Who collected the data? (b) What were the sources of data? (c) Were they collected by using proper methods (d) At what time were they collected?(e) Was there any bias of the compiler? (t) What level of accuracy was desired? Was it achieved ?
2. Suitability of data: The data that are suitable for one enquiry may not necessarily be found suitable in another enquiry. Hence, if the available data are found to be unsuitable, they should not be used by the researcher. In this context, the researcher must very carefully scrutinise the definition of various terms and units of collection used at the time of collecting the data from the primary source originally. Similarly, the object, scope and nature of the original enquiry must also be studied. If the researcher finds differences in these, the data will remain unsuitable for the present enquiry and should not be used.
3. Adequacy of data: If the level of accuracy achieved in data is found inadequate for the purpose of the present enquiry, they will be considered as inadequate and should not be used by the researcher. The data will also be considered inadequate, if they are related to an area which may be either narrower or wider than the area of the present enquiry.
   From all this we can say that it is very risky to use the already available data. The already available data should be used by the researcher only when he finds them reliable, suitable and adequate. But he should not blindly discard the use of such data if they are readily available from authentic sources and are also suitable and adequate for in that case it will not be economical to spend time and energy in field surveys for collecting information. At times, there may be wealth of usable information in the already available data which must be used by an intelligent researcher but with due precaution.

Secondary Data

Data which has already been collected by someone, may be sorted, tabulated and has undergone a statistical treatment. It is fabricated or tailored data.

Sources of Secondary Data

The secondary data may be available from the following sources:

• Government Organizations
  Federal and Provincial Bureau of Statistics, Crop Reporting Service-Agriculture Department, Census and Registration Organization etc
• Semi-Government Organization
  Municipal committees, District Councils, Commercial and Financial Institutions like banks etc
• Teaching and Research Organizations
• Research Journals and Newspapers
• Internet

Data

The facts and figures which can be numerically measured are studied in statistics. Numerical measures of same characteristic is known as observation and collection of observations is termed as data. Data are collected by individual research workers or by organization through sample surveys or experiments, keeping in view the objectives of the study. The data collected may be:

1. Primary Data
2. Secondary Data

Primary and Secondary Data in Statistics

The difference between primary and secondary data in Statistics is that Primary data is collected firsthand by a researcher (organization, person, authority, agency or party etc) through experiments, surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, conducting interviews and taking (required) measurements, while the secondary data is readily available (collected by someone else) and is available to the public through publications, journals and newspapers.

Primary Data

Primary data means the raw data (data without fabrication or not tailored data) which has just been collected from the source and has not gone any kind of statistical treatment like sorting and tabulation. The term primary data may sometimes be used to refer to first hand information.

Sources of Primary Data

The sources of primary data are primary units such as basic experimental units, individuals, households. Following methods are used to collect data from primary units usually and these methods depends on the nature of the primary unit. Published data and the data collected in the past is called secondary data.

• Personal Investigation
  The researcher conducts the experiment or survey himself/herself and collected data from it. The collected data is generally accurate and reliable. This method of collecting primary data is feasible only in case of small scale laboratory, field experiments or pilot surveys and is not practicable for large scale experiments and surveys because it take too much time.
• Through Investigators
  The trained (experienced) investigators are employed to collect the required data. In case of surveys, they contact the individuals and fill in the questionnaires after asking the required information, where a questionnaire is an inquiry form having a number of questions designed to obtain information from the respondents. This method of collecting data is usually employed by most of the organizations and its gives reasonably accurate information but it is very costly and may be time taking too.
• Through Questionnaire
  The required information (data) is obtained by sending a questionnaire (printed or soft form) to the selected individuals (respondents) (by mail) who fill in the questionnaire and return it to the investigator. This method is relatively cheap as compared to “through investigator” method but non-response rate is very high as most of the respondents don’t bother to fill in the questionnaire and send it back to investigator.
• Through Local Sources
  The local representatives or agents are asked to send requisite information who provide the information based upon their own experience. This method is quick but it gives rough estimates only.
• Through Telephone
  The information may be obtained by contacting the individuals on telephone. Its a Quick and provide accurate required information.
• Through Internet
  With the introduction of information technology, the people may be contacted through internet and the individuals may be asked to provide the pertinent information. Google survey is widely used as online method for data collection now a day. There are many paid online survey services too.

Disadvantages of Secondary Research

While secondary research is often valuable, it also has drawbacks that include:

Quality of Researcher

As we will discuss, research conducted using primary methods are largely controlled by the marketer. However, this is not the case when it comes to data collected by others. Consequently, the quality of secondary research should be scrutinized closely since the origins of the information may be questionable. Organizations relying on secondary data as an important component in their decision-making (e.g., market research studies) must take extra steps to evaluate the validity and reliability of the information by critically evaluating how the information was gathered, analyzed, and presented.

Not Specific to Researcher’s Needs

Secondary data is often not presented in a form that exactly meets the marketer’s needs. For example, a marketer obtains an expensive research report that looks at how different age groups feel about certain products within the marketer’s industry. Unfortunately, the marketer may be disappointed to discover that the way the research divides age groups (e.g., under 13, 14-18, 19-25, etc.) does not match how the marketer’s company designates its age groups (e.g., under 16, 17-21, 22-30, etc.). Because of this difference the results may not be useful.

Inefficient Spending for Information

Since the research received may not be specific to the marketer’s needs, an argument can be made that research spending is inefficient. That is, the marketer may not receive a satisfactory amount of information for what is spent.

Incomplete Information

Many times a researcher finds that research that appears promising is in fact a “teaser” released by the research supplier. This often occurs when a small portion of a study is disclosed, often for free, but the full report, which is often expensive, is needed to gain the full value of the study.

Not Timely

Caution must be exercised in relying on secondary data that may have been collected well in the past. Out-of-date information may offer little value especially for companies competing in fast changing markets.

Not Proprietary Information

In most cases, secondary research is not undertaken specifically for one organization. Instead it is made available to many either for free or for a fee. Consequently, there is rarely an “information advantage” gained by those who obtain the research.