Secondary data

Secondary Data is a type of data that has been collected by someone other than the user. Common sources of secondary data for social science include censuses, information collected by government departments, organizational records and data that was originally collected for other research purposes.

Definition

Secondary data refers to data that is collected by someone other than the primary user. It can be either quantitative or qualitative data and it can be raw data or processed data.

Types

There are two types of secondary data:

• Internal Secondary Data: This type of data is collected within the organization, company or institution. It includes sales reports, financial statements, customer feedback, etc.

• External Secondary Data: This type of data is collected outside of the organization, company or institution. It includes government publications, websites, books, journal articles, syndicated research, etc.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Like all other types of data, secondary data also has its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages include:

• It is economical as it avoids the cost and time of collecting data.
• It allows for longitudinal studies as historical data is often available.
• It allows for a larger sample size as data can be collected from a variety of sources.

Disadvantages include:

• The data may not be updated and therefore may be outdated.
• The data may not be specific to the researcher's needs.
• The data may not be accurate as it was collected for a different purpose.

Uses

Secondary data is used in various fields including business, education, health and social sciences. It is used for various purposes such as:

• To understand trends and patterns.
• To make decisions and strategies.
• To validate primary data.

See Also

• Primary data
• Quantitative research
• Qualitative research

Secondary data Resources
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