6 The advantages and limitations of secondary data

One of the key characteristics of secondary data is that the researcher did not participate in the collection of the data and that it was collected by someone else, who used it for other purposes. This gives rise to several advantages as well as drawbacks.

• Compared to primary data, secondary data provides a time-efficient and easy to obtain source of information for your project by saving the time and cost required of conducting the research yourself. Being generally quicker to collect than primary data allows more time for analysis.
• By utilising existing databases, you may access data that would otherwise not be possible for you to collect. These databases are particularly helpful if your project question requires you to compare multiple locations or organisations.
• Secondary data drawn from credible sources are sometimes more reliable than those collected by yourself, as large organisations such as the World Bank have greater financial and human resources to conduct large-scale data collection, such as longitudinal analysis, which is useful when making comparisons over time.
• Finally, one of the main advantages of using secondary data is how it can influence and re-shape the business issue you are investigating, as well as steering you towards any primary research you may be required to conduct for your change management project.

However, secondary data also has its disadvantages. The first and biggest problem is that most secondary data is collected by someone else, usually for different purposes, so such data may not be suitable for directly answering your project questions. The lack of familiarity with the data means that you will need time to fully understand it.

For your own project you may have to search quite a few databases before you find appropriate ones. Also, access to secondary data might be difficult, as data collected for commercial purposes is often restricted or you may have to pay to access it − for example, downloading the latest Mintel industry report relevant to your sector may cost in excess of £2,000. Finally, the quality and integrity of data obtained from databases from certain websites may be difficult to ensure.

Figure 7  The advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data (adapted from Bryman, Bell and Harley, 2019: 296)

Show description|Hide description

The image is a simple table of two columns listing the advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data (adapted from Bryman, Bell and Harley 2019: 296). The first column, headed advantages, has a light blue shading and contains the words: cost and time, high quality data, opportunity for longitudinal analysis, more time for data analysis, and influence and reshape your research goals. The second column, headed disadvantages, has a light purple shading and contains the words: lack of familiarity with data, complexity of the data, no control over data quality, and absence of key variables.

Figure 7  The advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data (adapted from Bryman, Bell and Harley, 2019: 296)