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data may either be published data or unpublished data.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records and statistics, historical documents, and other sources of published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 The sources of unpublished data are many; they may be found in
diaries, letters, unpublished biographies and autobiographies and also may be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.

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 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.
Advantages of Secondary data
1. It is economical. It saves efforts and expenses.
2. It is time saving.
3. It helps to make primary data collection more specific since with the help of
secondary data, we are able to make out what are the gaps and deficiencies and
what additional information needs to be collected.
4. It helps to improve the understanding of the problem.
5. It provides a basis for comparison for the data that is collected by the
researcher.
Disadvantages of Secondary Data
1. Secondary data is something that seldom fits in the framework of the
marketing research factors. Reasons for its non-fitting are:-
a. Unit of secondary data collection-Suppose you want information on
disposable income, but the data is available on gross income. The information may
not be same as we require.
b. Class Boundaries may be different when units are same.

Before 5 Years After 5 Years

2500-5000 5000-6000

5001-7500 6001-7000

7500-10000 7001-10000

c. Thus the data collected earlier is of no use to you.

2. Accuracy of secondary data is not known.
3. Data may be outdated.

What are the sources of Secondary Data Indian Context:

What are the sources of Secondary Data?
Collection of Secondary Data
The secondary sources can be classified into two categories via. Published and
unpublished sources.

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A. Published Sources
Generally, published sources are international, national, govt., semi-Govt, private
corporate bodies, trade associations, expert committee and commission reports and
research reports.
They collect the statistical data in different fields like national income, population,
prices, employment, wages, export, import etc. These reports are published on
regular basis i.e., annually, quarterly, monthly, fortnightly, weekly, daily and so on.
These published sources of the secondary data are given below:
1. Govt. Publications:
The Central Statistical Organization (CSO) and various state govt. collect compile
and publish data on regular basis. Some of the important such publications are:
(i) Indian Trade Journals
(ii) Reports on Currency and Finance
(iii) Indian Customs and Central Excise Tariff
(iv) Statistical Abstract of India
(v) Reserve Bank of India Bulletin
(vi) Labour Gazette
(vii) Agricultural Statistics of India
(viii) Bulletin of Agricultural Prices
(ix) Indian Foreign Statistics
(x) Economic Survey and so on.
2. International Bodies:
All foreign govts and international agencies publish regular reports of international
significance. These reports are regularly published by the agencies like;
(i) United Nations Organization
(iii) World Health Organization
(ii) International Labour Organization
(iv) Food and Agriculture Organization
(v) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(vi) World Meteorological Organization.
3. Semi Govt. Publications:
Semi govt, organizations municipalities, District Boards and others also publish
reports in respect of birth, death and education, sanitation and many other related
fields.
4. Reports of Committee and Commissions:

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Central Govt, or State Govt, sometimes appoints committees and commissions on
matters of great importance. Reports of such committees are of great significance
as they provide invaluable data. These reports are like, Shah Commission Report,
Sarkaria Commission Report and Finance Commission Reports etc.
5. Private Publications:
Some commercial and research institutes publish reports regularly. They are like
Institutes of Economic Growth, Stock Exchanges, National Council of Education
Research and Training (NCERT), National Council of Applied Economic Research
(NCAER) etc.
6. Newspapers and Magazines.
Various newspapers as well as magazines also do collect data in respect of many
social and economic aspects. Some of them are as:
(i) Economic Times
(ii) Financial Express
(iii) Hindustan Times
(iv) Indian Express
(v) Business Standard
(vi) Economic and Political Weekly
(vii) Main-stream
(viii) Kurukshetra
(ix) Yojna etc.
7. Research Scholars:
Individual research scholars collect data to complete their research work which
further is published with their research papers.
B. Unpublished Source
There are certain records maintained properly by the govt, agencies, private offices
and firms. These data are not published.
Limitations of Secondary Data
One should not use the secondary data without care and precautions. As such,
secondary data suffers from pitfalls and limitations as stated below:
1. No proper procedure is adopted to collect the data.
2. Sometimes, secondary data is influenced by the prejudice of the investigator.
3. Secondary data sometimes lacks standard of accuracy.
4. Secondary data may not cover the full period of investigation.