8/3/2019 Secondary Data is the Data That Have Been Already Collected by and Readily Available From Other Sources

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SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data is neither better nor worse than primary data; it is simply different. The source of

the data is not as important as its quality and its relevance for your particular purpose. The major

advantages of using secondary data are economic: using secondary data is less costly and time-

consuming than collecting primary data. Its disadvantages relate not only to the availability of

sufficient secondary data but also to the quality of the data that is available. Never use any data

before you have evaluated its appropriateness for the intended purpose."

(Scot Ober, Fundamentals of Contemporary Business Communication. Houghton Mifflin, 2008)

Secondary data is the data that have been already collected by and readily available from

other sources. Such data are cheaper and more quickly obtainable than the primary data and

also may be available when primary data can not be obtained at all.

Internal Secondary Data

Internal secondary data is a part of companys record , for which research is conducted.

Internal data are those data that are found within the organization. For example: sales in

units, credit outstanding , call reports of sales persons, daily production report, monthly

collection report, etc.

External Secondary Data

The data collected by the researcher from outside the company. This can be divided into three

parts:

1. Census Data: Census data is most important data among the sources of data. The followingare some of the that can be obtained by census records

a. Census of the wholesale tradeb. Census of the retail tradec. Population censusd. Census of manufacturing industries

2. Individual project report being published:a.Encyclopedia of business information sourcesb.Product finder.

3.Data collected for sale on a commercial basis called syndicate data.a. Consumer Purchase data

b. Retail and wholesale datac. Advertising data.

4. Miscellaneous Data: This data includes trade associations such as FICCI, CEI, Institutionof Engineers, Chamber of Commerce Libraries such as public libraries, university

libraries, etc state and central government publications, private sources such as All India

Management Association (AIMA) Financial Express, international organizations such as

IMF, ADB etc.

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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 whatadditional 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 marketingresearch factors. Reasons for its non-fitting are:-

a. Unit of secondary data collection-Suppose you want information ondisposable 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.

Summary:

Secondary data are statistics that already exist. There are two types of secondary data (1)

Internal secondary data (2) External secondary data. Census is the most important among the

secondary data. Secondary dta has its own advantage and disadvantage .