Secondary research
Secondary research (also known as desk research) involves the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing research rather than primary research, where data is collected from, for example, research subjects or experiments.[1]
Care should be taken to distinguish secondary research from primary research that uses raw secondary data sources. The key of distinction is whether the secondary source being used has already been analyzed and interpreted by the primary authors.
The term is widely used in health research, legal research, and in market research. The principal methodology in health secondary research is the systematic review, commonly using meta-analytic statistical techniques, although other methods of synthesis, like realist reviews and meta-narrative[2] reviews, have been developed in recent years. Such secondary research uses the primary research of others typically in the form of research publications and reports.
In a market research context, secondary research is taken to include the re-use by a second party of any data collected by a first party or parties.
In archaeology and landscape history, desk research is contrasted with fieldwork.
Sometimes secondary research is required in the preliminary stages of research to determine what is known already and what new data is required, or to inform research design. At other times, it may be the only research technique used.
A key performance area in secondary research is the full citation of original sources, usually in the form of a complete listing or annotated listing.
Secondary sources could include previous research reports, newspaper, magazine and journal content, and government and NGO statistics.
See also
References
- ↑ Crouch; Sunny Crouch; Matthew Housden (2003). Marketing research for managers; The Marketing Series; Chartered Institute of Marketing. Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 22. ISBN 0750654538.
- ↑ Diffusion of Innovations in Health Service Organisations: a systematic literature review