Secondary research

The term is widely used in primary research, legal research and market research. The principal methodology in health secondary research is the systematic review, commonly using meta-analytic statistical techniques, but other methods of synthesis, like realist reviews and meta-narrative[5] reviews, have been developed in recent years. Such secondary research uses the primary research of others typically in the form of research publications and reports.

For market research, secondary research includes the reuse of the second party of any data collected from a first-party such as telephone interviews or surveys.

Secondary market research is a branch of research that is already assembled and put in order. [6] Secondary research is helpful for gaining knowledge about the market before more extensive research is needed. For market research, in particular, using secondary research over primary research is more beneficial since the research has already been analyzed by someone. [7]

Secondary market research can be broken up into two categories. The first category is information from internal sources such as an agency or company and the second category is informational from external sources held outside an organization or agency.[8] Secondary market research uses information from the past, reuses data already collected and is more economical.

Primary research is research that is collected firsthand and original to the person using it. [9] When conducting Primary research, the goal is to answer questions that have not been asked before. [10] Additionally, the research has to be verified by others to help eliminate one’s own biases.[11] Primary research can be a survey, observation, or an interview. This type of research tends to be more time consuming and can be costly.[12] If possible, secondary research should be done before primary research, to determine what information is not already available.

Secondary research is based on already published data and information gathered from other conducted studies. [13] It is a common practice by researchers to conduct secondary research before primary research in order to determine what information is not already available. [14] Secondary research is an easy place to start when starting a new research project. Secondary research can vary in credibility depending on where the data is coming from and who is sharing research. [15] Making your own summary based on secondary sources can create biases and misinterpretations which can have a negative impact on the research project.

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