Using Secondary Data In Marketing Research

Using Secondary Data in Marketing Research discusses thoroughly the use of secondary data in marketing research. It explains the underlying reasons why secondary data are less expensive than primary data, the technology associated with secondary data, how to evaluate the quality of secondary data, and how to locate secondary data. It also provides an encyclopedic listing of specific sources of secondary data, including a listing of sources of global/worldwide information to assist marketing decision making. An important resource for marketing professionals, academics, and graduate students of marketing.

The book begins with an overview that includes an international case in marketing. The following six chapters comprise the first part of the book, which delineates the advantages and disadvantages of secondary data, and reveals precisely how to evaluate their quality. These chapters identify differences between internal and external secondary data, including specific types of each. The second part begins with an overview that also includes an actual case in marketing. The following five chapters contain comprehensive listings of specific secondary data information sources, categorized according to the following: sources of information specific to marketing; global/worldwide information sources; sources of information regarding American Census Data; information sources about industries, corporations, and finances; and general business information sources.

A thorough discussion of ways to locate and evaluate quality data, and a comprehensive list of specific sources.

Booknews

Explains that much of the information companies need for marketing research has already been compiled and analyzed, and that tapping into such information sources can alleviate the necessity to conduct detailed surveys and then process the data themselves. Among the sources are detailed and extensive directories of manufacturers prepared by state governments, scholarly journals, magazines, books. newspapers, and company records accessed through computer data bases. If reports prepared from secondary sources do not fill the need completely, they at least can provide groundwork for conducting smaller and more effective research. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

GORDON L. PATZER is Dean of the School of Business Administration, California State University, Stanislaus.