Secondary research
Secondary research involves the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing research. Secondary research is contrasted with primary research in that primary research involves the generation of data, whereas secondary research uses primary research sources as a source of data for analysis.[1] A notable marker of primary research is the inclusion of a "methods" section, where the authors describe how the data was generated.
Common examples of secondary research include textbooks, encyclopedias, news articles, review articles, and meta analyses.[2][3]
When conducting secondary research, authors may draw data from published academic papers, government documents, statistical databases, and historical records.[1][4]
Fields
The term is widely used in health research, legal research and market research. The principal methodology in health secondary research is the systematic review, commonly using meta-analytic statistical techniques, but other methods of synthesis, like realist reviews and meta-narrative[5] reviews, have been developed in recent years. Such secondary research uses the primary research of others typically in the form of research publications and reports.
In a market research context, secondary research is taken to include the reuse, by a second party, of any data collected by a first party, such as telephone interviews or surveys.
In archaeology and landscape history, secondary research is the reinterpretation of observations from fieldwork.
See also
References
- 1 2 "Primary and Secondary Sources". library.ithaca.edu.
- ↑ Ormsby, Tim. "Search Smart: Types of Research: Secondary Research". flinders.libguides.com.
- ↑ Andrews, Camille. "LibGuides: Scholarly Literature Types: Primary vs. Secondary Articles". guides.library.cornell.edu.
- ↑ Bosch, Eileen. "LibGuides: Library Basics: Primary and Secondary Sources". libguides.bgsu.edu.
- ↑ Diffusion of Innovations in Health Service Organisations: a systematic literature review Archived 2007-02-02 at the Wayback Machine.