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Secondary Data: References Saunders Et Al., Chapter 7

Secondary data refers to pre-existing data not originally collected for the current research project. It can be extremely useful as background information and for setting cases in wider context. There are vast amounts of secondary data available from various sources like organizations, media, government, and online. While it has advantages like being less resource-intensive and allowing for longitudinal studies, secondary data also has disadvantages like potentially lacking suitability for the research questions or having unknown validity. Finding and accessing suitable secondary data may require significant effort to locate appropriate sources and evaluate their quality and usefulness.

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230 views6 pages

Secondary Data: References Saunders Et Al., Chapter 7

Secondary data refers to pre-existing data not originally collected for the current research project. It can be extremely useful as background information and for setting cases in wider context. There are vast amounts of secondary data available from various sources like organizations, media, government, and online. While it has advantages like being less resource-intensive and allowing for longitudinal studies, secondary data also has disadvantages like potentially lacking suitability for the research questions or having unknown validity. Finding and accessing suitable secondary data may require significant effort to locate appropriate sources and evaluate their quality and usefulness.

Uploaded by

danwid
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Secondary Data

References
Saunders et al., Chapter 7
Introduction
Pre-existing data not gathered for purposes of the current research

Not ‘new’ data – ‘second hand’


Secondary data
‘Back up’ data – secondary in use

Tendency not to consider secondary data as part of the research


process, but to focus only on primary or ‘original’ data

But secondary data can be extremely useful:


• Important for background material and setting organizational cases
in wider context
• Vast amount of existing data ‘out there’
• Large amounts in organizations, media, government, data banks
• The Internet - both for storage and location
Types of Secondary Data
1. Documentary
Organizational records, communications and web sites; reports of
committees; media accounts (newspaper articles); TV and video
recordings; Internet sources

2. Multiple source (different data sets combined)


Country or sector reports; industry statistics

3. Survey data
Government surveys and censuses (continuous); surveys by
international bodies

Source: Saunders et al., p190


Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages
• Resource implications – usually easier to gather than primary data
• Unobtrusive – already collected
• Longitudinal study may be possible
• Quality and permanence of data – eg. government surveys

Disadvantages
• Suitability
• Cost and access – may still be difficult in spite of resource
advantages
• Validity of some secondary data (eg. Internet sources)
Suitability
The central problem of secondary data which, by definition, was not
gathered for purposes of the present research

May only partially address the research questions

Data definitions, categories, levels of aggregation may differ, if only


slightly, from those required; time series may not be continuous

Validity of data may vary – government sources likely to be valid, but


company statistics may be unreliable; minutes of meetings may be
‘massaged’; newspaper articles adhere to ‘journalistic standards’

Integration of secondary data with each other and with primary data
also an issue
Availability and Location
These are crucial issues given the amounts of existing secondary data.
Finding suitable data – knowing that it exists.
A considerable amount of ‘detective work’ often required.

Availability
• On-line indexes and catalogues, library searches, information
officers, lists of sources (eg. Saunders et al. p197-9)
• Your literature review may suggest the type of data already
gathered
• Importance of evaluating the source - dangers (in dissertation) of
being ‘led on’ by availability of some data, only to find it peters out

Location
• Often availability checks provide location
• Internet search tools, home pages, data sites and guides

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