In a short essay, discuss the advantages and uses of secondary data. Include a discussion of the disadvantages of secondary data to support your answer

What will be an ideal response?

a. The main advantages of secondary data are the time and money they can save. While it is rare for secondary data to provide all the answers to a nonroutine research problem, analysis of secondary data should always be the first step taken toward solving a research problem. Secondary data can help a researcher 1. identify the problem, 2. better understand and define the problem, 3 . develop an approach to the problem, 4. formulate an appropriate research design, 5. answer certain research questions and test some hypotheses, and 6. interpret primary data with more insight. Given these advantages and uses of secondary data, the basic rule of research is to examine available secondary data first. The research project should proceed to primary data collection only when secondary data sources have been exhausted or yield marginal returns.
b. The value of secondary data is typically limited by their degree of fit to the current research problem and by concerns regarding data accuracy. The objectives, nature, and methods used to collect secondary data may not be compatible with the present situation. Also, secondary data may be lacking in terms of its accuracy, compatibility of units of measurement, or time frame.