What is Secondary Research?

What is secondary research?

Secondary research or desk research is a practice of using previously completed or published research to inform product or business decisions. There are a lot of opportunities in business to leverage the research that other teams, organizations, or universities have already done. Secondary research is ideal for companies to use to save time and money while still using data to inform their decisions.

How to perform secondary research

Narrow your topic: Whatever your topic is, try to narrow it down to a few key questions you can use to make generalizations.
Identify sources: There are popular public sources of data or companies that are well-known in specific fields. Starting with these reputable sources will help you home in on your best options.
Collect and aggregate data: Pull found data into a spreadsheet or document and make sure you keep track of the sources.
Analyze: Review the data you've collected and try to understand how this has affected your concept or direction of your product. A great way to start analyzing is to use the Scientific Method: formulate a hypothesis to your research questions and see if the data proves or disproves your answer.‍
Present: Share the results with your colleagues or boss to validate your findings.

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