Market research can be classified as either primary or secondary research. The difference is quite simple, yet there is often confusion around this topic.

In a nutshell, primary research is original research conducted by you or someone you hire to collect data specifically for your current objective.

You might conduct a survey, run an interview or a focus group, observe behavior, or do an experiment. You are going to be the person who obtains this raw data directly and it will be collected specifically for your current research need.

Conversely, secondary research involves searching for existing data that was originally collected by someone else. You might look in journals, libraries, or go to online sources like the US census. You will apply what you find to your personal research problem, but the data you are finding was not originally collected by you, nor was it obtained for the purpose you are using it for.

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I hope that makes sense. If not, read on for some examples and a little more detail. The downside, of course, is that you may not be able to find secondary market research information specific enough or recent enough for your objectives. Sources of Secondary Data Secondary data comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There are plenty of raw data sources like the US CensusData. Internal company data like customer details, sales figures, employee timecards, etc.

Published articles, including peer-reviewed journals, newspapers, magazines, and even blog postings like this count as secondary data sources. Social media data is a new source of secondary data.

For example, the New York Times twitter stock secondary market Twitter traffic during the Super Twitter stock secondary market and produced this stunning visualization of comments throughout the game. It is increasingly possible to obtain behavioral data from secondary sources, which can be more powerful and reliable than self-reported data forex trading uk taxes surveys and focus groups.

If you have a moment, check it out. Primary Market Research Primary research is research that is conducted by you, or someone you pay to do original research on your behalf.

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You might choose to gather this data by running a survey, interviewing people, observing behavior, or by using some other market research method. I hope this tutorial on the differences between primary and secondary research has been helpful. If I missed something or if you have something to add, please do so with a comment below.

Secondary research happens to be the first of six market research methods. The other five […].

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