Secondary Data

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Using secondary data

Slide 8.2
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What is Secondary Data?
Data gathered and recorded previously

for purposes other than the current
project.
 Usually historical and already assembled
 Require no access to respondents or
subjects
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 8.3
+ Sources Of Secondary Data
 Organization’s database
 Accounting records
 Competitive information
 Trade associations
 Periodicals
 Gov’t publications
 Unpublished sources
 Online databases
Slide 8.4
Types of Secondary Data
Examples
Sales invoice
Internal Salesperson’s call reports
Salesperson’s expense account
Credit memos
Warranty cards
Secondary
Data
Published
General
works
Directories
Periodicals
External Statistical sources
Financial records
Commercial Geodemographic data

Diary panel data
Store audit data
Scanner data
Advertising exposure data
Slide 8.5
How to Get Started When Searching Published Sources of Secondary

Data
1. Identify what you wish to know and what you already
know about your topic.
2. Develop a list of key terms and names.
3. Search several of the general guides, directories, and websites

for papers and/or reports.
4. Compile the literature you have found. Rework your list of key
words and authors if necessary.
5. Consult the reference librarian.
6. Consult the various directory guides.
7. Identify authorities in the area and consult them.
Slide 8.6
Using secondary data for research (1)
Types of secondary data

 Documentary: are often used in research projects
that also use primary data collection methods.
However, you can also use them on their own or with
other sources of secondary data
 Surveys: refers to data collected using a survey
strategy, usually by questionnaires, that have been
already analysed for their original purpose
Slide 8.7
Multiple – source secondary data
 Multiple-source secondary data can be based entirely on

documentary or on survey secondary or can be amalgam
of the two.
 The key factors is that different data sets have been
combined to form another data set prior to your accessing
the data.
Slide 8.8

Types of secondary data
Source: Saunders et al. (2006)

Figure 8.1 Types of secondary data
Slide 8.9
 Times series for longitudinal studies: 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.
 Cohort studies: Data also can be compiled for the same
population over time using a series of ‘snap shots’ to form
cohort studies.
Slide 8.10
 Area-based data sets: Multi- source secondary data also can

be combined, if they have the same geographical basis, to form
area based data sets.
Slide 8.11
Slide 8.12
Availability of secondary data (1)
Sources
 References in publications (books, journal articles)
 Within organisations (unpublished sources)
 Tertiary literature –
( indexes and catalogues in archives or online)
Slide 8.13
Finding secondary data
 References in published guides
 Data held by organisations
 Data on the Internet
Slide 8.14
Slide 8.15
Greece: Statistics http://www.statistics.gr Gateway to statistics

on economy, culture, society, demographics, etc.
Slide 8.16
Social Media as Secondary Data Source
 Social media has become a great tool for conducting research, and it is only
growing.
 Why?
 Researchers do not need to spend large amounts of money to gather information
from focus groups or smaller samples as everything is right in front of them on a
screen, and it is in the public domain.
 With over 1.5 billion people combined using two of the world’s largest social
networks, Facebook and Twitter, it is becoming easier to monitor, gather and analyze
information.
Slide 8.17
Social Media as Secondary Data Source

– 2012 US Election Tracker
https://blog.hootsuite.com/2012-election-tracker/
Slide 8.18
Social Media: Twitter Data
https://www.csc.ncsu.edu/faculty/healey/tweet_viz/tweet_app/
Slide 8.19
Pros & Cons of Social Media Data
 + Low cost-essential zero
 + Niche Market
 + Direct insight from the users
 - Not everyone is online, and online all the time => not possible to
rely on data from social media as a sole way of conducting marketing
research; it must be done in addition to other tactics to reach a proper
sample.
Slide 8.20
+ Comparing Strengths and Weaknesses of Secondary and Primary Data
Secondary Primary
· Dfn: data already exist · Dfn: data you collect for purpose
at hand
· Exs: census, government,
Dun&B CDRoms, corporate · Exs: focus group, survey,
library, scanner data (Nielsen, interviews, telemarketing
IRI)
· +’s: tailored to needs, current
· +’s: quick, cheap, easy, focuses
research, can answer Q, · -’s: takes time to collect,
benchmark expensive
· -’s: doesn’t fit problem, outdated
***Their strengths and weaknesses are complementary!

So...any good research project should have both!

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+

Using secondary data

Data gathered and recorded previously

+ Sources Of Secondary Data

Types of Secondary Data

Commercial Geodemographic data

How to Get Started When Searching Published Sources of Secondary

2. Develop a list of key terms and names.

3. Search several of the general guides, directories, and websites

5. Consult the reference librarian.

6. Consult the various directory guides.

7. Identify authorities in the area and consult them.

Using secondary data for research (1)

Types of secondary data

Multiple – source secondary data

 Multiple-source secondary data can be based entirely on

Using secondary data for research (2)

Source: Saunders et al. (2006)

Using secondary data for research (3)

Multiple – source secondary data

 Times series for longitudinal studies: one method of

Multiple – source secondary data

 Area-based data sets: Multi- source secondary data also can

Multiple – source secondary data

Availability of secondary data (1)

 References in publications (books, journal articles)

 Within organisations (unpublished sources)

Availability of secondary data (2)

Finding secondary data

 References in published guides

 Data held by organisations

 Data on the Internet

Availability of secondary data (2)

Availability of secondary data (2)

Greece: Statistics http://www.statistics.gr Gateway to statistics

Social Media as Secondary Data Source

Social Media as Secondary Data Source

Social Media: Twitter Data

Pros & Cons of Social Media Data

 + Low cost-essential zero

 + Direct insight from the users

+ Comparing Strengths and Weaknesses of Secondary and Primary Data

· -’s: doesn’t fit problem, outdated

***Their strengths and weaknesses are complementary!

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