Desk Research

As a market research professional you are involved in identifying and solving problems, pitching of proposals to various institutions and much more.

The first thing you are advised is to split your research into two different divisions, named as primary and secondary research. Primary research involves you getting down to the ground and analyzing the problem right from scratch. But on the other hand research done by gathering readily available information from sources like government records, print and digital media is called a secondary research, also known as Desk research. 

 So now a question arises, we do all the work from base to apex in a primary research and come up with possible insights and solutions, then why do we need a secondary research?

Secondary research helps us to have an early understanding of the market or the industry.The availability of data is in abundance, for example a government record would cover a larger spectrum of issues. The time involved in conducting this research is less and is also very cost efficient. Data collected from secondary research helps you identify the effectiveness of your primary research. But also, care should be taken to distinguish secondary research from primary that uses raw data sources. So if this method of research is filled with all these perks, does it mean that we can forgo primary research? The answer to that question is a big NO! Like a coin having two sides, the disadvantages are also to be taken into account. The data sometimes lacks consistency of perspective and becomes obnoxious, the biases and inaccuracy cannot be checked. Published statistics often raise more questions than they can answer.

After analysing this method of study briefly, imagine if a business study is given the form of a human being, then the major organs would represent Primary Research. Desk Research will be a representation of the Legs and Vertebra column which helps the entire body to stand firmly. It acts as a morale support to the entire study. It is like a sign board that directs you to the correct destination.

John Richard

PGP MR 2015-16

john.richard@northpointindia.com