Secondary Data Research
Introduction
Secondary data Research is
based on the data that have been already collected by and readily available
from other sources. Such data are cheaper and more quickly obtainable than the
primary data and also may be available when primary data cannot be obtained at
all.
Most of the researches are
based on secondary data.
Example: When Reliance launched
its Jio , they researched on all the secondary data available and made their
own strategy to launch Jio with a bang.
1. Sources of
Secondary Data
While primary data can be
collected through questionnaires, depth interview, focus group interviews, case
studies, experimentation and observation; The secondary data can be obtained
through
Internal Sources - These are within the organization
External Sources - These are outside the
organization
2. Internal
Sources of Data
If available, internal
secondary data may be obtained with less time, effort and money than the
external secondary data. In addition, they may also be more pertinent to the
situation at hand since they are from within the organization. The internal
sources include
Accounting resources- This gives so much
information which can be used by the marketing researcher. They give
information about internal factors.
Sales Force Report- It gives information about
the sale of a product. The information provided is of outside the organization.
Internal Experts- These are people who are
heading the various departments. They can give an idea of how a particular
thing is working
Miscellaneous Reports- These are what information
you are getting from operational reports.
If the data available within the
organization are unsuitable or inadequate, the marketer should extend the
search to external secondary data sources.
3. External
Sources of Data
External Sources are sources
which are outside the company in a larger environment. Collection of external
data is more difficult because the data have much greater variety and the
sources are much more numerous.
External data can be divided
into following classes.
1.
Government
Publications- Government sources provide an extremely rich pool of data for the
researchers. In addition, many of these data are available free of cost on
internet websites. There are number of government agencies generating data.
These are:
a.
Registrar General of India- It is an office which
generates demographic data. It includes details of gender, age, occupation etc.
b.
Central Statistical
Organization- This organization publishes the national accounts statistics. It
contains estimates of national income for several years, growth rate, and rate
of major economic activities. Annual survey of Industries is also published by
the CSO. It gives information about the total number of workers employed,
production units, material used and value added by the manufacturer.
c.
Director General of
Commercial Intelligence- This office operates from Kolkata. It gives information about foreign
trade i.e. import and export. These figures are provided region-wise and
country-wise.
d.
Ministry of Commerce and
Industries- This ministry through the
office of economic advisor provides information on wholesale price index. These
indices may be related to a number of sectors like food, fuel, power, food
grains etc. It also generates All India Consumer Price Index numbers for
industrial workers, urban, non manual employees and cultural labourers.
e.
Planning Commission- It provides the basic
statistics of Indian Economy.
f.
Reserve Bank of India- This provides information on
Banking Savings and investment. RBI also prepares currency and finance reports.
g.
Labour Bureau- It provides information on
skilled, unskilled, white collared jobs etc.
h.
National Sample Survey- This is done by the Ministry
of Planning and it provides social, economic, demographic, industrial and
agricultural statistics.
i.
Department of Economic
Affairs- It conducts economic survey
and it also generates information on income, consumption, expenditure,
investment, savings and foreign trade.
j.
State Statistical Abstract- This gives information on
various types of activities related to the state like - commercial activities,
education, occupation etc.
2.
Non Government
Publications- These includes publications of various industrial and trade
associations, such as
·
The Indian Cotton Mill Association
·
Various chambers of commerce
·
The Bombay Stock Exchange (it publishes a directory containing
financial accounts, key profitability and other relevant matter)
·
Various Associations of Press Media.
·
Export Promotion Council.
·
Confederation of Indian Industries ( CII )
·
Small Industries Development Board of India
·
Different Mills like - Woolen mills, Textile mills etc
The only disadvantage of the
above sources is that the data may be biased. They are likely to colour their
negative points.
3.
Syndicate Services- These services are provided
by certain organizations which collect and tabulate the marketing information
on a regular basis for a number of clients who are the subscribers to these
services. So the services are designed in such a way that the information suits
the subscriber. These services are useful in television viewing, movement of
consumer goods etc. These syndicate services provide information data from both
household as well as institution.
In collecting data from
household they use three approaches
Survey- They conduct surveys regarding - lifestyle, sociographic, general
topics.
Mail Diary Panel- It may be related to 2 fields - Purchase and Media.
Electronic Scanner Services- These are used to generate
data on volume.
They collect data for
Institutions from
Whole sellers
Retailers, and
Industrial Firms
Various syndicate services
are Operations Research Group (ORG) and The Indian Marketing Research Bureau
(IMRB).
Importance of Syndicate
Services
Syndicate services are becoming popular since the
constraints of decision making are changing and we need more of specific
decision-making in the light of changing environment. Also Syndicate services
are able
·
Economic Co-operation and development (OECD)- It publishes data on foreign
trade, to provide information to the industries at a low unit cost.
Disadvantages of Syndicate
Services
The information provided is not exclusive. A number
of research agencies provide customized services which suits the requirement of
each individual organization.
·
International Organization- These includes
o
The International Labour
Organization (ILO)- It publishes data on the total and active population, employment,
unemployment, wages and consumer prices
o
The Organization for industry, food, transport,
and science and technology.
o
The International Monetary
Fund (IMA)- It publishes reports on
national and international foreign exchange regulations.
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