The document discusses research design and the use of secondary data in research. It defines research design as a framework that details procedures for collecting, measuring, and analyzing information to structure business research problems. A good research design typically includes selecting a design type, identifying needed information, specifying measurement and scaling, and determining data collection and analysis methods. The document also discusses exploratory research design and the advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data sources.

1. RESEARCHDESIGN

2. Research design can be defined as a framework or blue print for conducting business
research project in an efficient manner. It details the procedures necessary for collection,
measurement and analysis of information which helps the researcher to structure/or solve
business research problems.
Typically, a good and well planned research design consists of the following
components, or tasks:
 Selection of appropriate type of design: Exploratory, descriptive and/or causal design.
 Identification of specific information needed based problem in hand and the selected
design.
 Specification of measurement and scaling procedures for measuring the selected
information.
 Mode of collection of information and specification of appropriate form for data
collection.
 Designing of appropriate sampling process and sample size.
 Specification of appropriate data analysis method.

3.  Some important characteristics of a good research design are flexibility,
adaptability, efficiency, being economy and so on.
 A good research design should minimize bias and maximize accuracy of the data
obtained and should have as few errors as possible.
 The most important requirement of good research design is that it should provide
adequate information so that the research problem can be analyzed on a wide
perspective.
 An ideal design should take into account important factors like:
 Identifying the exact research problem to be studied
 The objective of the research
 The process of obtaining information and
 The availability of adequate time and financial resources

4. EXPLORATORY RESEARCH DESIGN
 Exploratory research is carried out to make problem suited to more precise investigation or to
frame a working hypothesis from an operational perspective.
 Exploratory studies help in understanding and assessing the critical issues of problems. It is not
used in cases where a definite result is desired.
 However, the study results are used for subsequent research to attain conclusive results for a
particular problem-situation.
 In-short, exploratory research can be used to obtain necessary information and to develop a
proper foundation for conducting detailed research later.
 Exploratory studies are conducted for three main reasons:- To analyze a problem situation, To
evaluate alternatives and To discover new ideas.
 Consider, for instance that the top management of a company has ordered the research
department to evaluate the company’s production pattern.
 This is not a clearly defined problem situation for researchers.
 Therefore, they will first conduct exploratory studies to understand all aspects relating to the company’s
production process right from purchasing raw materials, inventory management, processing them into
finished goods and stocking them.

5. EXPLORATORY RESEARCH DESIGN: SECONDARY DATA
A classification of secondary data will give a better understanding
into the usefulness of the various sources of secondary data.
Classification of secondary data is based on:-
1. Source
2. Category
3. Medium
4. Database

6. Classification of Secondary Data
Source Category Medium Database
Reference
Source
Hard
Copy
Local Area
Online
Internet
Books &
Periodical
s
Govt.
Publications
Non Govt.
Associations
Directories
Industry
Experts
Special
Collections
Internal
External

7. USEFUL GOVERNMENTAL PUBLICATIONS
 The Wholesale Price Index numbers by the Office of the Economic Advisor, Ministry of Commerce and
Industry which is weekly and covers various products such as food articles, food grains, minerals, fuel,
power, textiles, chemicals, etc.
 All-India Consumer Price Index by the Government of India.
 Basic Statistics Relating to the Indian Economy by the Planning Commission
 Reserve Bank of India Bulletin, Currency and Finance Report, which are monthly and annual journals
respectively by the RBI, covering currency and financial aspects in general.
 The Economic Survey, a yearly publication of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.
This is published on the eve of the presentation of the national budget.
 Agricultural Situation in India by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
This monthly journal compiles reports and assessments of the agricultural situations in the country.
 The Indian Labor Journal a monthly publication of The Indian Labour Bureau, which contains detailed
statistics on price indices, wages and earnings absenteeism, etc.
 The State Statistical Abstracts and District Statistical handbooks by various State Statistical Bureaus

8. ADVANTAGES OF SECONDARY DATA
Secondary data is used by managers as it is cheaper, and takes less time to gather, thus saving them a lot of money and time
that they would have otherwise spent in gathering primary data. Apart from these, there are other distinct advantages of
using secondary data, which are as follows:
 Secondary data can help identify, clarify and redefine the research problem: In situations where the actual problem in a
research study cannot be defined or is defined in an ambiguous way, the use of secondary data can help clear the
confusion with a clear definition of the problem to be probed into.
 Secondary data might also hold a solution to the problem: Research problems might not require the gathering of primary
data each time. Many a times, it happens that precise data regarding the current research is already available as secondary
data which had been collected for some other research purpose. Hence, it might not be necessary to conduct a primary
data collection exercise at all.
 Secondary data may provide alternatives methods that can be used for primary research: Every research situation has a
custom-made primary research designed for it. When such published reports are gathered from secondary sources then it
gives a push to the initial stages of the similar current research at hand by outlining the possible research alternatives.
 Secondary data generates requisite information for better creativity: Secondary data can provide insights into the means
to identify potential customers, industry trends, and proper language usage. This prior knowledge helps in the design and
progress of the current research. This provides a better chance of creativity in the research.

9. DISADVANTAGES OF SECONDARY DATA
 Lack of availability: Even though secondary data might be available for many research studies, it
might so happen that there is no secondary data available for special cases or that the organisation
holding such data is not willing to make it accessible to outsiders. If a company like General Motors
would like to conduct a research for the market potential of its cars in particular cities in India then it is
very unlikely that any secondary data would be available in this context.
 Lack of relevance: Secondary data might be irrelevant because of the changes in competitive situation,
changing trends and other variables in the research environment from the time the data was initially
collected. Thus, its usage for a current research study might be limited. Relevance might be reduced
due to difference in units of measurement, use of surrogate data in the secondary sources, difference in
definition of classes, and time.
 Inaccurate data: Secondary data can be subject to doubt because of the errors that can occur in any of
the steps or due to personal bias. Errors of this sort can make the secondary data inaccurate and
therefore unusable. It is possible that the secondary source of data might have been custom made to
avoid some specific realities and as such fail to mention the sources of error. Hence, an effort should
always be made to trace the secondary data to its original source. Insufficient data: Secondary might be
available but they might not posses all the required data useful for the current research at hand.

10. EVALUATION OF SECONDARY DATA
Because of the disadvantages of secondary data, evaluation of secondary data is required.
Evaluation means the following four requirements must be satisfied:-
1. Availability- It has to be seen that the kind of data you want is available or not. If it is not
available then you have to go for primary data.
2. Relevance- It should be meeting the requirements of the problem. For this we have two
criterion:-
 Units of measurement should be the same.
 Concepts used must be same and currency of data should not be outdated.
3. Accuracy- In order to find how accurate the data is, the following points must be considered: -
 Specification and methodology used;
 Margin of error should be examined;
 The dependability of the source must be seen.
4. Sufficiency- Adequate data should be available.