DESK RESEARCH

Desk Research is a form of Market Research, where the information is collected using secondary data (i.e. data collected by another person or organisation). Secondary data can be found from a variety of sources – the Internet, newsletters, company annual reports, newspapers, database searching, associations/trade bodies or by ad hoc personal contacts.

Desk Research offers the following advantages:

  • It’s a quick method of collecting information
  • Desk Research is easier than field research
  • The secondary data is often ready to use and process
However, it can have disadvantages:
  • The secondary data may not be recent
  • It might not be accurate
  • Sometimes hard to find, depending on subject matter

Whilst we feel that our extensive thorough searches will provide meaningful and robust data, we must point out that, in some instances, data may not exist. In these instances, we will point out a possible solution involving capturing the data using a primary research methodology.