- Secondary research involves collecting and analyzing existing data that has been previously collected by someone else, such as government agencies, trade associations, or academic institutions.
Features of secondary research:
- Less expensive than primary research: secondary research can be much cheaper as data already exists and does not need to be collected from scratch. Example: A company can access economic data from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe rather than collecting their own data.
- Less time consuming: since the data already exists, it can be accessed and analyzed more quickly than primary research. Example: A company can analyze data on market size and trends from industry reports without having to spend time conducting surveys.
- Large sample sizes: secondary data sources can provide access to a larger sample size than primary research as it can be collected from a wider range of sources. Example: A company can access demographic data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency to get a large sample size.
- Can provide historical data: secondary research can be used to analyze trends and changes over time. Example: A company can access sales data from previous years to analyze changes in customer preferences and market trends.
- May not be specific to the company’s needs: secondary research may not provide the specific information a company needs as it is not customized to their needs. Example: A company may need data on customer satisfaction with their products, which may not be available through secondary research.
- May not be up-to-date: secondary research data may be outdated or irrelevant if it was collected a long time ago. Example: A company may use sales data from two years ago, but the market could have changed significantly since then.
- May not be accurate: secondary data may have been collected using different methods or from different sources which can affect its accuracy. Example: A company may use data on consumer behaviour collected by a competitor which may have different research methods and sample sizes.
Situations where secondary research is appropriate:
- When a company needs to collect information quickly and with minimal cost.
- When a company needs to access historical data to analyze trends.
- When a company needs to analyze large amounts of data.
- When a company needs to access data that is not available through primary research.
- When a company needs to supplement primary research with additional data.
Benefits of secondary research:
- Lower cost: secondary research is often much cheaper than primary research as data already exists.
- Faster access to data: secondary research provides faster access to data as it has already been collected.
- Larger sample size: secondary research provides access to larger sample sizes than primary research.
- Provides historical data: secondary research can provide data on trends and changes over time.
- Can be used to supplement primary research: secondary research can be used to complement primary research and provide additional insights.
- Can help identify research gaps: secondary research can help identify areas where primary research is needed.
- Can help in the decision-making process: secondary research can provide valuable information to inform business decisions.
Drawbacks of secondary research:
- May not be specific to company needs: secondary research may not provide the specific information a company needs.
- May not be up-to-date: secondary research data may be outdated or irrelevant.
- May not be accurate: secondary research data may have been collected using different methods or from different sources which can affect its accuracy.
- May not be as comprehensive: secondary research may not provide as comprehensive insights as primary research.
- May not provide the depth of information: secondary research may not provide the depth of information that primary research can provide.
- May not be reliable: secondary research data may be biased or incomplete.
- May not be able to answer all questions: secondary research may not be
