Secondary data is information collected for various reasons, the main one being the completion of a research project. It enlightens the researcher on the research problem. Acquisition of information from secondary data sources is fast thus saves time. The secondary research process can be fast since the data can be obtained quickly by a skilful analyst. All that is required of the researcher is identification of the data source after which extracting of information is done. According secondary data allows researchers to access data in a scale they could not hope to replicate first hand.
Compared to primary research secondary research is less expensive in that it does not employ the use of highly trained and expensive personnel. The founder of the information is the one who incurs the research expenses in secondary research. Nonetheless secondary sources have their own limitations. Secondary information that is related to the topic of study is sometimes not available or if available then it is in insufficient quantities. The reliability and accuracy of secondary data may be questionable since the information can be misleading not to mention that the data can be in different in terms of formatting which may be contrary to that needed by the researcher. Much of the secondary data may be old and thus doesn’t bring out the true picture of the current market trends.
