Originally published April 9, 2015 , updated on May 30, 2023

Published Date: The date when the blog went live on GL website. Updated Date: The latest date when the GL Content team updated this blog.

Don’t let its name fool you – there are many benefits in carrying out your secondary market research first. You’re basically getting the ‘easy stuff’ out of the way as secondary research already exists, the data has been captured, collated and published for you, although it may incur a cost to acquire depending on the data you’re looking for.
Examples of secondary research include Census Bureau data, encyclopedias, and analyst reports. (The Census is a great source of data, and the government makes it publicly available for free!) Another place to find existing, relevant data is with professional associations. Many professional associations actually fund research.

You should ensure that after you have completed your secondary research you are optimising your Primary Research by using the data you have found from your secondary research to produce better results and maybe even new insights.