Page 116 - DMGT209_QUANTITATIVE_TECHNIQUES_II

Unit 7: Sources and Methods of Data Collection

There is also a study called FSRP which covers children in the age group of 10-19 years. Notes
Beside their demographics and psychographics, the study covers those areas such as:
 Children as decision makers

 Role model of Indian children
 Pocket money and its usage
 Media reviews
 Favoured personalities and characteristics and

 Brand awareness and advertising recall
A syndicated source consists of market research firms offering syndicated services. These market
research organisations, collects and updates information on a continues basis. Since data is
syndicated, their cost is spread over a number of client organisations and hence cheaper. For
example, a client firm can give certain specific question to be included in the questionnaire,
which is used routinely to collect syndicated data. The client will have to pay extra for these. The
data generated by these additional questions and analysis of such data will be revealed only to
the firms submitting the questions. Therefore we can say, customization of secondary data is
possible. Some areas of syndicated services are newspapers, magazine readership, TV channel
popularity etc. Data from syndicated sources are available on a weekly or monthly basis.

Miscellaneous Secondary Data

Includes trade association such as FICCI, CEI, Institution of Engineers, chamber of Commerce,
Libraries such as public library, University Library etc., literature, state and central government
publications, private sources such as All India Management Association (AIMA), Financial Express
and Financial Dailies, world bodies and international organizations such as IMF, ADB etc.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Secondary Data

Advantages

 It is economical, without the need to hire field staff.
 It saves time; (normally 2 to 3 months). If data is available on hand it can be tabulated in
minutes.

 They provide information, which retailers may not be willing to reveal to researcher.
 No training is required to collect this data, unlike primary data.
Disadvantages
Because secondary data has been collected for some other projects, it may not fit in with the
problem that is being defined. In some cases, the feed is so poor that the data becomes completely
inappropriate. It may be ill-suited because of the following three reasons:

 Unit of Measurement: It is common for secondary data to be expressed in units.

Example: Size of the retail establishments, for instance, can be expressed in terms of
gross sales, profits, square feet area and number of employees. Consumer incomes can be
expressed in variables the individual, family, household etc. Secondary data available may not
fit in easily.
Assume that the class intervals are quite different from those which are needed.

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