CHAPTER Secondary Data Collection Methods Learning Objectives By the end of the chapter, you should be able to: |. Differentiate between primary and secondary sources of data. 2, Understand both the benefits and limitations of secondary data. 4. Identify the criteria or quality checks to be used when evaluating secondary information and gain —_| familiarity with reporting and concluding from past records and data, 4. Distinguish between the various types and sources of secondary data. “Twenty per cent more, buy one get one free or scratch cards—which one of our schemes worked best? The Gujarat Milk Product company is also launching new schemes every month, like combo deals, 50 per cent extra and storing jar. So, what really works? What is the magic formula?” quizzed Ranjit Shah, VP (Sales) northem region, Mom Dairy. He ‘was in a monthly review meeting with his sales executives across the region. ‘Mom Dairy had established a stronghold in the NCR and the north inthe past decade and was able to cater to the vo- ciferous milk and milk product demand of the northern consumer. However, 2010 appeared to be a challenging year as ‘another giant, GMP, was making its presence felt, through aggressive and head-on sales collision. The category in point ‘was ice-creams and ice-lollies. Sales promotion targeted atthe retailer and the consumer was being made with fervour. Shah also showed concem about erratic sales in areas near schools and colleges where Mom Dairy vendors demon- strated varying results, Nivedita, tha sales officer of westem region (Delhi) stated, ‘Sir, we can track the response for ‘our schemes by observing the sales tracks corresponding to the areas and time periods of the relevant promotion through our MIS.” “What about GMP’s track? Secondly, I also need some inputs on making my reach more lucrative, especially in schools.” Charu, a new incumbent from Jigyasa market research agency, confidently advised, ‘Si, to improve and manage the ‘current situation in a better manner, we need to backtrack and use a structured and broad-based panel data and audits’. “Panels and audits? How authentic and reliable would these sources be? And when a plethora of such data products exist, how do I know what and how to select?” Charu is right when she suggests backtracking and looking at the past performance to forecast some strategies for the next period. Panel data and retail audits are but a few examples of what could be the nature of such sources.96 | Rese CLASSIFIC LEARNING OBJECTIVE Differentiate between primary and secondary sources of date. Primary data id collected fi agartcular purpose reas Secondary data isotonic materinas FIGURE 5.1 information ‘To understand the multitude of choices available to a researcher for collecting the project/study-specific information, one needs to be fully cognizant of the resources available for the study and the level of accuracy required. To appreciate the truth of this statement, one needs to examine the gamut of methods available to the researcher. The data sources could be either contextual and primaty or historical and secondary in nature (Figure 5.1) Primary data as the name suggests is original, problem- or project-specific and collected for the specific objectives and needs spelt out by the researcher. ‘The authenticity and relevance is reasonably high. The monetary and resource implications of this are quite high and sometimes a researcher might not have the resources r the time orboth to go ahead with this method. In this case, the researcher can look at alternative sources of data which are economical and authentic enough to take the study forward. These include the second category of data sources—namely the secondary data ‘Secondary data as the name implies is that information which is not topical or research- specific and has been collected and compiled by some other researcher or investigative body. The said information is recorded and published in a structured format, and thus, is quicker to access and manage. Secondly, in most instances, unless it is a data product, it is not too expensive to collect. As suggested in the ‘opening vignette, the data to track consumer preferences is readily available and the information required is readily available as a data product or as the audit information which the researcher or the organization can procure and use it for arriving at quick decisions. In comparison to the original research-centric data, secondary data can be economically and quickly collected by the decision maker in a short span of time. ‘Also the information collected is contextual; what is primary and original for one researcher would essentially become secondary and historical for someone else. Data Sources ———— eer ees Methods | Methods ee a= = ass fem iis ERE ) | Need Further Electronic Syndicated ‘Analysis ule | Database SourcesSecoridary Bata Collection Methods | 97 CONDARY DATA ESEARCH APPLICATIONS OF SE Secondary data can be used in multiple stages during the course of a business research study’ . Problem identification and formulation stage: Existing information on the topic under study is useful in giving a conceptual framework for the investigation, For example, if a researcher is interested in investigating the investor's perception of market risk, and he tracks investment behaviour of different quarters, alongside political, economic and social occurrences, he would be in a position to isolate the predictive variables he might wish to study. « Hypotheses designing: Previous research studies done in the area as well as inmost cas, past siuches the industry trends and market facts could help in speculating on the expected : directions of the study results. For example, the researcher in the above example onthe seb cunent stu stapera ‘might predict a positive, linear relationship between economic parameters like reseatcer an aie tof GDP and GNP and the choice of investment instruments and a linear negative tie ining relation between inflation rate and investment behaviour. aes, » Sampling considerations: There might be respondent related databases available to seek respondent statistics and relevant contact details. These would assist as the sampling frame for collection of primary information. For example, in the investment study, let us say the researcher wants to conduct study amongst upper income class individuals. He can then collect information on the size and spread through suitable census data, « Primary base: The secondary information collected can be adequately used to design the primary data collection instruments, in order to phrase and design appropriate queries. Sometimes, the past studies done on the subject make the current study simpler, as the researcher can make use of the previously designed ‘questionnaires, These have been standardized and validated earlier, thus the level of confidence and accuracy would be higher as compared to a new instrument. «Validation and authentication board: Earlier records and studies as well as data pools can also be used to support or validate the information collected through primary sources. Before we examine the wide range of the secondary sources available to the business researcher, it is essential that one is aware of the merits and demerits of using secondary sources. ONDARY DATA AWD GRAWSATAS Both benefits and drawbacks of secondary data have been discussed below: Understand both the Be ‘benefits and rations ‘of secondary data. ‘As we can observe, the usage of secondary data offers numerous advantages over primary data, This makes their inclusion in a research study almost mandatory. ‘There are multiple reasons why we staunchly advocate their usage. 1. Resource advantage: The predominant and most important argument in Reswurca advantage support is the resource advantage. Any research or survey that is making use of inl aking se of secondary information will be able to save immensely in terms of both cost and seéaaryinimatonviiés, time (Ghouri and Gronhaugh, 2002). VCare is a house maintenance company, Jntury, saves meni located at Jaya Nagat, Bengaluru, and wants to assess the customer acceptance in ‘enn of bofeostand tine the neighbouring areas. For this it wants to know: How many people reside in own98 Research Methodology Secondary data canbe sed to compare and support the primary research findings ofthe Investigators. houses/apartments? How many have double income households? And how many are in the income bracket of I lakh+ per month? ‘Thus, the latest city census data available can be accessed to arrive at these figures. Therefore, itis advocated that the investigator must first find out about the availability of probable, previously collected data, before venturing into primary data collection. The time saved in collecting information can be gainfully used for analysing and interpreting the data. 2, Accessibility of data: The other major advantage of secondary sources is that, ‘once the information has been collected and compiled in a structured manner as a publication, accessing it for one’s individual research purpose becomes much casier than collecting it for a singular study. Census data as the one mentioned above is generally available through a government source and is usually free of charge. However, in case VCare wants market data, in terms of size, players and volume—one might need to go to the commercial data sources which might be available for a cost, depending on the sample size and research agency repute. However, even when the data is purchased, the cost of the information would be much less as compared to collecting it on one’s own. 3. Accuracy and stability of data: As stated in the above case, data that is collected by recognized bodies and on a large scale has the additional advantage of accuracy and reliability (Stewart and Kamins, 1993). Thus, any interpretation of primary findings or supportive logic for an implementation decision would be more precise. Moreover, since the data is collected and compiled by an outside body, it can be readily and easily accessed by other researchers as well (Denscombe, 1998). 4 Assessment of data: Another plus point of collecting secondary data is that the information can be used to compare and support the primary research findings of the investigators. In case the study was conducted on a representative sample of the population, the findings could be used to estimate the applicability on a larger population. Even if the findings ofthe earlier collected information are in contrast with the current findings, itis still useful as it might reveal the presence of certain ‘moderator variables which might be operating in the two research conditions. However, there is need for caution as well because in using secondary data, there might be some constraints and disadvantages as well. Drawbacks ‘The drawbacks of secondary data are due to the following reasons: 1. Applicability of data: What one needs to remember in case of secondary data is the purpose for which the information was collected. It was unique to that study and thus cannot be an absolute fit for the current research, As a result of this, the information might not be applicable or relevant for the current objective. (Denscombe, 1998). The typical differences that emerge in such cases are with relation to the variables and the units being used to measureit. For example, market optimism or buoyancy by one researcher might be reflected by the consumer's spending in that quarter; while one might be interested in measuring buoyancy in terms of the investment in equity and growth funds. ‘Another significant difference is in terms of the time period. The information that one might be using for the current research might have been collected in a different time coordinate or in a different environment. The implication of this divergence in the research base is that there might be multiple modifying variables, which might not be apparent like the socio-cultural environment, climatic effectsSecondary Data Collection Methods 99 and political factors, However, these might be responsible for skewing the direction of the findings. 2, Accuracy of data: While application of the data might be an issue, there is a sincere concer before one relies on the information gathered by another source—that is the level of trust one can have on the same. The concerns are three: Who, Why and How? Multiple modifying variables night apparent suchas socio-cultural fat i The first level of accuracy depends upon who was the investigator or the political factors and yet an investigative agency. The reputation of the organization/person becomes extremely skew the dection ofthe critical in establishing the wuth ofthe findings as well as believing the inferences drawn fingings in the quoted research. The second is the reason for collecting the data, For example, if ‘certain political party collects information on the potential voters and an independent market research agency collects information on the spread of the opinions—positive ‘and negative—towards various political parties, one is more likely to rely on the second source, The reliability would be higher due to the reasons given below: + Since the agency specializes in conducting opinion polls and has a vast experience as well as a respondent base, the chances of error would be minimized, + The political party might have a hidden agenda of securing the campaign sponsorship through the survey conducted, while the independent body would be free from this bias. Last butnot the leastis the data collection process of the study in terms ofsample selection and sampling characteristics used to identify the respondent population. This is very important as this would be a clear indicator of the applicability of the results when extrapolating to the larger population, 7 How wil you Say dla? eae 2. Discuss the main sources of secondary data. CHECK ‘3.__What are the benefits and drawbacks of secondary data? EVALUATION OF SECONDARY DATA—RESEARCH AUTHENTICATION Even though the data collected through other sources is valuable and critical to the research that one is undertaking, there must be certain quality checks that a researcher sometimes must undertake. On first reviewing the information, it may seem applicable and useful but on a closer examination, one might find either a the quai checis tobe mismatch with the framed research objectives ora doubt regarding the methodology Uedwhen evaluating oF the analysis of the study. Thus, a set of evaluative measures can be employed secondary information _ before one decides to use it for the present study. cond gain fama with reporting and conebatg Come Methodology Check reeacnendace ‘The first evaluative criterion is the process or design used to collect the data so that in case there has been an element of skewed respondent selection or bias, one can detect it here. The verification one needs to attempt is for the following: LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3 Identity the criteria or Methodology check involves + Sampling considerations: This has to be done in terms of the defining the evaluation ofthe process or criteria; the sampling frame; the respondent selection; response rate and design used to collet the data the quality of data recording. or respondent sampling or data + Methodology of data: In terms of quality of instrument design and nature cos of fieldwork. This is critical as one might find that the variables measured are not as required by the current study (Jacob, 1994). + Analytical tools used and subsequent reporting and interpretation of results: The problem that might occur here is that, while interpreting the100) Research Methodoloay Accuracy check determines the signifcance ofthe source information ftom where the data was colectd for a speci study BB Example 5. findings the author might do so using his own personal judgement, which might not be based on any particular school of thought. Thus, taking the stucly report prima facie might be risky (Denscombe, 1998). Further these checks also help the researcher establish whether the earlier assumptions and findings can be extrapolated on the present study. Accuracy Check Dochartaigh et al. (2002) emphasize upon the significance of the source of information, The researcher must determine whether the data is accurate enough for the purpose of the present study. Ifthe study has been conducted and the findings compiled by a reputed source, the reliability of using it as a base for further research is higher, viz, one conducted by a relative newcomer or on a small scale. In case information is from such a source, it would be advisable to collect similar data from multiple sources and then collate the findings. A related problem that might occur is when different studies/sources report contrary findings. In such a case, a short pilot study, supported by an expert opinion survey would help achieve the right perspective. This is termed as cross-check verification (Partzer, 1996). "Another problem of accuracy is when the data is deliberately manipulated for the purpose of the study. This might happen in reporting of accidents and mishaps by supervisors and managers, in order to improve the safety records of the organization. Customer satisfaction surveys might decide to include only the consumer feedback data which was average (o very good rather than very poor to very good thus presenting the findings demonstrating a high customer satisfaction, ‘The inaccuracy could also be in the presentation of the findings, ie, the scale used might artificially enhance or play down the results. This is illustrated in the example below. Misrepresentation of data—Bhagyshree evaluated the use of tabulated presentations in the company reports as part of her research study. Based on a sample of data collected from 53 companies’ reports, she found that 29 per cent organizations made use of graphical data presentations, while 100 per cent made use of tables. ‘What was alarming was that 59 per cent of the figures made use of distorted graphical presentations. Either the size ofthe bar or the scale used was manipulated to do this, Thus, the interpretation might be misleading about the rate of change or growth. A frequently used mechanism was not to start the value axis at zero as is demonstrated in the following graph. sy _ 5 zg Zs 3 2 «0 z %secondary Data Collection Methods | 101 Topical Check Any information that is being used or cited in the research study needs also to Topical check ais at be subjected to a topical check. It might happen that there is a considerable time investaatngtheinfomaten fgg between the earlier reported findings on the subject and the research being a na conducted now. A case in point is the census data, which is collected once in five a eal years, However, if one is looking at the impact of variables such as age distribution. oe and gender composition on the purchase patterns of personal care products, five years is a period where trends and fashions might have changed and presumptions or hypotheses made on the basis of such a data might be erroneous. To address these problems, a number of market research firms have started publishing syndicated sources (will be discussed later in the chapter) which are periodically updated. Cost-benefit Analysis Last but not the least is the financial check. Kervin (1999) states that before making use of secondary data, one needs to measure the cost of procuring the data, viz., the advantage of the information. This is applicable in the case of industry reports, market research data or readership surveys which might cost a considerable sum. and the research funds might not be adequate for the purpose. 1, Wha ls meant by methodology check? RAIL 2. etre acca cock antl cts 3. How would you define cost-benefit analysis). : Secondary data—Active Parenting is a national magazine launched from Delhi. It published the results of a study conduicted to find out the features parents, consider most important when selecting a pre-nursery school for their child. In the order of importance, these characteristics are safety, cost, infrastructure, location, child care, teaching pedagogy, teacher attitude, and the number of admissions to reputed secondary schools. Active Parenting then ranked 20 schools in the NCR according to these characteristics. This article would be a useful source of secondary data for the pre-nursery school M Pride (MP) in conducting a market research study to identify aspects of school amenities that should be improved. However, before using the data, MP should evaluate’according to several criteria, First, the methodology used to collect the data for this survey needs to be evaluated in detail. As is the practice, Active Parenting has at the end of the survey indicated the methodology used in the study. A poll of 2,500 parents with children in the age group of 2-3 years was studied. The results of the survey had a 5 per cent error ‘margin. The first thing MP needs to do is to determine whether 5 per cent is good enough to extrapolate the results to the NCR population, ‘Another issue that MP would need to consider is the time period of the study and the survey purpose in taking a decision on the utility of the survey findings. ‘This survey was conducted before the Delhi government's directive on nursery admissions, which were more based on the school-residence distance. Thus, the features a parent might be looking at while evaluating a pre-nursery school might have changed. Secondly, the purpose of the survey was to acquaint the NCR parents ‘with the options available and to build awareness on how to decide about the school for their child. Thus, the idea is to address the topical need of the hour and it is not really scientifically designed or conducted. The survey simply presents a perspective on parent opinion and is not necessarily aimed at addressing the need of the supplier—in this case the school. el402 | Research Methodology CLASSIFICATION OF SECONDARY. DATA LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4 Distinguish between various types ond sources of secondary data. Secondary data can be interna ot externa. Internal isthe organization- or environment spec sour, whereas exteralis based upon ‘the sources avaiable ouside aninsitution FIGURE 5.2, Internal sources of data the survey was conducted by CRB MR Agency for Active Parenting magazine, ‘Thus, the reputation of the agency in conducting such surveys might need to be ‘examined first. To validate the selection of the evaluative criteria, the school might Took at some similar studies conducted by other MR agencies within the country or outside, Another related aspect about the methodology is the definition of the evaluation variables. For example, ‘cost’ in the survey was the cost inclusive of the School fees plus the transportation cost as well as the school uniform, while MP ‘would like to evaluate ‘cost’ only in terms of the school fees. However, despite all these drawbacks, the Active Parenting article isa cost-effective ‘way of starting a customer expectation or a satisfaction study. For instance, i¢ might be useful in formulating the problem's scope and objective, but, because of the article's limitations in regard to the time period, sampling, research design, and reliability, the researcher must look at some alternative studies as well as primary data collection methods. ‘As we sav earlier in Figure 5.1, the information sources could be research-specific and primary or ex-post facto and secondary in nature. Secondary data can further be divided into either intemal or external sources. Internal, as the name implies organization- or environment specific source and includes the historical output and ‘ecords available with the organization which mightbe the backdrop of the study. This ‘would be directly accessible to the researcher in case he is part of the organization. However it might notbe easily available to an investigator who is an outsider. The data that is independent ofthe organization and covers the larger industry-scape would be available through outside sources. This might be available to the researcher in the form of published material, computerized databases or data compiled by syndicated services, Discussed below are the major internal sources of data. Internal Sources of Data Compilation of various kinds of information and data is mandatory for any organization that exists. Some sources of internal information are presented in Figure 5.2. ‘The facts and information may be available (like the employee data) in a format where it can be directly used for data interpretation or analysis, however there might be certain studies for which the data from different heads would need to be processed before it can be further used. For example, in case one wants to calculate the capacity of the utilization and profitability of an organization then for this one needs the employee numbers, shift attendance, units made and sold as well as inventory figures. These have tobe, then, evaluated against the financial statements. Other PublicationsCompany and employee records play actual ole indetermining the capac, utilization and proftability of the organization Secondary Data Collection Methods | 103 1. Company records: This would entail all the data about the inception, the owners, and the mission and vision statements, infrastructure and other details including both the process and manufacturing (if any) and sales, as well as a historical timeline of the events. Policy documents, minutes of meetings and legal papers would come under this head. The access to some part of this data might be available on the public domains, However, there might be certain documents like comporate plans for the next year(s) which might not be available, 2, Employee records: All details regarding the employees (regular and part-time) would be part of employee records. This would include all the demographic information, aswellasallthe performanceand disciplinedataavailablewithreference to the individual. Performance appraisal records, satisfaction/ dissatisfaction data as well as the exit interview data would also be available in the organization’s annals. ‘Sometimes, the decision maker can review the impact of certain policy changes, through performance data. Also, attrition and absenteeism data could serve as indicators for primary research required. For a service firm, employee records are ‘more significant as people here are a part ofthe delivery process. 3, Sales data: This is an extremely valuable source and can be the most important part of the data collection process for a market research study. The data can take on different forms: 4, Cash register receipt: This is the simplest, most frequently recorded and available data. Itwould be used to reveal data under different conditions, For example, sales by productline, by major departments, by specific stores, geographical regions, by cash versus credit purchases, at specific time periods/days and the size of purchase bills. 5, Salespersons’ call records: This is a document to be prepared and updated every day by each individual salesperson. This can reveal awealth of information about the potential customer, classification of the customer in terms of product requirement/ ‘company product purchase, as well as the popular products, the products that are hard to sel, information sought by the customer, customer's usage pattern and the demand analysis. The reports can also provide vital leads for a product's redesign or new product development. The data is also critical for creating job descriptions and building incentives into the system for motivating the sales force. The information needed and the presentation and negotiation required also help in designing more customized training and development initiatives. 6. Sales invoices: Customer who has placed an order with the company, his complete details including the size of the order, location, price by unit, terms of sale and shipment details (ifany). This information set helps to forecast the annual demand for the product as well as evaluate the adequacy of sales and delivery. 7. Financial records and sales reports: These reveal total sales made against projected sales data, total ales byrupeesand units, comparative sales performance across quarters, across regions, product categories, as well as subsequent to different sales promotion activities. Financial records in terms of sales expenses, sales revenue, sales overhead costs and profits are some of the most important output data recorded by an organization that are of critical importance as these are the dependent variables in most cases in a research for which the decision maker ties to establish the causation. Besides this, there are other published sources like warranty records, CRM data ‘and customer grievance data which are extremely critical in evaluating the health of a product or an organization, There are also internal records of the published data about the organization; for example, newspaper or magazine coverage or articles published about the manufactured or a marketed product, e.g., business school104 | Research Methodology The organization ofarge voles of information ito clstss of data based upon ser requirements scaled data mining. Published data cn be procured bath om ofl and government sources or from reports compiled by individuals, private research agencies o organizations ratings, harmful trans fats found in burgers and French fries as related to fast food burger chains, “There are some significant advantages of using internal data sources. First, they are readily accessible and economical to use. Secondly, they are topical and updated to the latest time period with a great amount of precision and details. However, despite these obvious advantages, most researchers do not explore the organizational, archives in the first stage. A prime reason why this source is not actively sought is, because it is a cumbersome task to collect information from multiple sources and then putting it together for the research study. However, with the advent of technology, this task has been made simple and extremely fast with various data base techniques. Most organizations today maintain a data warehouse, which is essentially a computerized storehouse for the data bases that can organize large volumes of information into clusters of data based upon the user requirement. This process of organizing the data is termed as data mining. The researcher/investigator has the provision through this technique to create multi- dimensional analysis and reports based upon a unidimensional original data set. Various software programmes and languages are used to detect patterns and trends from the data like the neural networks, tree models, estimation, market basket analysis, genetic algorithms, clustering, classification, etc. In fact these techniques make the prediction of the outcome so effective and involving a minimal error that alot of firms are actively relying on data mining of the internal data sources, viz., the external data or primary data for implementing planned strategies. External Data Sources Asstated earlier, informationthatiscollected and compiled by an outside sourcethatis, externalto the organizationis referred toasexternal source ofdata. Included under this, head (Figure 5.1) are published sources, computer-based information sources and syndicated sources. Each of these would be discussed separately in this section Published data ‘The most frequently used and most easily available data information thatis compiled by using public or private sources. There could be a plethora of information available onthe same topic from varied sources. For the sake of the avid researcher who would like to explore these options, listed below are some potential information sources. ‘There could be two kinds of published data—one that is from the official and government sources—this could include census data, policy documents and historical archives; the other kind of data is that which has been prepared by individuals or private agencies or organizations. This could be in the form of books, periodicals, industry data such as directories and guides. 1. Governmentsources: TheIndian governmentpublishesalotofdocumentsthatare readily available and are extremely useful for the purpose of providing background data. This could be available on public domains or might be retrieved by special permission. The publications are usually available, for exmple the population or census data and other publications. + Census data: Considering the size of the Indian subcontinent, one needs to understand the magnitude of the data available and the intensity of effort required to record information from all parts of the country. Recently, the Census 2010 has been carried out and the quality of census data promises to be very high and the data has been collected in a much more detailed format.Secondary Data Collection Methods | 105 Statistical data collected + Other government publications: In addition to the census, the Indian by the govemmentishighly government collects and publishes a great deal of statistical data. The detailed, vied and accurate. In Planning Commission of India has in its archives all the details on thiscategory census data often economic planning and outcomes of the country. Other sources are budget rovidesa reliable base and legislative documents and other economic surveys done related to the trade and culture of the country. The data could be further available at the micro level, that is the state level as well. Today, with the advent of technology, most of this is available in computerized form. Listed in ‘Table 5.1 isan illustration of some of the sources. One may find that the list is neither complete nor exhaustive. The objective is to give the researcher a flavour of the kind of recorded information available to him for his study. Another point to be noted is that while we have listed the Indian sources, similar data is available for most countries. TABLE 5.1 Secondary data—government publications [sae Sources Data Toss [1 [Census data | Register General of nda conducing | Size of the Population conducted census suey population and its | information is | || every ten years | http/censusindia.gov.n! distribution by age, | significant as | throughout the sex, occupation and | the forecasts of country income levels. 2011 | purchase, estimates | census took many | of growth and i | | more variables to get | development, as well | a better picture ofthe | as policy decisions | population ccan be made on this | basis | 2. | Statistical Abstract | CSO (Central Statistical Organization) for | Education, Making demand, 6 India annualy | the past 5 years health, residential | estimations and hiip:inww.mospigovinleso_test1.him | information atthe _| a state-level slate levelis part of | assessment of | this document government support and policy changes can be made 3. | White paperon | CSO Estimates of national | Significant indication national income | hitp:/wwumospi.gov.nleso_testt.him income, savings and | of the financial | consumption trends; investment | forecasts and monetary policy formulation ‘Annual Survey CSO — no. of units, persons employed, Information on of industries ~ all | capital output rato, turnover, ete existing units industries httou/ww.mospigovinleso, test htm ives perspective 6 the Industrial development and helps in ereatng the employee profile 5. | Monthly survey | CSO Production statistics | Demand-supply of solected hitt:thmww.mospi.govinieso_testt.him in detail estimations industies 6. | Foreign Trade | Director General of Commercial Inteligence | Exports and imports | Forecast, of India Monthly | http. dgcskol icin! | countrywise and | manufacturing and |__| Statistics | productwise trade estimations Contd,106 | Research Methodology { 7. | Wholesale price | Ministry of Commerce and Industry sources | ata Reporing of prices Establishing price index — weekly all- | htp:india gov.in'sectorsicommerce of products like food | bands of product India Consumer | ministry_commerce.php antcles, foodgrains, categories; pricing Price index minerals, fuel, power, | estimations for | lights, lubricants, new products textiles, chemicals, determining | metal, machinery and | consumer spend | transport Economic | Dept of Economic Affairs, Ministy of | Descriptive reporting | Estimations of the | Survey annual | Finance, pattems, currency and fnance | ofthe curent | future and evaluation | publication hitputfinmin.nic inthe ministryidept_eco_ | economic status | of policy decisions | atfaics! | and extraneous | National Sample | Ministy of Planning factors in that period | soem Tecmo ay | Sameera Survey (NSS) | hiipweplanningcommission.govin’ | demographic, making policy | | industal and | decisions as well as ee | agricultural statistics | studying sociological | 2. Directories, books and periodicals are thoroughly capil sources which are «easly acesble and most frequently wsed in many research stuties | pattems | patterns | Otherdatasources: Thissourceisthe most voluminous andmostfrequently used, in every research study. The information could be in the form of books, periodicals, journals, newspapers, magazines, reports, and trade literature. The data could also be available as compilations in the form of guides, directories and indices. « Books and periodicals: Books and periodicals are the simplest, easily accessible and user friendly form of documented material. The volumes could carry information ranging from constructs, technical details and cultural data to just a collection of views on the topic of interest to the researcher, « Guides: These are an instructive source of standard or recurring information. A guide may subsequently lead into identifying other important sources of directories, trade associations and trade publications. In fact it is advisable to begin a study by exploring such guides. « Directories and indices: Directories are useful as they may again lead to a source or a pool of specific information. Indices, on the other hand, serve as acollection of the location of information on a particular topic in several different publications. « Standard non-governmental statistical data: Published statistical data are of great interest to researchers. Graphic and statistical analyses can be performed on these data to draw important insights. There are renowned private agencies which periodically compile and publish this kind of data and they are considered extremely significant in their contribution to understanding the market. Important sources of non-governmental statistical data include Standard and Poor's Statistical Service, Moody’s Industrial manual and data from agencies such as NASSCOM & MAIT (IT Industry); SIAM (automobile industry); CETMA, IEEMA (electronics) and IPPAI (power). Reports and documents available from renowned bodies like the World Bank, United Nations and World Trade Organization are also valuable sources of secondary information. Some non-government data sources are presented in Table 5.2.Sub-type | Company Working Results - Stock Exchange | | Directory | 2. | Status reports by various commodity boards | Plantation Boards, ete | condition 3. | Industry associations on || probiems faced by private sector, ete, Sources Bombay Stock Exchange http:tlwww bseindia com! | the commodity board or the industry associations like Jute Board, Cotton Industry, Sugar Association, Pulses Board, Data | and comprehensive Es t Detailed information | on current assets ~ | in terms of units, | Metal Board, Chemicals, Spices, Fertilizers, | current production Coir, Pesticides, Rubber, Handicrafts, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, AINA, Association of Chartered Accountants and Financial | Anavats,ndo-American Chamber of Commerce, ete hitphwsfec com | nip. assooham org! | tpn aimasine og) wurwaccindia.com/ figures and market cases conprtbnsve rye | Spurs or Soret seten | Soot the [omer Uses | Sionifcant in determining the | financial heath of various sectors as well as assessment of corporate funding and predictions of | outeomes | These are useful for | individual sectors in working out their plans as well as evaluating causes of | sucess oF failure Cognizance of the gaps and problems in the effective functioning ofthe | organization; rouble | shooting 4. | Export-related data ~ commodity- Export Promotion Council, Handicrafts, Leather Exports Promotion Council, Apparel | Product- and ccountry-wise data on | the export figures as | To estimate the demand; gauge wise Spices, Tea, Exim Bank, opportunities for hitp:lwaieatherinda org! wells information | trade and impetus http:/www.aepcindia.com/ on existing policies | required in terms of related tothe sector | manufacturing and I policy changes 5. | Retai'Store | ORG (Operations Research Group}; |The touch pointfor | Market analysis and Audit on Monthly reports on uban sector; Quarterly | this datais retailer, | market structure pharmaceutical, | reports on rural sector wo provides the | mapping with veterinary, figures related ‘estimations of market consumer toproduct sales; | share of leading products the datais very | brands. The aut comprehensive and | can also be used to covers most brands. | study consumption The data isregion- _| trends at diferent ‘specific and covers _| time periods or both inventory and | subsequent to sales goods sold promotion or other activities 6. | National IMRB survey of reading behaviour for | Today these surveys | Media planning and Readership diffrent segments as well as diferent | are done by various | measuring exposure Survey (NRS) | products bodies with diferent | as well as reach for http:vrmwimebint.com! sample bases, Today the survey base has become younger, with the age of the reader lowered to 12+ product catagories Conta.108 |Research Methodology [subtype I Sources Data Uses 7. | Thompson Tlindustan Thompson Associates alow with The inclinations to | Inaices: Urban population of | purchase consumer | matketindex, | more than one. | products are tural marke index. | lakh are covered | drecty related to | and information of | soco-economic ee | Gemograpticand | develorrent of | | socio-economic | communities in | anaes regen | general Te indies | | for each city with provide barometers The uralindex | potentials for | | Cae | | about 400 districts implications for the with socio-economic | researcher in terms | indicators like value | of data collection | otagicuture output, | sources atc. However, no matter how vast and differentiated is the published data source available to the researcher, hunting from huge volumes is truly a herculean task ‘and can be extremely tedious. With the advent of computer technology, today, most published information is also available inthe form of computerized databases. fe Computer-stored data Information that was earlier stored as a printed document is now available in an clectronic form. The growth in computerized databases has been impressive and it is estimated that 4750 online databases (Aaker et al., 2000) are available to the ‘business researcher. Infor-mation retrieval from such sources is extremely fast and can be accomplished in a most user-friendly fashion. The databases available to the researcher can be classified on the basis of the type of information or by the method of storage and recovery (Figure 5.3). 1. Based on content of information: These could be of two kinds: Reference databases ate « Reference databases: These refer users to the articles, research papers, also called bbigrepic abstracts and other printed news contained in other sources. They provide online databases asthey provide indices and abstracts and are thus also called bibliographic databases. Using online indices and abstracts reference databases has the following advantages: (a) Theyare up-to-date summaries orreferences toawide assortment ofarticles appearing in thousands of business magazines, rade journals, government reports, and newspapers throughout the world. (b) ‘The information is accessed by using commonly used keywords, rather than author or title. For example, The word ‘coke’ will initiate a search that ‘will collate all documents that contain that word. (©) One can also use a combination of terms to arrive at the information that could be indirectly supportive of the topic under study. For example, One may look at ‘coke+ alternative fuels'to arrive at the combustion alternatives available for a consumer. « Source databases: These provide numerical data, complete text, or a Combination of both. Unlike, abstracts and addresses in the reference database, source databases usually provide complete textual or numerical information. ‘They can be classified into: (1) Full-text information sources, (2) Economic andSecondary Data Collection Methods | 109 FIGURE 5.3 Classifications of | Computer-based Information | oN} f 1 | I = |Online CD-ROMIPen | patabases Divelard Disk Searels | Reference ae | | || orectton |] treaghoter | Creter |] Netres | financial statistical databases such as Standard and Poor's Compstat Services and ‘Value Line Database, and (3) Online data and descriptive bases such as: American Business Directory, which lists over 10 million companies, mainly private. It also lists government officials and professionals, such as physicians and attorneys. ‘There are also indicative estimates of the sales and market share; Standard and Poor's Corporate Description Plus News includes business description of 12,000 public companies, incorporation history, earnings and finances, capitalization summary, stocks and bond data; Data-Star full-text market research reports, Focus Market Research is also available here, which includes Euromonitor, ICC Keynote Report, Investext, Frost and Sullivan, European Pharmaceutical Market Research and Freedonia Industry and Business Report. 2, Based on storage and recovery mechanisms: Another useful way of classifying databases is based on their method of storage and retrieval. + Online databases: These can be accessed in real time directly from the producers of the database or through a vendor. Examples include ABI/Inform, EBSCO and Emerald. + CD-ROM databases: The technology of the portable devices for storing and retrieving information, has made the job of the researcher much simpler. The main advantage of CD-ROM over online access is that there are no time or physical access issues involved. Secondly, the financial implications are also one-time, during purchase, the most powerful CD-ROM applications usually are sold by an annual subscription or a one-time fee for an unlimited data access. Typically, the user receives a disk with updated information each week, month or quarter. ‘Almost all the reference and source databases that are available online are also available on CD-ROM. Suppliers, Syndicated data sources ‘Among the largest and most frequently used external information sources are syndicated sources. They are most actively used in marketing research studies,110, | Research Methodology syndicated service agencies are oxganizations ‘shih cllect organization ox product-cateogy specie data om aregular censumer base Surveys areane-tine assessments conducted onalarge representative respondent base to measure psphogeapics and lifestyes ofthe incumbents though there is substantial applicability in other areas as well. Syndicated service agencies are organizations that collect organization/product-category-specific data from a regular consumer base and create a common pool of data that can be used by multiple buyers, for their individual purpose. They are also referred to as standardized data sources, the reason being that the process remains structured and the format is designed on the basis ofthe industry being studies and is not specific to any organization in that industry or sector. ‘There are different waysto classify syndicate sources. Either they can be classified ‘on the basis of the unit of analysis, ie., households/consumers or organizations. The second classification is based upon the method of data collection, ie., from one time surveys, or longitudinal purchase and media panels, or electronic scanner services, Most consumer goods companies require insights into their existing or potential consumer's mind to gauge the acceptance or rejection of their product offering. Some of the widely used syndicate sources related with the behavior and consumption patterns are discussed in brief below. 1. Surveys: Surveys are usually one-time assessments conducted on a large representative respondent base. These are generally conducted to measure psychographics and lifestyles of the incumbents. In India, a number of agencies like Technopak and AC Nielsen carry out such surveys. Popular news channels like NDTV and the famous Forbes magazine surveys are ofa similar nature. Surveys are also undertaken to measure the effectiveness of advertising in print and electronic media. This measure of effectiveness becomes extremely critical in the case of TV advertising. The evaluations can be done at home or in a simulated environment. The viewers are shown the commercials and then asked to provide insights about preferences related to the product being advertised and the commercial itself. However, the data is not free from certain limitations, the most important being stagnancy in terms of both time and the respondent group that is studied. ‘Thus, taking it as population-wide phenomena is not possible and secondly, the applicability of the results is also mostly topical. Another limitation is that the researcher has to rely primarily upon the respondents’ self-reports. There is a gap between what people say and what they actually do. Fallacies might occur because ofa poor recall or because the respondent gave socially desirable responses. Some interesting surveys that can have bearing on the formulating or ‘modification in existing business strategies are the voter and public opinion polls that are published in Times magazine by Yankelovich's surveys. The company also ‘comes out with a Yankelovich MONITOR that is an annual survey on changing social values. Similar polls are conducted by ORG, IMRB, C-FORE, etc. in India and are published in national dailies and magazines. Popular surveys are those related to management institutes that rate the business-school based on the perceptions of the various stakeholders. 2, Consumer purchase panels: Sometimes, to authenticate the primary or study- specific data collected on a small scale, it is wise to support the findings by information obtained from the structured panel data. As discussed in chapter 3, panels are actually conducted to collect information for a longitudinal design. These are relatively stable group of respondents; these could be individuals, houschold groups, or companies who are studied over specific time periods with stipulated measuring time and parameter to be analyzed. The essential feature of a panel is that the respondent unit needs to maintain a record of its purchase activities.secondary Data Collection Methods 1 3, Household purchase panels: These selected respondent groups specifically record certain identified purchases, generally related to household products and groceries. Either this is done through an auditor, who regularly and periodically visits the panel member to record the purchases or the person can self-record. One of the most trusted and widely-used panels are IMRB household panels. These are carefully constructed with the unit of analysis being the decision maker for grocery products, This is done across segments and follows a disproportionate stratified sampling plan, The person maintains a log of the purchase in terms of product category, brand, pack size, number of units and special offers. This serves ‘as a useful base for targeting and predicting consumer preferences. « Diarypanels: Earlier thiswasdonemanuallyinadiary provided bytherecording agency. This followed a particular prescribed format and was extremely easy to maintain. These panels provide critical information used by manufacturers and marketers to forecast the probable sales, manage demand and supply, estimate market position, evaluate brand loyalty and brand switching behaviour and to profile the heavy users as well as non-users. Since the data is periodic in nature, it can also be used to measure the impact of various alterations made in the product or promotion mix. This was used as the input for a specified quarter for the products being recorded. However, the problem with this method was that it was dependent on the respondent's effort; in case there was a fallacy in recording or lapse, the inferences might change drastically. Home scan panels: With the advent of technology, now the diary has been replaced by an electronic recorder and the records can be submitted online. ‘The household panel member uses a hand held scanner to scan all bar coded products purchased and bought home from market outlets. Generally, these service providers compensate the panelists for their effort with cash or gifts in kind. 4, Media-based standardized services: A very popular and important syndicated, Media panels make weof standardized sources are those related to the information related to media diferentkinds of electronic exposure and measurement. This helps organizations measure the effectiveness equipment to automaticaly of their existing communication plans and also for planning ahead. record the consumer viewing behaviou, Readership surveys: ‘To effectively work out a media mix and decide about the media vehicles to be used for the advertising campaign one needs to be fully conversant with the media habits of the different segments of the population. 6, National readership survey: It is one such syndicate source (refer to Table 5.2 for a snapshot). This was an independent survey conducted by ORG and IMRB; however, it was merged with the Indian Readership Survey and is today published ‘as Indian Readership Survey under the auspices of Media Research users Council « Source and respondent base: It is conducted by HANSA research and is the largest and most comprehensive readership survey across the world with a respondent based of 256,000 respondents. It is conducted over 1178 towns and 2894 villages. The report is compiled for readership and viewing related t0 newspapers, radio, cinema and TV programs, at city, state, zonal and all India level. It also provides extensive information related to consumption of various consumer goods, mostly in the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) section, « Methodology and analysis: Once the fieldwork is accomplished the data is ‘weighed against the census data collected for the entire population of India. ‘Thus the readership and consumption habits are extrapolated to the population.112, Research Methodology « Usage: The media habits are extremely useful for any company, whether FMCG or otherwise in designing their promotional plan for the targeted population. And since there is a standardized procedure available one can design plans for a longer duration as well. The readership data can also be used for identifying test marketing and targeted promotional plans. IMRB also comes out with a specific survey about the reading habits of executives and professionals in India (BRS-Businessmen’s Readership Survey). It has the data base of approximately 9000 readers across 12 major ‘metros and mini-metros across the country. MARG also does study about the ‘media habits of young readers in its Children Readership Survey (CMS). This covers not only publications but also TV viewing and cinema habits of young children. NOP World’s Starch Readership Survey does not only indicate the readership but are based on interview data and indicates what exactly the reader saw and read the advertisement. ‘There are different categories of readership from: 1. Sawand noted 2. Saw and associated with the advertised brand 3, Saw and read partly (remember portions of the ad.) 4, Saw and recall most (remember 75% of the ad.) ‘The Starch report gives ad ranks and also analyzes and presents the impact of advertisement size, placement, color, visual vs verbal content, etc. Starch also has another metrics called Adnorms; this is interesting as it provides the readership by the type and size of advertisement appearing in the Business Week. Thus the advertiser can also see the impact of advertising and creativity on the viewer and plan better. ‘Television rating indices: These are special kind of syndicate research services related to television viewership behaviour, « The information provided: Panels are created for collecting information related to promotion and advertising. The task of the media panel is to make use of different kinds of electronic equipment to automatically record consumer viewing behaviour. This, then, serves various needs of the marketer. ‘The Nielsen Television Index (NTI), a product source from AC Nielsen, is one of the most reliable and user-friendly data sources. + The method of data computation: ‘The recording in these cases is not done manually but with a device called ‘people meter: First, the agency selects the respondents representing the different sections of society according to the established criteria, next to each television in the household this device is attached. The recording is done on two parameters—first which channel and which programme is being watched, for how long and secondly, it also records ‘who is viewing the programme. The information at the end of each day is daily uploaded via telephone lines on a central processing unit and is analyzed through a predesigned programme on multiple parameters and this information ismade available to all the prescribing channels inthe television industry. From the information collected, Nielsen is able to assess the number and other segment details of the household/individuals viewing a particular television show. Thus, macro-level and micro-level details of the consumer audience can be derived, « Data usage: These indices are then used to calculate the television rating points (TRP). The TRPs are calculated by other agencies such as IMRB as ‘well. These indices are used by the channels to compute advertising rates for10. se wary Data Collection Methods | 113, the advertisements to be aired during specific shows. It can also be used by various companies like Unilever, Pepsico, Cadburys and others for their media planning. Radio listeners’ indices: ‘The reach of one of the cheapest and most effective passive media vehicle is the radio. One of the oldest and most respected and comprehensive radio listeners’ index is the Arbitron ratings. It involves selecting members from randomly generated phone numbers, to ensure that unlisted numbers are also part of the panel. These members were provided a dairy to record the radio channel they had listened to. However these are now replaced by a PPM (Portable People meter) that automatically records the station listened to. Arbitron data helps the companies identify the time of listening and in case there isa station which has more in car listening or commuter listening a company can identify where it wants to slot its radio jingles secondly the station itself might benefit in terms of the kind of program, traffic or sports or news information that it wants to deliver to its listeners. Internet and multimedia services: A related product category that Nielsen has gone into is the usage of Internet services, Nielsen/NetRatings Inc. (www. netratings.com) collects usage data from Internet using households and work users. The service was launched in 1999. The sites frequented are recorded and the report gives comprehensive details on ranking by sites, traffic details on the sites, time of visit and frequency of the sites visited and now with so much e-commerce happening, it also tracks the trading and purchase patterns with consumer details, transaction time and payment mode. The effectiveness of banner advertising and, interactive content is also reported. This service is also available with IMRB. However, the reports are not without errors, the foremost being misrepresentation and sample group response bias. The panels might cover the diversity of the consumer. This problem is further aggravated by false recording, refusal to respond and mortality of the panel members (some members might leave the panel and be replaced by some other members, thus the buying patterns might change significantly). Another problem is that a product like toothpaste or a beverage might be purchased by different people in the household, but the recording is done by only one. Thus, what might be interpreted as brand switching, might simply be different recording made by some one else who bought a different drink. ‘There also contemporary media usage which is highly effective in reaching a younger and more experimental audience which is also being actively recorded asstandardized syndicate sources. Soundscan records the respondents’ behavior regarding the downloading of music from various online platforms. Bookscan and videoscan track the downloading of pre recorded videos and books form online platforms. Scanner devices and individual source systems: To overcome the problems of panel data, a new service is provided by research agencies through electronic scanner devices. This recording innovation has considerably revolutionized the standardized sources of data recording. Today, almost all manufacturers identify their produced lots by bar codes, and therefore, every merchandise that reaches a retail outlet necessarily has a bar code. This, when passed over a laser scanner, optically reads and records the bar-coded description (the Universal Product Code or UPC) printed on each package. This sensing links the product to the current price of the same stored in the attached computer and this linkage then delivers the sales receipt. The slip records the time of the transaction as well as the total value of all the products purchased by the consumer. Information114 esearch Methodology Data collected fom a scanner recat helpsto daw a consumer profile secfc fora product ategry and brand During an aut, 2 designated company representative/auitr visits ‘the etal and wholesale cutlets eitered with theresearth agency and physically makes nate of the existing product records. printed on the sales slip includes descriptions as well as prices ofall the items purchased. Any coupon redemptions and transaction mode can also be tested to measure the consumer response. ‘There are different kinds of scanner data available, namely sales volume tracking data, scanner panels—and scanner panels with cable television. Sales volume tracking data simply provides information on the product/category mmovernent on the brand purchased, size, price and variant—like flavour. These are simply based on sales receipts. If the information on shelf placement, cooperative advertising or point of sales display is also recorded in the computer memory, itis possible to measure the impact on the product sales as well. AC Nielsen tracks over 2,00,000 stores across more than 65 countries through their scan tracking services. The scanner panels involve giving some selected households and their members an ID card that can be read by the electronic scanner of the stores ‘here they go to buy their provisions. The individual just needs to give his/her scanner card on the billing counter, so that the entire basket gets recorded each time he/she purchases. Thus, this s easier as there is no need to record purchases as the shopping record for that individual can be built more accurately and can be subjected to record and analysis almost immediately. There are also home scan panels where, selected panelists are provided with hand devices which can Scan and record once the members run it over their purchases. This information, like the electronic diaries, is then transmitted onto the central unit at Nielsen through telephone lines. Thus, the data helps to draw a consumer profile specific for a product category and brand. The response to promotions as well as buying patterns is critical data for manufacturers and traders in devising their marketing strategies as well as measuring the effectiveness of the current one. "An alternative to household scanner panel is one that provides the panel members with specific cable connections. Then to test the response and impact of different commercials they deliberately manipulate the airing by ‘splitting’ the members into two or multiple groups and target different advertisements at different time slots and across programmes to measure the variation in impact. ‘Thus, it serves as a controlled environment which can be made available to companies to conduct controlled experiments in a representative setting Retail and home scanners can be used for tracking product sales, impact of various price points, monitoring the supply chain and managing stocks. Scanner panels with cable TV may be used for concept and new product testing, advertising decisions and evaluating the effectiveness of the promotional strategy, as they provide a readily-available experimental and yet anatural testing environment . The disadvantage is, as with the diary panels, there could be a skewed representation, Secondly, it provides bare product movement without the extremely valuable qualitative inputs. The third issue is the geographic representation of the findings, especially in rural and interior belts where scanning and electronic recording of purchase patterns are slightly dificult. Institutional syndicated data ‘These are of the following types: « Retailstore audits: ‘Theseare typical cyclicdata and usually require human auditing and recording, The sales cycle or recording usually matches the purchase patterns in that industry and the sales are tracked with reference to brands, sizes, package types, flavors or variants, etc. The formula used for this recording is as follows: Sales = (Beginning inventory + purchase made/deliveries) - ending inventory.What are the primary intemal sources of data? (el esciE! 2. Clacciy external data sources. PSR gm 2. Witt @ short note om computer-stored data 4 The researcher also records, alongside the following data any general or brand or retailer specific promotion or activity that might be happening at the recording time. This would help to explain any variations in the buying pattern due to these ‘extraneous factors. This data can be used to then calculate market and brand share as well as for forecasting future demand. The ORG (Operation Research Group) publishes two monthly reports—one on consumer products (50 consumer products) and another on pharmaceutical products (9000 brands). These are collected on a pan-India fixed retailer sample base (refer to Table 5.2 for snapshot). Similarly, AC Nielsen publishes Nielsen Retail index for four major reporting groups—grocery products, drugs, alcoholic beverages and other merchandise. IMRB (Indian Market Research Bureau) publishes Market PULSE, which is the retail audit report for 22 consumer products. « Wholesalers’ audits: Another audit service provided for a few segments are whole sale audits, these measure warehouse movement. Participating operators, include, wholesalers, super and hyper markets and frozen-food warehouses, ‘These account for a huge volume of the product availability in the area. ‘This data can be used to compose the market structure, along with market share; competitive activity; channel effectiveness and inventory control; managing and developing sales promotion plans and last but not the least, forecasting product movement. ‘Audits, however, are extremely superficial in terms of predicting consumer sentiments and satisfaction. Another disadvantage is that all markets are not covered by the retail boundary. Also, the data is available t fixed time period and the minor movements, which might serve as significant predictors of market dynamics, are sometimes lost. in this chapter, the intention was to only provide a flavour of the huge mass of information that is available in a well documented and standardized form. Sometimes, the economies of scale can advocate the use of these data sources to provide reasonably accurate inferences for the researcher investigator. And as we have seen with the advent of technological advancement the accuracy and collection is extremely quick and exhaustive at the same time. \What is meant by institutional syndicated data? ‘To analyse atypical management research problem, the ony base available to a researcher i information. Tis iataaafon in the language of research is called data, The researcher has access toto major sources of his dah rat calested might be original and project specific 2s in primary sources or it might have been collected Tee Sted and pubished by sme one ese andthe relevant information is used by the researcher fori suds. THis sernpe is termed as secondary data, Ths is the source discussed in detail inthis chapter. ‘The secondary information that is collected by th researcher can be put to mutipe uses. This coud be fos erty Tang the research question or for honing the research hypothesis. Respondent population's aderess statistics tate Fase been compiled asa detabase and tis can be used for doining the selected sample. The pir sos co ve pe couse could also be used in designing the primary instrument tobe used forthe study. Lastly. he od be used to validate te findings from the primary sources. Thus, the secondary sources are useful fast ‘and costeffective way of testing and achieving the study objectives. However, there might be certain drawbacks of using them. The accuracy and applcablly of he sources might bs {uestionable. Thus it's advised that a methodology, couracy and recency temporal authentication be conducted Before using the information compiled through a secondary source.