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Gathering market data from existing literature or other media resources.
What it is: When you access and use data that has already been created or gathered by someone else, you're performing secondary research. It's the difference between conducting a survey yourself (primary research) and using the results of a survey performed by someone else (secondary). The library provides access to a variety of sources for secondary research: BYU Research Guides.
What it does: The secondary research discusses, evaluates, or builds on someone else's primary research. It's usually cheaper and faster than primary research (and the library's sources are free for students to use). However, because the primary data it builds on was created by someone else for some other purpose, secondary research will never be a perfect fit for your needs. There may also be copyright or licensing restrictions on how you can use these sources.
How it is used: It's wise to begin with secondary research and see which of your needs it can meet before you conduct your primary research. Secondary research can also inform your primary research by raising new questions.
Where: Most sources licensed by the library are accessible online on or off campus. More generally, whenever you need information, ask yourself, "Who would be interested in gathering this information, and how can I find out if they make it available?" This can either lead you to sources for secondary research or to the disappointing realization that the information you want doesn't exist or isn't accessible.
Why: Seeing what others have already discovered can save you time and money. It also demonstrates that you've done your homework and that your analysis and recommendations are supported by multiple sources. Secondary research can also bring additional ideas, considerations, and data sources to your attention, pointing you down a road you may not have previously imagined.
Where it shouldn't be used: Secondary research may be cheaper and faster than primary, but don't expect to find easy answers to specific questions about a niche or innovative product or service. If you're innovating, you're probably asking questions that haven't been asked before. See the tips below for these situations.
Any restrictions: Sources licensed by the library for the use of BYU students and employees are limited to academic purposes. Content or access must not be provided to any outside individuals or organizations. In the context of experiential learning projects, students can quote or cite these sources, but the deliverable for a client must be the students' own work. Practice good ethics and avoid violating BYU's contracts with these vendors! Contact your librarian with questions.
Warnings: Because the data you’re using was not originally created to meet your specific needs, you will often apply it in ways its creators did not anticipate. Be aware of the assumptions you’re making and be prepared to justify the way you have applied the research you find. Don’t stretch it too far!
The BYU library has created tutorials for a few tools: Business Library Tools
Vendors of these research tools often produce their own tutorials (example: Simmons OneView—Create, Export & Save a CrossTab). So do other libraries. Search on YouTube.
You can see the tools for secondary research available through the library by visiting the relevant research guide: BYU Business Guides.
The three most commonly useful guides at BYU are the following:
Company Research: Company and Finance Guide
Marketing Research: Marketing and Industry Research Guide
News and Scholarship: News and Magazines Guide
You can also get help from a librarian: Research Resources: Get Help.
Commonly used databases at Ensign College can be found at Databases (ensign.edu).
Some of the preferred subject guides at Ensign College are listed in the Library Guides.
Tips:
A combination of primary and secondary research yields the best results. For example, your own surveys might reveal which demographics you should target with a product or service. Then you can use demographic data from a library or government source to learn where those people live.
Remember that the quantity and quality of company information are governed by three principles: 1. Its type: public or private, 2. Its size: large and well-known or small and obscure, and 3. The degree of transparency in its home country.
Research on almost any topic should start with industry reports for a basic understanding of a project's context.
Unlike industry research, market research firms specialize in different areas. One market research firm may not cover your industry at all. Another might be an expert.
It's hard to find secondary research on innovative or niche markets. Try to think of a proxy—an analogous product, use case scenario, or target.
Look for reports on your product category, but also reports on your target. A 200-page report on the American mother may not mention your product category, but if that's who you're targeting, it will likely provide valuable insight.
Just because it's easy to ask a question (like, "What's the market size for widgets?") doesn't mean it's easy to find an answer, or that an answer even exists.
There is no one true number. Different sources might give different numbers for a lot of reasons. It's up to you to explore methodologies and decide which source is more relevant or which you have more confidence in. It may be best to use multiple numbers to give high and low estimates. In any case, be prepared to speak intelligently about your numbers, their source, and your decisions in using them.
You'll always be left with gaps. Whatever company or industry you're researching, you should run some searches on a business news database like Factiva. The search process may be more labor-intensive, but the content is more current and you can often find information on narrow topics in the trade, industry, and local news sources. In Factiva, click Examples to see how the advanced search operators work.
The line between industry and market research can be blurry, but industry research focuses on the industry size, outlook, and structure. The market research adds an emphasis on branding, trends, and consumer behavior. Industry research is usually shorter; market research is longer and more likely to include original research. A high-quality industry report might be 20–30 pages and cost $1,000, while a good market research report might be 200 pages and, depending on the industry, from $4,000 to $15,000.
If, in the future, you need to buy research, you can save money by buying older editions of reports or by contacting publishers and negotiating single chapter or page-by-page purchases. Just remember, if you buy a cheap report, you usually get what you pay for.
This varies according to your purpose and the tool you're using. As you conduct your searches, be sure to not only note the useful data you find, but to record the source so you can dig deeper later and properly cite it in your final report.
Remember, you can quote or cite the sources for secondary research licensed by the library, but the deliverable for a client (the report, presentation, etc.) must be your own work. Create your own analysis of the data you find. Don't violate the university's licenses by giving client access or simply handing over the content.
Thoroughly documenting your sources not only gives credit to the original author, but it also gives you and your work credibility that you cannot achieve any other way. By conducting appropriate research and clearly, thoroughly documenting your sources, you construct your own authority.
You can see the tools for secondary research available through the library by visiting the relevant research guide: Business Research Guides.
Commonly used databases at Ensign College can be found at Ensign Databases.
For more on the topics of documentation, primary versus secondary research, literature search strategies, and source evaluation, see the research chapter of BYU's COMM 320 textbook.
This content is provided to you freely by Ensign College.
Access it online or download it at https://ensign.edtechbooks.org/projectbased_internships/secondary_researchlibrary_resources.
