Secondary Data Sources
Secondary data has already been gathered or published for some other purpose. Ordinarily, it is faster to collect and less expensive than primary data. Sources of secondary data include internal (those inside the organization) and external (those outside the organization.) Ideally, secondary data is available from the organization's Marketing Information System (MkIS). Data that has not been organized in a MkIS may be available from the organization’s files and reports. Also, secondary data is available from libraries, trade associations, government agencies, and the Internet. All sources of secondary data should be exhausted before collecting primary data.
Periodicals
One of the first places to look for secondary data is a library. Periodicals (magazines, journals, and newspapers) are materials that are published at regular intervals (monthly, quarterly, daily, etc.). They contain current information, which point the way to trends that can translate into marketing opportunities. The Index of Business Periodicals is a good place to start to identify all published references to a topic.
Marketing Magazines around the world can be found online.
http://cwis.kub.nl/~few/few/be/marketin/magazine.htm
Newspapers can be found online.
http://ajr.newslink.org/news.html
Government Data
Government data is available in inexpensive publications issued by local, state, national, or international governments. Most of it is in computer form and ready for further analysis. It is often used in estimating the size of markets. In fact, most topics can be found in government documents. Government data is generally considered to be reliable and includes laws, regulations, statistics, consumer information, and much more.
CIA World Factbook is found online and provides a map as well as basic
statistical and demographic information for every country in the world.
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
Many researchers find it more practical to start with summary publications. Leads to more detailed documents on a topic can be found in the footnotes. Statistics are valuable in research because they can provide data for making comparisons and determining historical trends. The most useful of these summaries is the Statistical Abstract of the United States. Note: In order to view the tables, you must have a copy of the Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) viewer installed on your computer. You can download a free copy of the viewer from the Adobe.
The Statistical Abstract has been published annually since 1878 by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. It is an invaluable resource document for market researchers. In addition to current data on important demographic, social and business trends, it includes a bibliography of other sources. Statistics given in the tables cover a period of several years, usually about 15 or 20. To find if a particular subject is covered in Statistical Abstract, use the index.
In addition to Statistical Abstract of the United States, a number of statistical government sources can be found on the Internet.
Bureau of Justice Statistics Home Page
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
Federal Statistics
http://www.fedstats.gov/
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/mmwr.html
National Center for Health Statistics
http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/
Population, Economics, Social Science Databases
http://info.pitt.edu/~aefa/demog.htm
Social Statistics Briefing Room - White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov/fsbr/ssbr.html
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/index.html
Uniform Crime Reports or Crime in the United States
http://www.fbi.gov/crimestats.htm
United Nations' Monthly Bulletin of Statistics
http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd/
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://stats.bls.gov/
U.S. Centers for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/
U.S. Economic Indicators
http://www.census.gov/ftp/pub/indicator/www/indicat.html
USA Statistics in Brief
http://www.census.gov/statab/www/brief.html
Private Research Organizations
Many private research organizations, advertising agencies, newspapers and magazines regularly compile and published data. Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys provides industry profiles containing market shares, competitors, future prognoses, regulatory influences, etc. Transium Business Intelligence features over 1 million articles compiled from the world's leading business and trade publications. Also, some information is available as a service to customers for clients of advertising agencies or buyers of advertising space or time. Most trade associations compile data from and for their members. Some also publish magazines that focus on important topics in the industry. The Yellow Pages can be a big help in estimating how much competition there is in certain lines of business and where it is located.
Advertising Age
http://www.adage.com/
American Demographics/Marketing Tools
http://www.demographics.com/
Dataquest Interactive
http://gartner4.gartnerweb.com/dq/static/dq.html
SEC Edgar Database of Corporate Information
http://www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm
Sales and Marketing Exchange
http://www.sme.com/
The Thomas Register of American Companies
http://www4.thomasregister.com/index.cgi?balancing
Internet Search Engines
Of course using an Internet search engine can expand a search. Since there is no organization in charge of the Internet, no single comprehensive source or index tells you what information is on the Internet or how to find it. People search the Internet using a variety of resource discovery tools called search engines, such as AltaVista, Yahoo, and HotBot. They are Web sites in and of themselves, accessible through browsers, where you can search for other sites that contain specific keywords. You simply type in the topic, or several key words about what you are looking for, and the search engine will provide Web sites that have information related to that topic. For example, you will get a list of sites by keying in one or more words that best describes what you want. You can keep abreast of more general developments in the field via Search Engine Watch.
Searching for a Broad Topic
When you need to get an overview of a broad topic, use a directory-style search site, such as Yahoo. The user can begin with a vague, general query and, through a series of choices, narrow the focus of the search. Also check the subject-oriented "channels" that are available at the full-text search-engine sites. Channels are basically the search-engine sites' answer to Yahoo, offering directory-type searches, but with a lot fewer sites than Yahoo has.
Searching for a Narrow Topic
For a narrow or specific search, coverage is more important than context, so an index search engine does a better job. When you have a specific idea of what you're looking for, check Yahoo's subject directory to see if any sites have been devoted to the topic. A narrow term or phrase or name is unlikely to have many whole sites devoted to it, but may be hidden in sites on other topics. If you don’t find it, turn to an index search engine, such as AltaVista, to exclude vast amounts of information.
Query on the Search Engines
Enter a query. To find information, link to the search page and enter a query.
Use multiple search engines. Don't limit yourself to a single search site. Conduct a more thorough search by using multiple search engines. "Meta" search sites let you build a single search and then apply it to multiple search sites simultaneously, bringing back the results, creating one huge list of hits. The University of Washington search engine-based MetaCrawler Parallel Web Search Service takes a search phrase and combs through the indices of Open Text, Lycos, WebCrawler, InfoSeek, Excite, Inktomi, Alta Vista, Yahoo, and Galaxy. Other good examples are Dogpile, Internet Sleuth and Mamma.
A meta search engine, which you operate right from your PC desktop without even opening your Web browser, as long as you're online, is WebFerret, a free software program. It generates a list of hundreds of hits very, very quickly.
Read the Instructions. Different search engines use different commands. Read the online help to find out how a specific search engine’s commands operate. Most sites allow use of Boolean language (words that function as commands to help refine a search) in some form, although syntax varies. AND, OR and NOT are examples of Boolean language. For example, in AltaVista, typing the words Harvard AND University would yield pages that contain both the words Harvard and University. Typing the words Harvard AND NOT University would display documents with the word Harvard but not the word University.
Use a phrase. Many users type in only a single search word, which is likely to produce too many unwanted hits. Additional words, known as a phrase, should be added to help narrow the search. To make sure the words are interpreted as a phrase, enclose the phrase with quotation marks or parentheses. When a phrase is enclosed in quotation marks, most search sites will look only for documents containing those words put together rather than spread throughout the document. For example, AltaVista can tell which words go together in a phrase because phrases are surrounded by quote marks. AltaVista uses plus and minus signs to force inclusion and exclusion of search terms.
Try using synonyms. If your initial search doesn't produce the desired
results, try substituting synonyms for key words. A search covering the word
"cars" might miss an important Web page with the word
"automobiles." Searching requires patience -- and a little detective work
– to pay off.
Evaluate Information on the Web Site Look carefully through a web site for information on who has produced it.
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For further information see the following sites.
GETTING AROUND THE WEB
http://www.zdnet.com/yil/content/surfschool/howto/basic/basictoc.html
Internet Searching Strategies
http://www.rice.edu/Fondren/Netguides/strategies.html
Copyright © 1999 by Gemmy Allen, all rights reserved.