This chapter, and two that follow, provide an introduction to the identification and use of existing information, sometimes referred to as secondary information. Part of what makes marketing interesting is the enormous variety in buyer behavior. There is a need for constant discovery and creativity in working with buyers. Although a great deal is known about market response to marketing actions and the factors that influence consumers, much of which has been summarized in this book, the reality and challenge for marketers is that every buyer’s decision is unique and buyers change over time. Any effort to influence a buyer is countered by factors beyond the control of the marketer and by competitor’s actions in the market. This means that the role of the marketer must, by definition, be one of continuous learning and anticipation of the future. This role is part art and part science. It requires analysis and creativity. It requires comfort with hard numbers but also a willingness to accept uncertainty. The complexity of buyer behavior offers a challenge, but it is not an excuse for failing to create for and provide to the firm the best understanding and quantitative estimates of demand in the future. Even when limited resources are available, it is almost always possible to have conversations with customers. There is also an enormous amount of information available about specific markets and customers in those markets.
There are very few genuinely new research questions. Whatever the topic, it is likely that someone or some organization has collected some relevant information. In some cases, this information might provide an immediate and direct answer to a current research question. More often the existing information will provide an important starting point for additional research. Information about a large array of topics is available from numerous sources. Published academic research and government information in the form of reports or raw data addresses a wide range of topics in economics, demography, health care, geography, social behavior, and media use, among others. In addition, there is a vast array of documents and data that have been archived for historical and record keeping purposes. These documents include meeting minutes of government bodies and other organizations, permits obtained from and contracts filed with government entities, voting records, court proceedings, tax records, and a host of other information. There also exists a large and diverse commercial industry devoted to gathering information for specific purposes. This industry consists of survey research firms, media research agencies, consulting firms, think tanks, professional associations, and similar organizations.
Research that makes use of these many pre-existing sources of information is known as secondary analysis, or in the case of information that has been archived for historical or legal reasons, archival research. The reason for the name, secondary analysis, is because the analysis of the information is for a purpose other than that for which the data were originally collected. In contrast to primary research, where a researcher collects information directly relevant to and for the purpose of answering a specific research question, secondary analysis focuses on the use of information that was collected for some other purpose to answer specific questions. The sources of such pre-existing information are known as secondary sources to contrast them with data collection for a specific purpose, or primary research.
Secondary research can also be divided into custom research and syndicated research. Custom research involves secondary analysis that is conducted for one or more specific organizations and circulation of this research is generally limited to the sponsoring organization. On the other hand, some research providers use secondary research, primary research, or both to create data and reports that are available to whoever is willing to pay for the report. This latter type of research is called syndicated research. Many organizations offer syndicated research reports or data ranging from government agencies, like the Census Bureau to commercial organizations that charge a substantial fee for access to the information that they provide. The issues that arise in using and evaluating custom secondary research and syndicated secondary research are similar, but it is important to recognize that some secondary analysis begins with the results of secondary analyses of others.
Secondary Analysis
Secondary analysis involves the use of sources of data and other information collected by others and archived in some form. Secondary information offers relatively quick and inexpensive answers to many questions. Such information may take a variety of forms. It may be little more than a copy of a published report. In some cases, it may involve a repackaging or reanalysis of data. For example, a number of commercial research providers obtain government data, such as that obtained by the Census Bureau, and develop specialized reports, create convenient data access capabilities, or combine data from multiple sources into a single source. Such repackaged research is often sold as syndicated research because it is made available to multiple users. Other syndicated data providers may obtain information from nongovernment sources. For example, several commercial research providers obtain electronic scanner information from retailers and package it to provide reports on the sales, prices, and other features of retail products for retailers and manufacturers.
Points to Ponder
Where do you find the most reliable and valuable sources of data for secondary analysis? Have you encountered any pros or cons related to working with this data? How have you been able to supplement this data to make it more useable for your business?
In contrast to research providers who offer only secondary research, where data and information are obtained from other sources, a significant segment of this industry consists of organizations that collect their own information and make it available, often at a price, to other organizations. For example, some commercial research providers collect information about product awareness and preference and customer satisfaction for entire industries and sell reports of this research to other organizations. While these firms are themselves engaged in primary research, the users of the information to whom they provide are engaged in secondary analysis. Similarly, some organizations offer reports of large-scale tracking studies of media usage habits, lifestyles, and eating habits and health related behavior. Such research would be considered primary research by the provider but represents secondary research to users because they did not materially participate in the design and analysis of the research.
Advantages and Disadvantage of Secondary Analysis
Like most research tools and methods secondary analysis has both advantages and disadvantages. Secondary research and analysis generally offers a faster and less expensive means for obtaining information than would be the case if a researcher were to undertake primary research. Because data and reports are already available, they can be obtained within days, hours and in the age of the Internet, often within minutes. Because the cost of data collection and reporting has already been covered, or, in the case of syndicated research can be shared by all of the organizations that might be interested, secondary research tends to be less expensive than comparable data obtained through primary research. On the other hand, secondary research may not provide the specific information required for a given purpose and, it may not be as timely as data that are obtained in response to an immediate question.
Secondary analysis can also provide a useful starting point for additional research by suggesting problem formulations, research hypotheses, and research methods. Secondary analysis can also increase the efficiency of research expenditures by identifying significant gaps in knowledge. Secondary analysis may also provide a useful tool for making comparisons. New data may be compared to existing data for purposes of examining differences or trends. It may also provide a basis for determining whether new information is representative of a population, as in the case of sampling. Comparison of the demographic characteristics of a sample to those of a larger population, as specified by the Census Bureau, may reveal how representative the sample is of the larger population.
On the other hand, there are very significant disadvantages associated with secondary analysis, at least for some purposes. The underlying data may not address the research question of interest. Even if the data do address the research question of interest in a general way, the way in which the data were collected, the manner in which variable were defined, or the sample from which the data were obtained may not be appropriate for the research question. If data collection, variable definition, and the sample are appropriate the passage of time may make the data less relevant for an immediate research question.
The Complementarity of Secondary and Primary Research
In most research situations primary and secondary research are used in a complementary fashion, rather than as substitutes for one another. Research efforts generally begin with a question or set of objectives. These objectives are met, and the question answered through the acquisition of information. The source of the information—whether it is secondary source or primary research—is really not important as long as the information is trustworthy and answers the question at hand. In fact, it will be less expensive and time-consuming to use secondary sources. Frequently, however, at least some of the questions at hand have not been answered by prior research; answering these questions requires primary research. In these cases, secondary research helps define the agenda for subsequent primary research by suggesting which questions require answers that have not been obtained in previous research. Secondary data may also identify the means by which the primary research should be carried out:
1. Questions that should be addressed
2. Measurement instruments such as questionnaires and measurement scales
3. Relevant respondent
Where do you find data for secondary analysis? There are many options.
Sources of Secondary Research and Data
There are many sources of secondary data and reports. Often overlooked in the quest for customer information is the data the organization collects as a part of carrying out its routine business. Such information includes sales data, website visits, and other operational data. Table 7.1 lists some potential sources of customer information that may be obtained from or built into routine operations of an organization. Of course, such information must be captured and analyzed, but it is relatively inexpensive to do so.
Online searches using Google, Bing, or other search engines often reveal many relevant sources. There are also specialized online vendors that provide access to and search capabilities for locating secondary sources relevant to particular research questions. An example of such a commercial vendor is Proquest (http://proquest.com/en-US/), which allows a researcher to search nearly 3,000 worldwide business periodicals that cover business and economic conditions, management techniques, theory, and practice of business, advertising, marketing, economics, human resources, finance, taxation, and computers, and among others. Such sites typically require a subscription or charge users per search.
Table 7.1 Common sources of customer information within the organization
• Customer service interactions such as call center interactions and chat records, and complaint records
• Customer and/or partner advisory councils
• Internal information such as financial and operational data
• Purchasing data or product usage data
• Transactional and/or relationship surveys data
• Social media, online communities, and website data
• Input documented from frontline employees and sales personnel
In contrast, there are websites that provide access to social science research, including research papers not yet published, that do not charge for a search or charge a nominal fee. One example of the latter is the social science research network (SSRN) electronic library, which is composed of a number of specialized research networks in the social sciences. Topics covered by networks include accounting, economics, financial economics, legal scholarship, and management (including negotiation and marketing). The SSRN eLibrary consists of an abstract database containing abstracts of scholarly working papers and forthcoming papers, and an electronic paper collection of downloadable full text documents in pdf format. Access to the database and collection is free; some services may require registration or fees.1 Barker, Barker, and Pinard provide a useful and highly accessible introduction to the use of the Internet as a tool for finding information, as well as the limitations and cautions that go hand in hand with an open and largely unregulated medium like the Internet.2
There are a number of “meta-sites” online that provide a large array of links to other sites. Some of these sites are accessible without cost while others require a subscription or fee. These sites differ with respect to their focus, scope, and attention to the quality of information available in the linked sites. There are, in fact many such sites. Table 7.2 provides a listing of some of the more representative broad-based meta-sites.
Table 7.2 Representative meta-sites for finding secondary sources in marketing and the social sciences
• Data and Information Services Center (http://disc.wisc.edu/): Provides links to more than 700 searchable online data sources, including government and nongovernment sources. This site is maintained by the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Online links are related to economics, demographics, politics, education, health, education, history, sociology and geography, among others. Includes both United States and International sources |
• Econdata.Net (http://econdata.net/): This site, which is sponsored by the U. S. Economic Development Administration is designed to be a first stop for researchers who need demographic, social, and economic information at the state and sub-state level |
• Intute (http://intute.ac.uk/): A catalog of thousands of searchable websites in the social sciences and other disciplines. Hosted by a consortium of universities in the United Kingdom this site is an outstanding source of high quality international information. This site includes links to sources related to agriculture, business and management, communications, the creative and performing arts, education, law, medicine, engineering and the physical sciences, as well as the social sciences |
• Lexis-Nexis (http://lexisnexis.com/): Like ProQuest, Lexis-Nexis is a commercial database for which a subscription is required. Lexis-Nexis provides links to legal literature, including judicial decisions, as well as information relevant to for business and market analyses, selected academic literature and government reports, and data sets related to demographic and economic variables |
• Population Reference Bureau (http://prb.org/): A website that provides summaries of information, including charts, maps, rankings, and graphs for a wide array of demographic, social, health, economic, environmental, and family structure data for the United States and the world. This site also includes teaching resources, including lesson plans and teaching guides, for use in designing course modules using such data |
General sources of government data |
• United States Census Bureau (http://census.gov): This general website for the Census Bureau provides links to reports, data summaries, and raw data for all of the Censuses conducted by the Bureau including the Decennial Census and the several Economic Censuses. The site also provides links to the American Community Survey, and ongoing survey that provides annual data about a wide array of population characteristics, and to the population estimates program, which provides estimates of population statistics between censuses |
• FedStats (http://fedstats.gov): A well-organized source of statistical information available from over 100 U.S. government agency sites. Includes links to information on agricultural production, health care, industries, crime and judicial data, education, energy, labor force, housing, poverty, children, aging populations, and tax returns, among others |
• Stat-USA/Internet (http://stat-usa.gov/): A website provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is designed to be a single point of access to information about business, trade, and economics from across Federal Government Agencies |
• EDGAR (http://sec.gov/edgar.shtml): Maintained by the securities and exchange commission, this website is a repository for the filing of annual and quarterly reports by all publicly traded corporations in the United States. A good source of information about individual companies |
• United Nations Statistics Division (http://unstats.un.org/unsd/default.htm): The United Nations serves as a repository for social, economic, population, energy, crime environment, geographic, and health care data from countries around the world. It also provides an online gateway to statistics relevant to its member nations (http://data.un.org/) |
Selected online sources of health and human services information |
• National Center for Health Statistics (http://cdc.gov/nchs/): The National Center for Health Statistic’s website, operated by the Center for Disease Control provides a deep and diverse portal for information about health and health care. Health statistics provided on this site include information related to the health status of the population, experiences with the health care system, enumeration of health problems, the impact of health policies, and trend in health care delivery systems |
• World Health Organization (http:/who.int/research/en/): The most comprehensive guide to world health. This website includes worldwide national statistics for 70 core indicators on mortality, morbidity, risk factors, service coverage, and health systems, data on chronic diseases and their risk factors for all WHO Member States, standardized data and statistics for infectious diseases at country, regional, and global levels, and links to local and region information of member nations |
• National Center for Educational Statistics (http://nces.ed.gov/): The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the United States agency with primary responsibility for collecting and analyzing data related to education. This website includes information on a wide array of education issues including reports and raw data |
• Child Trends Databank (http://childtrendsdatabank.org/): The Child Trends website is maintained by a nonprofit research organization dedicated to providing research and data to inform decision-making that affects children |
• Department of Health and Human Service Gateway to Data and Statistics (http://hhs-stat.net/): Designed to complement other U.S. government data resources, this website provides links to academic research, government reports, and databases related to health, poverty, special populations, and family and community services |
Representative commercial and nonprofit sources of secondary information |
• Simmons (https://simmonsresearch.com/solutions/) powered by the industry renowned National Consumer Study. This high quality, nationally representative study is the result of a comprehensive, continuously fielded survey of approximately 25,000 U.S. adults, including over 7,500 English—and Spanish-speaking Hispanics. The National Consumer study continuously measures consumer attitudes, product and brand preferences, media consumption habits, and demographic and lifestyle characteristics |
• Easy Analytic Software, Inc. (http://easidemographics.com/index.asp): A commercial data provider that organizes demographic data by geography and life stage cluster. Information includes data from Mediamark Research, which includes comprehensive demographic, lifestyle, product usage, and media exposure to all forms of advertising media collected from a single sample of more than 26,000 households |
• Roper Center for Public Opinion Research (http://ropercenter.uconn.edu/): This Center, which is housed at the University of Connecticut, is one of the largest archives of social science data, with particular emphasis on data from public opinion surveys. Data date from the 1930s, when survey research was in its infancy, to the present. Most of the data are related to the United States, but over 50 nations are represented in the archives |
• The Economist Intelligence Unit (http://eiu.com/index.asp?rf=0): The Economist Intelligence Unit provides a constant flow of information, data, analysis, and forecasts related to social, economic, demographic, and political variables on more than 200 countries and six key industries |
• A. C. Nielsen (http://nielsen.com/): Nielsen is one of the largest providers of data on product purchase and use, retail sales, media use, online, and mobile telephone use, and other information about consumer behavior. Data and reports available for much of the world. Offers Nielsen Scholastic Services, which provides programs, data, curriculum materials, and other resources for faculty members and students |
• IMS (http://imshealth.com/portal/site/imshealth/): IMS is one of the largest commercial providers of information about health care and health care products. IMS provides worldwide data on the sale and prescription of pharmaceutical products and medical devices, on disease and treatment patterns, and industry trends |
• eMarketer (https://emarketer.com). Data and analysis on e-business, Internet marketing, and technology trends. Includes news, analysis, charts, reports, and information on products, as well as statistics through eStat database |
• Mintel Reports (http://mintel.com): As a globally recognized market analyst, Mintel produces some 600 reports into European, UK-specific, and US consumer markets every year. There are global reports, as well as extensive industry/market research for China and Australia |
• Euromonitor Passport (http://go.euromonitor.com/passport_.html): provides international market intelligence, including economic statistics, on industries, countries, and consumers |
Government Sources of Information
Some of the most reliable and comprehensive sources of secondary data are government sources. Much of the data provided by the United States Government is collected by the Census Bureau, which employs very elaborate quality controls. Although best known for its work on the Decennial Population Census, which occurs every ten years, the Census Bureau conducts a wide array of other censuses and surveys. It is also the primary collector of data for many other government agencies, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
One of the larger sectors of the United States economy and an area of significant research activity in the social sciences and other fields is health and human services. The United States government as well as many other state and local governments and commercial organizations collect and disseminate an enormous amount of information and data regarding health and disease, health related behaviors, quality of life, and human development.
Commercial and Not-for-Profit Information Providers
In today’s information driven economy there is a huge commercial industry involved in the collection, analysis, and reporting of information for various purposes. Much of this data of very high quality and is used by businesses and policy makers for decision-making. However, such data also can and has been used to address important basic research questions and to test theories. While much of this type of data is available only for a fee, commercial providers often have programs for providing access to their data to academic researchers and students. In addition, various not-for-profit centers maintain data sources and will often provide access to the data for no or a modest cost.
The various secondary data sources listed in Table 7.2 are by no means a comprehensive listing. Rather they are intended to provide examples of more general information sources. There are other general source as well, and a huge number of highly specialized sources. Whatever the topic, there is likely to be secondary source of information that can be used as a first point of analysis for a research question. However, whatever the source of the data and the type of analysis to be undertaken, it is important to carefully evaluate the integrity and reliability of the data before proceeding with an analysis.
Not all information obtained is equally reliable or valid. In an Internet age characterized by the presence of “fake news,” information must be evaluated carefully and weighted according to its credibility and how recent it was obtained. Fortunately, the same questions that arise in the evaluation of secondary sources also arise in the context of primary research. The only difference is that these questions must be addressed retrospectively in the case of secondary research, while they should be addressed prospectively in the case of primary research. It is also important to recognize that information may simultaneously be valid for drawing some conclusions and invalid for drawing other conclusions. Research is not uniformly valid or invalid; rather, it is only valid or invalid with respect to specific questions.
When evaluating secondary source information six questions must be answered:
1. Why was the study or data collection effort undertaken?
2. Who obtained the information?
3. What information or data was actually collected?
4. During what time period was the information or data collected?
5. By what method(s) was the information or data obtained?
6. How consistent is the information or data with that found in other sources?
In answering these basic questions other, more specific questions will arise. These more specific questions include the source(s) of the data, measures used, the time of data collection, and the appropriateness of analyses and conclusions. Use of these six generic questions can provide a means for assessing the validity of research for any given purpose. The next chapter will consider each of these questions in detail.
Takeaways
Due to the enormous variety of buyer behaviors, constant discovery and creativity are needed but fortunately, considerable information is already available. While, certainly, new data is helpful for identifying changing trends and business-specific behavior, much of buyer behavior is fixed and has been well-studied. Any question you have about buyer behavior that we have not thus far discussed in this book has very likely been studied by someone who collected extensive data on the topic. It is simply a matter of acquiring and analyzing the data to gain new insights and develop new strategies. These data may not stand alone but it gives you a framework on which to develop your own studies. This secondary analysis of pre-existing data helps you understand what new questions need to be asked in order to customize data analysis to your business needs. Utilizing secondary analysis is the cost-effective way to develop and execute data-driven strategies.
There are clear advantages and disadvantages to using secondary analysis. These data are relatively quick and easy to acquire. They may be openly available online or downloadable for a fee. This is in contrast to the time and expense of collecting primary data, which could take months or even years to acquire. Because many entities will be using these data, the cost is shared among the entities. Secondary analysis can help identify and fill in knowledge gaps as well as provide insights into the larger population to which there is no ready access.
On the other hand, these data are often lacking in certain areas. You need specific questions answered and find that the question was not asked. These data are otherwise somehow lacking. In these instances, primary and secondary data complement one another. First, you complete secondary analysis, identifying what data have already been collected. Then you look at what questions were not asked to that you can complete primary analysis separately. Your primary analysis may be less comprehensive, and it may have a less than statistically relevant sample but when combined with the secondary analysis a more complete picture of consumer behavior in your niche begins to take shape.
When you need secondary analysis, time is of the essence. We discussed several places to acquire analysis specific to your industry, but you will find many more as you explore the possibilities. Government sources are a great place to start and there are also many commercial and not-for-profit options.
In this chapter, we very briefly discussed that all data and analysis are not equal. A marketer must be careful. They must not only know that the research firm is reputable; they must understand what the data truly represent. Data can be misleading when they are applied too broadly.
The next chapter will explore how to evaluate secondary analysis to ensure that the information and numbers are reliable and valid.
Notes
1. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/DisplayAbstractSearch.cfm
2. Barker, Barker, and Pinard (2010).