Secondary Research Tips on Dissertation
It is the simplest type of research. In this article, you will find the four steps for conducting secondary research for your dissertation.
What is secondary research?
It refers to the process of re-analyzing, reviewing, and interpreting a bunch of past data. The goal of the researcher is to show through his work how the past data influences the current research. When compared to primary research, it is simple since the researcher is not entirely involved with the process of actively looking for data in the field. As a researcher, you will not need to spend a lot of money.
Benefits of a Secondary Research
Before you set out to conduct any study, always be sure to know the strengths and limitations it has.
The main advantage this type of research has over the primary one is that it is cheap. You will spend less amount of money as compared to the latter where you have to pay the members as it involves traveling costs and other miscellaneous costs, which will prove to take a chunk out of your pocket. When conducting a secondary one, you will not hear about these costs.
Another advantage that students enjoy is the aspect of time-saving. In the primary research, a researcher will go weeks and months to circle up members, come up with the questionnaires and circulate them, conduct interviews, and so forth. With secondary research, you only need to select your data type, prepare it, and analyze it.
When you conduct secondary research, you will also be able to access material and data. Back in the day, you were to visit a library and look for a set of data that suits your research. With the presence of new technology, students can now get the material they need online.
The next advantage is that your project can get based on a scope of data. You will use a relatively low amount of energy to get the data that you need and will not have to worry about longitudinal data as it takes months and years to complete.
Disadvantages of Secondary Research
The main setback of employing this type of research in your line of work is that your data may be inappropriate for your study. It is because the data you utilized did not come from your sweat.
When you go out to actively search for data, you always have a specific research question knocking on your mind.
Another disadvantage is that the data may be in a different format than what you have. It may make the process hard for you as it will beg for an analysis of the data before using it in your research.
The next problem that this type of study may incur is that the data set you choose may fail to answer your research questions in the best way possible. You may face limitations as it won't serve the purpose you want.
An additional disadvantage is that you have no control over the quality of data that you find. It may be possible that the past researchers did not verify their findings or the validity of the data they have, and this may limit your research as well in terms of reliability and validity. Check for the loopholes and fill them where necessary.