What is Secondary Data?
Secondary Data simply refers to the data set that has already been collected through primary sources and is readily made available for researchers to utilize it in their own research. It is basically the type of data already collected in the past by someone else. This data can be termed as second-hand information which is not used for the first time, and this is why it is called secondary data. Common sources of secondary data for social science comprises of censuses, information gathered by government departments, organizational records and data originally collected for other research purposes.
Analysis of secondary data can save lots of time that would be otherwise spend in gathering data, and particularly in case of quantitative data, can offer large and high-quality databases that would be not feasible for individual researcher to collect on its own solely. In addition to this, secondary data is treated essential by analysts working on economic and social change, since it is not possible to conduct new survey that can efficiently capture past change and/or developments. Although, the secondary data might not be of much use in marketing research, as data may be inaccurate or outdated.
Sources of Secondary Data
The sources of secondary data comprise of books, journals, newspapers, personal sources, website, government records, etc. Such data is known to be readily available as compared to primary data, and require very little research.
Some of the common sources of Secondary data are as follows: –
- Books- The books are one of the oldest means of gathering data. In today’s time, books are easily available on almost every topic a person thinks of. While carrying out the research, firstly a person just needs to look for book on that particular topic and then choose from available repository of books in that area. Books, if chosen carefully are trusted source of authentic data that can be easily used in the preparation of literature review.
- Published sources- There are large number of published sources available across multiple research topics. The authenticity of data available on such sources is to a large extend dependent upon the writer and publishing company. Published sources may be either in printed form or electronic media form as the case may be. Also, they might be either available free or cost or paid depending upon the decision of writer or publishing company. Some of the examples of published sources are: -reports presented by economist, research scholars, bureaus, -published articles belonging to local bodies, state and central government, magazines, journals, -publications of chamber of commerce, financial institutions, trade associations, etc.
- Unpublished Personal sources- Unpublished personal sources may not be easily available and accessible as compared to the published sources. Such sources become accessible only if the researcher shares it with some another researcher who is not allowed to share this with a third party. Some of the common unpublished sources that can be utilized for gathering secondary data are: records maintained by private and business organizations, research work done by professors, teachers and professionals, stats data maintained by distinct departments of central and state governments, etc.
- Newspapers- The information available in newspapers is generally most reliable one in most of the cases. This makes it one of the most authentic sources for gathering secondary data. The type of data that generally got published in newspapers relates to political, economic, educational and scientific. Hence, newspapers can be treated as the best source for scientific data collection.
- Journal- Journals are gradually becoming the most important source other than books these days for the purpose of data collection. This is because journals get regularly updated on periodic basis with new publications, thereby providing up-to-date information. Also, journals provide more specific information when it comes to data research. Like for example, there can be a journal on ‘’Secondary data collection for quantitative data’’, while a book will be titled simply as ‘’Secondary data collection’’.
- Websites- Information and data available on website is generally not regulated one and that way might not be trusted as compared to other sources. However, there are some regular websites as well that shares only authentic data and is reliable for carrying out research work. Most of these websites are government websites or private organizations that are paid data collectors.
- Blogs- Blogs is one of the common sources of online data and might be less reliable than websites. In today’s time, practically everyone is owning blog, and many peoples are using blogs to drive traffic on their website or make money via paid ads. Therefore, this way they can’t be trusted always. For example, blogger may write up good things regarding a product for which he or she was paid by manufacturer, although in reality that product may carry multiple limitations.
- Podcasts- Podcast are becoming quite common during these days, and many peoples listen to them as an alternative to radio. They are more or less like online radio stations and are gaining much popularity these days. Information is usually shared during podcasts and listeners use the same as a source of data collection.
Some of the other sources of Secondary Data collection includes diaries (Personal records), radio stations, letters and public sector records. Utilizing all these above mentioned sources, a researcher can easily gather useful information as per his/her needs that will ultimately help him/her to present valuable findings.