PRIMARY AND

SECONDARY DATA
1
Module Name: Research Methodologies
Module Leader: Dr Roshni Paul
Research Methodologies
 A Demonstrate an understanding of research methodology and frameworks relevant to the
conduct of business research.

B Assess the suitability of research tools and techniques and the limitations of quantitative and
qualitative research

C Understand the use of research and its applications to business needs

D Interpret research reports and output derive insights from them

E Prepare a sample questionnaire, collect data and communicate the analysis via a research report

F Plan and coordinate work independently and in teams, to meet deadlines, delivery styles and
specified quality standards.

G Prepare a sample research proposal responsibly and with due consideration of various ethical
principles of research

LEARNING OUTCOMES
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 PRIMARY DATA
 Primary data is …
 information collected by a researcher to address a specific issue or problem. As it
has not yet been gathered or it may not be accessible, it is data that is unique,
first-hand and from an original data source.
 The data is collected by a researcher using a variety of techniques, such as
interviews, focus groups, surveys and observations.
 Example, a food manufacturing company was losing market share and wanted
to gain a better understanding of customers’ perceptions of their snack products
in the light of a cultural shift towards healthier foods. The researchers would have
the advantage of conducting interviews with customers using tailored questions,
designed specifically to elicit the required information to help them address the
business issue. However, this method of data collection may be considered quite
costly and time consuming compared to using information that is already in the
public domain.

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 SECONDARY DATA
 A secondary data source refers to a data source that is already in existence and
is being used either for a purpose for which it was not originally intended or by
someone other than the researcher who collected the original data (Salkind,
2010).
 Secondary data can be raw data or published summaries and you can tailor the
data according to your research needs. Examples include large databases of
surveys, censuses, and social and economic data that are too expensive or
unfeasible for an individual to collect.
 Other types of secondary data include organisational records and surveys (e.g.
employee surveys), market research data, or transcripts of interviews or focus
groups. Whether you are collecting data for your own project or compiling a
portfolio of evidence, secondary data serves as a time-efficient and easy to
obtain source of information.

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QUANTITATIVE VS
QUALITATIVE DATA
 Qualitative data is data in the form of descriptive accounts of

observation or data which is classified in a way,

whereas

 Quantitative data is data that can be expressed numerically or classified

by some numerical value (Ghosh and Chopra, 2010).

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SECONDARY DATA
Data gathered and recorded by someone else prior to and
for a purpose other than the current project
Is often:
 Historical
 Already assembled
 Needs no access to subjects
 Secondary data may be dated.

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OBJECTIVES FOR
SECONDARY DATA STUDIES
 Fact Finding
 Model Building
 Data Based Marketing

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ADVANTAGES OF
SECONDARY DATA
 Inexpensive
 Obtained Rapidly
 Information is not Otherwise Accessible

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DISADVANTAGES OF
SECONDARY DATA
 Uncertain Accuracy
 Data Not Consistent with Needs
 Inappropriate Units of Measurement
 Time Period Inappropriate (Dated)

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 Evaluating Secondary Data

Does the data help to

answer questions
set out in the
problem definition?
Applicability
to project
objectives Does the data apply to
the time period of
interest?

Does the data apply to

the population of
interest?

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 Evaluating Secondary Data (continued)

Do the other terms

and variable
classifications
Applicability presented apply?
to project
objectives
Are the units of
measurement
comparable?

If possible, go to the
original source of the
Accuracy data?
of the data

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 Is the cost of data
acquisition worth it?

Accuracy Is there a possibility

of the data of bias?

Can the accuracy of

data collection be
verified?

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COMMON RESEARCH
OBJECTIVES
FOR SECONDARY DATA
STUDIES Fact Finding - Identifying consumption patterns
- Tracking trends

Model building - Estimating market potential

- Forecasting sales
- Selecting trade areas and sites

Data Based Marketing - Development of Prospect Lists

- Enhancement of Customer Lists

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FACT FINDING
 Identify consumer
behavior
 Trend analysis
 Environmental
scanning

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MODEL BUILDING
 Market potential
 Forecasting sales
 Analysis of trade
areas

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DATA BASED MARKETING
 Practice of maintaining a customer data base
 Names
 Addresses
 Past purchases
 Responses to past efforts
 Data from numerous sources

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INTERNAL DATA
 Internal and proprietary data is more
descriptive
 Accounting information
 Sales information
 Backorders
 Customer complaints

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DATA MINING

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 Traditional Distribution
Indirect Channel Using Intermediary

Information Producer
(Federal Government)

Library
(Storage of
government
documents
and books)

Research Methodologies Company User 19

 Traditional Distribution
Direct Channel

Information Producer
(Federal Government)

Company User
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 Modern Distribution of Secondary Data
Collection
Information producer A Information producer B Information producer C
(Federal government- (Grocery store-retail (Audience research company-
census data) scanner data) viewing data)

Vendor/external
distributor
(Computerized database
integrating all three data
sources for any
geographic area)

Distribution

Information producer A
(Federal government-
Research Methodologies census data) 21
EXTERNAL DATA
 Created, recorded, or generated by an entity other than
the researcher’s organization
 Government
 Trade associations
 Newspapers and journals

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EXTERNAL DATA
 Libraries
 The Internet
 Vendors
 Producers
 Books and periodicals

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EXTERNAL DATA
 Government sources
 Media sources
 Commercial sources

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GOVERNMENT SOURCES

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COMMERCIAL SOURCES
 Attitude and public opinion research—syndicated services report the
findings of opinion polls
 Consumption and purchase behavior data
 Advertising research—readership and audience data

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SINGLE SOURCE DATA
 Diverse types of data offered from a single source

- e.g., television viewing and scanner purchase data

- e.g., Prizim and ClusterPlus

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GLOBAL SECONDARY DATA
 Typical limitations
 Additional pitfalls
 Unavailable
 Questionable accuracy
 Lack of standardized terminology

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 REFERENCES
 Bougie, R., & Sekaran, U. (2019). Research methods for business: A skill building

approach. John Wiley & Sons.

 Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., Adhikari, A., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business

Research Methods A South-asian Perspective: Cengage Learning.

 Using data to aid organisational change. (n.d.). Open Learning.

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-business/using-data-aid-organisational-c
hange/content-section-4.1

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