Page 39 - DMGT404 RESEARCH_METHODOLOGY

Unit 3: Research Design

External Data Sources Notes

There is a wealth of statistical and research data available today. Some sources are:
1. Federal government
2. Provincial/state governments
3. Statistics agencies

4. Trade associations
5. General business publications
6. Magazine and newspaper articles
7. Annual reports

8. Academic publications
9. Library sources
10. Computerized bibliographies
11. Syndicated services.

The two major advantages of using secondary data in market research are time and cost savings.
1. The secondary research process can be completed rapidly - generally in 2 to 3 week.
Substantial useful secondary data can be collected in a matter of days by a skillful
analyst.
2. When secondary data is available, the researcher need only locate the source of the data
and extract the required information.
3. Secondary research is generally less expensive than primary research. The bulk of
secondary research data gathering does not require the use of expensive, specialized,
highly trained personnel.
4. Secondary research expenses are incurred by the originator of the information.
There are also a number of disadvantages of using secondary data. These include:

1. Secondary information pertinent to the research topic is either not available, or is only
available in insufficient quantities.
2. Some secondary data may be of questionable accuracy and reliability. Even government
publications and trade magazines statistics can be misleading.
3. Data may be in a different format or units than is required by the researcher.
4. Much secondary data is several years old and may not reflect the current market conditions.
Trade journals and other publications often accept articles six months before appear in
print. The research may have been done months or even years earlier.

Did u know? Many trade magazines survey their members to derive estimates of market
size, market growth rate and purchasing patterns, then average out these results. Often
these statistics are merely average opinions based on less than 10% of their members.

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