{"id":467542,"date":"2023-01-20T18:26:17","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T17:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.nl\/?p=467542"},"modified":"2023-06-22T10:19:45","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T08:19:45","slug":"secondary-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/methodology\/secondary-research\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Secondary Research? | Definition, Types, & Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"
Secondary research <\/strong>is a research method<\/a> that uses data that was collected by someone else. In other words, whenever you conduct research using data that already exists, you are conducting secondary research. On the other hand, any type of research that you undertake yourself is called primary research<\/a>.<\/p>\n Secondary research can be qualitative<\/a> or quantitative<\/a> in nature. It often uses data gathered from published peer-reviewed<\/a> papers, meta-analyses, or government or private sector databases and datasets.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Secondary research is a very common research method, used in lieu of collecting your own primary data. It is often used in research designs<\/a> or as a way to start your research process<\/a> if you plan to conduct primary research later on.<\/p>\n Since it is often inexpensive or free to access, secondary research is a low-stakes way to determine if further primary research is needed, as gaps in secondary research are a strong indication that primary research is necessary. For this reason, while secondary research can theoretically be exploratory<\/a> or explanatory<\/a> in nature, it is usually explanatory: aiming to explain the causes and consequences of a well-defined problem.<\/p>\n Secondary research can take many forms, but the most common types are:<\/p>\n There is ample data available online from a variety of sources, often in the form of datasets. These datasets are often open-source or downloadable at a low cost, and are ideal for conducting statistical analyses<\/a> such as hypothesis testing<\/a> or regression analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n Credible sources<\/a> for existing data include:<\/p>\n A literature review<\/strong><\/a> is a survey of preexisting scholarly sources on your topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant themes, debates, and gaps in the research you analyze. You can later apply these to your own work, or use them as a jumping-off point to conduct primary research of your own.<\/p>\n Structured much like a regular academic paper<\/a> (with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion), a literature review is a great way to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.<\/p>\n A case study<\/strong><\/a> is a detailed study of a specific subject. It is usually qualitative in nature and can focus on\u00a0 a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. A case study is a great way to utilize existing research to gain concrete, contextual, and in-depth knowledge about your real-world subject.<\/p>\n You can choose to focus on just one complex case, exploring a single subject in great detail, or examine multiple cases if you\u2019d prefer to compare different aspects of your topic. Preexisting interviews<\/a>, observational studies<\/a>, or other sources of primary data make for great case studies.<\/p>\n Content analysis<\/strong><\/a> is a research method that studies patterns in recorded communication by utilizing existing texts. It can be either quantitative or qualitative in nature, depending on whether you choose to analyze countable or measurable patterns, or more interpretive ones. Content analysis is popular in communication studies, but it is also widely used in historical analysis, anthropology, and psychology to make more semantic qualitative inferences.<\/p>\n Secondary research is a broad research approach that can be pursued any way you\u2019d like. Here are a few examples of different ways you can use secondary research to explore your research topic<\/a>.<\/p>\n Secondary research is a very common research approach, but has distinct advantages and disadvantages.<\/p>\n Advantages include:<\/p>\n Disadvantages include:<\/p>\n Many researchers using the same secondary research to form similar conclusions can also take away from the uniqueness and reliability<\/a> of your research. Many datasets become \u201ckitchen-sink\u201d models, where too many variables<\/a> are added in an attempt to draw increasingly niche conclusions from overused data<\/strong>. Data cleansing<\/a> may be necessary to test the quality of the research.<\/p>\n If you want to know more about statistics<\/a>, methodology<\/a>, or research bias<\/a>, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.<\/p>\n <\/em>Statistics<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em> Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em> Research bias<\/strong><\/p>\n A systematic review<\/strong><\/a> is secondary research because it uses existing research. You don\u2019t collect new data<\/a> yourself.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/dd>\n <\/div>\n The research methods<\/a> you use depend on the type of data you need to answer your research question<\/a>.<\/p>\n Quantitative research<\/strong><\/a> deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research<\/strong><\/a> deals with words and meanings.<\/p>\n Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables<\/a> and test hypotheses<\/a>. Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/dd>\n <\/div>\n <\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Secondary research is a research method that uses data that was collected by someone else. In other words, whenever you conduct research using data that already exists, you are conducting secondary research. On the other hand, any type of research that you undertake yourself is called primary research. Example: Secondary researchYou are interested in how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"categories":[23650],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"When to use secondary research<\/h2>\n
Types of secondary research<\/h2>\n
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Statistical analysis<\/h3>\n
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Literature reviews<\/h3>\n
Case studies<\/h3>\n
Content analysis<\/h3>\n
Examples of secondary research<\/h2>\n
Advantages and disadvantages of secondary research<\/h2>\n
Advantages of secondary research<\/h3>\n
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Disadvantages of secondary research<\/h3>\n
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Other interesting articles<\/h2>\n
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Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
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