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Secondary source investigation in market research involves collecting second-hand data from reports and studies carried out by government agencies, trade associations or other businesses within your industry.

Such reports are usually published in pamphlets, newsletters, trade publications, magazines, and newspapers. Secondary source investigation includes:

• Public sources. These are usually free, often offer a lot of good information, and include government departments, business departments of public libraries, and so on.
• Commercial sources. These are valuable, but usually involve cost factors such as subscription and association fees. Commercial sources include research and trade associations, banks and other financial institutions, and publicly traded corporations.
• Educational institutions. These are frequently overlooked as valuable information sources even though more research is conducted in colleges, universities, and technical institutes than virtually any sector of the business community.

Marketers are attracted to secondary source investigation due to the time savings and potential cost savings in acquiring information, among other advantages this data offers to the marketer such as:

• Ease of access – The Internet has certainly meant a change to secondary source investigation as research is accessed by offering convenience (e.g., online access from many locations) and generally standardized usage methods for all data sources.
• Helps to clarify research question – Secondary research is often used prior to larger scale primary research to help clarify what is to be learned. For instance, a researcher doing competitor analysis, but who is not familiar with competitors in a market, could access secondary source investigation to locate a list of potential competitors.
• Answers research question – As noted, secondary source investigation is often used to help set the stage for primary research. In the course of doing so researchers may find that the exact information they were looking for is available via secondary sources thus eliminating the need and expense to carrying out their own primary research.
• Shows difficulties in conducting primary research – The originators of secondary source investigation often provide details on how the information was collected. This may include discussion of difficulties encountered. For instance, the secondary research may be a research report written by a large market research company. These types of reports often include a section discussing the procedures used to collect the data and within this may disclose problems in obtaining the data, such as a high percentage of people declining to take part in the research. After reading this the marketer may decide the potential information that may be obtained is not worth the potential difficulties in conducting the research.

Let Roe Smithson & Asociados Ltda present you several alternatives for locating good secondary source investigation.

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Market and survey researchers perform research to find out how well the market will receive products, services, and ideas. Such research may include planning, implementing, and analyzing surveys to determine the needs and preferences of people.

Market research analysts devise methods and procedures for obtaining the data they need. Often, they design surveys to assess consumer preferences through Internet, telephone, or mail responses.

They conduct some surveys as personal interviews, going door-to-door, leading focus group discussions, or setting up booths in public places. Trained interviewers usually conduct the surveys under the market research analyst’s direction.

Survey researchers also gather information about people and their opinions, but they focus exclusively on designing and conducting surveys. The surveys collect information that is used in performing research, making fiscal or policy decisions, measuring the effectiveness of those decisions, or improving customer satisfaction.

Survey researchers may use a variety of mediums to conduct surveys, such as the Internet, personal or telephone interviews, or questionnaires sent through the mail. They also may supervise interviewers who conduct surveys in person or over the telephone. They design surveys in many different formats, depending upon the scope of their research and the method of collection.

Roe Smithson & Asociados Ltda provides high-quality survey research including market research surveys, employee opinion surveys, and customer satisfaction studies. We offer a wide range of services including questionnaire design, survey programming, survey hosting, project administration, and comprehensive data analysis and reporting services.

We can supply survey and research services for your specific market sector. Our skillful staff includes database administrators who can provide a full range of custom survey solutions at affordable prices. A technical team with decades of market research experience carry out the programming and managing of survey research projects from end-to-end.

We are committed to working in partnership with our clients, and to providing total customer satisfaction. Contact us.