USING SECONDARY DATA

8 – Secondary Data
Learning outcomes
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:

o Identify the full variety of secondary data that are available;

o Appreciate ways in which secondary data can be utilized to help to
answer research question(s) and to meet objectives;
o Understand the advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data in research
projects;
o Use a range of techniques, including published guides and the Internet, to locate secondary
data;
o Evaluate the suitability of secondary data for answering research question(s) and meeting
objectives in terms of coverage, validity, reliability and measurement bias;
o Apply the knowledge, skills and understanding gained to your own
o research project.
 Secondary data and Primary data
 Secondary data is data that have already been collected for some other purposes, while primary data is data which can be
collected specifically for the purpose of answering a RQ(s) and to meet RO(s).
o Yet, despite this, such secondary data can provide a useful source from which to answer, or partially to answer, your research question(s).

 Secondary data include both raw data and published summaries.

 Most organizations collect and store a variety of data to support their operations:
o for example, payroll details, copies of letters, minutes of meetings and accounts of sales of goods or services.

 Some of these data, in particular, documents such as company minutes, are available only from the organizations that
produce them, and so access will need to be negotiated.

 Others, including government surveys such as a census of population, are widely available in published form as well as via
the Internet or on CD-ROM in university libraries.

 A vast majority of professional organizations have their own Internet sites from which data may be obtained.

 Online computer databases containing company information can be accessed via the Internet through information
gateways, such as Biz/Ed.

 For certain types of research projects, such as those requiring national or international comparisons, secondary data will
probably provide the main source to answer your research question(s) and to address your objectives.

 Most research questions are answered using some combination of secondary and primary data.
 But where the limited appropriate secondary data are available, you will have to rely mainly on data you collect yourself.
 Types of secondary data and uses in research
 Secondary data include both quantitative and qualitative,
o they are used in both descriptive and explanatory research.

 Secondary data may be

o raw data, where there has been little if any processing,
o or compiled data that have received some form summarizing.

 Secondary data may be used

o used most frequently as part of a case study or survey research strategy particularly within business and management research .
o However, other research strategies, including, action research/experimental research may also need to include secondary data.

 Different researchers (e.g. Bryman 1989; Dale et al. 1988; Hakim 1982, 2000; Robson 2002)
have generated a variety of classifications for secondary data.
 It can be categorized into three main groups:
o Documentary secondary data.

o survey-based secondary data.

o Multiple-source secondary data.

Types of secondary data (Figure 8.1)

Source: Saunders et al. (2006)

Documentary secondary data
 Documentary secondary data are often used in research projects that also use primary data.
o They can be used to help to triangulate findings based on other data, such as written documents and primary data collected
through observation, interviews or questionnaires.

 However, they can also be used on their own or with other sources of secondary data,
o for example for business history research.

 It consists of written as well as non-written materials.

o Written materials such as notices, correspondence (including emails), minutes of meetings, reports to shareholders, diaries,
transcripts of speeches and administrative and public records, books, journal/magazine articles and newspapers.
 It can provide qualitative data such as managers’ espoused reasons for decisions.
 It can also provide statistical measures such as data on absenteeism and profitability derived from company records.

o Non-written materials, such as voice and video recordings, pictures, drawings, films and television programs, DVDs and CD-
ROMs as well as organizations' databases.

 These data can be analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively.

 Availability of the documentary sources will depend on whether you have been granted access to an
organization's records as well as on your success in locating library, data archive and commercial sources.
Survey-based secondary data
 Survey-based secondary data refers to data collected using a survey strategy, usually by
questionnaires that have already been analyzed for their original purpose.

 Such data normally refer to organizations, people or households.

 They are made available as compiled data tables or, increasingly frequently, as a
downloadable matrix of raw data for secondary analysis.

 Survey-based secondary data will have been collected through one of three distinct
sub-types of survey strategy:

o Censuses

o Continuous/regular surveys

o Ad hoc surveys
Censuses
 Censuses are usually carried out by governments
o But unlike surveys, participation is obligatory (Hakim 2000).
o Consequently, they provide very good coverage of the population surveyed.

 The data from censuses conducted by many governments are intended to meet the needs
of government departments as well as of local government.
o As a consequence they are usually clearly defined, well documented and of a high quality.

 Such data are easily accessible in compiled form, and are widely used by other
organizations and individual researchers.
Continuous and regular surveys
 The surveys, excluding censuses, that are repeated over time (Hakim 1982).

 Many large organizations undertake regular surveys, such as employee attitude survey.
o However, because of the sensitive nature of such information, it is often difficult to gain access to such survey
data, especially in its raw form.

 In continuous surveys the data are collected throughout the year,

o such as the UK’s Social Trends (Office for National Statistics 2007d),

 In regular surveys that are repeated at regular intervals,

o such as Labour Force Survey, which since 1998 has been undertaken quarterly using a core set of questions by
Member States throughout the European Union.
Ad hoc surveys
 Ad hoc surveys are usually one-off surveys and are far more specific in their subject matter.
o Ad hoc research is specifically designed to address a particular problem or issue. 
o Ad hoc research is usually conducted when there is insufficient information. 
o Ad hoc projects are usually single pieces of research rather than part of a continuous programme.

 They include data from questionnaires that have been undertaken by independent researchers as well as
interviews undertaken by organizations and governments.
o But, because of their ad hoc nature, it is more difficult for the researcher to discover relevant surveys.

o However, it may be that an organization in which you are undertaking research has conducted its own
questionnaire, on an issue related to the particular interest of a researcher.

o Some organizations will provide you with a report containing aggregated data; others may be willing to let you
reanalyze the raw data from this ad hoc survey.

o Alternatively, a researcher may be able to gain access to and use raw data from an ad hoc survey that has been
deposited in an archive.
Multiple-source secondary data
 Multiple-source secondary data can be based entirely on documentary or on survey
secondary data, or can be an amalgam of the two.
 Key factor is that different data sets are combined to form another data set prior to your
accessing the data.
o One method of compilation is to extract and combine selected comparable variables from a number of surveys or from the same survey that
has been repeated a number of times to provide a time series of data to undertake a longitudinal study.

o Other ways of obtaining time-series data are to use a series of company documents, such as appointment letters or public and
administrative records, to create your own longitudinal secondary data set.

o Data can also be compiled for same population over time using a series of ‘snapshots’ to form cohort studies.

o Such studies are quite rare, owing to the difficulty of maintaining contact with members of cohort, year to year.

o Secondary data from different sources can also be combined, if they have the same geographical basis, to form area-based data set.

o Such data sets usually draw together quantifiable information and statistics, and are commonly produced by governments for their country.

o Area-based multiple-source data sets are usually available in published form for the countries and their component standard economic
planning regions. Also available from data archives.

 For all secondary data a detailed assessment of the validity and reliability will involve an
assessment of the method or methods used to collect the data.
 Locating secondary data
Two stage process
1. Establishing that the required secondary data is available through

o References in publications (books, journal articles)

o Within organisations (unpublished sources)

o Tertiary literature –
( indexes and catalogues in archives or online)

2. Locating the precise data required through

o References in published guides

o Data held by organisations
o Data on the Internet
Advantages of secondary data Disadvantages of secondary data
 Fewer resource requirements  Purpose of data collection may not match the
research needs

 Unobtrusive
 Access may be difficult or costly

 Longitudinal studies may be feasible

 Aggregations and definitions may be unsuitable
 Provision of comparative and contextual data
 No real control over data quality
 Unforeseen discoveries may occur
 Initial purpose may affect data presentation
 Generally permanent and available
 Evaluating secondary data
Ensure that data sources

 Enable the research question(s) to be answered

 Enable research objectives to be met

 Have greater benefits than

their associated costs

 Allow access for research

Evaluating potential secondary

data sources (Figure 8.2 )
 Suitability of secondary data
Points to consider

 Precise suitability, including reliability and validity

- assessment of collection methods
- clear explanation of collection techniques

 Measurement validity

 Measurement bias and deliberate distortion

 Coverage and unmeasured variables

- ensure exclusion of unwanted data
- ensure sufficient data remain for analysis

 Costs and benefits