Not all research starts from scratch. Secondary research leverages existing data—from reports, studies, and industry insights—to answer key questions without running new experiments. It’s a go-to method for researchers, product teams, and UX professionals who need reliable information fast.
Below, we break down how secondary research compares to primary research, when to use it, how to find credible sources, and the best methods for analyzing data.
What is secondary research?
Secondary research is the practice of gathering insights from existing data sources rather than generating new data. It involves analyzing reports, industry publications, government statistics, academic studies, internal company data, competitor analysis, historical records, news archives, and public datasets to answer research questions.
In an episode of The Optimal Path podcast, Nick Stiles (User Researcher at IBM) sets out the appeal of secondary research:
Secondary research is an orienting tool for user researchers... It tells us what isn’t known already. It saves us time and money and lays the foundational understanding for any primary work that you will do.
Nick Stiles
User Researcher at IBM
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Examples of secondary research include meta-analysis, literature reviews, and systematic reviews, which synthesize available data to draw conclusions.
Secondary research is widely used in UX research, market analysis, and product development, where teams need to understand trends, validate decisions, or benchmark against competitors without conducting firsthand studies. Since the data is already available, secondary research is often faster and more cost-effective than primary research.
Secondary vs. primary research
When starting a research project, one of the first decisions you’ll make is whether to collect new data or use existing data. That’s the difference between secondary research and primary research:
- Secondary research: Uses existing data from reports, studies, and industry insights
- Primary research: Collects original data directly from sources through UX research methods
Here’s a quick breakdown of how they compare:
Secondary research | Primary research | |
---|---|---|
Definition | Uses existing data from reports, literature reviews, and government agencies | Collects original data directly from sources |
Data sources |
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Cost | More affordable—leverages available data instead of running new studies | Expensive—requires recruitment, surveys, and analysis |
Time investment | Less time-consuming—data is already collected and ready for data analysis | Takes longer—requires research design, data collection, and interpretation |
Data control | Limited control—data may not fully match your research needs | High control—tailored to your research question |
Secondary research vs. desk research
Secondary research and desk research are two terms often used interchangeably—but while they both involve working with existing data, they differ in scope and depth:
- Secondary research involves a deep UX research process, incorporating meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and data synthesis
- Desk research is a form of secondary research, but it's more limited—it focuses on gathering readily available information without extensive data analysis
Here’s a quick comparison:
Secondary research | Desk research | |
---|---|---|
Definition | Uses existing data sources to analyze trends, validate research hypotheses, and inform decisions | Collects available data from reports, articles, and online sources |
Scope | Includes academic journals, government agencies, and industry reports | Limited to easily accessible sources like Google Scholar, news archives, and market reports |
Research methods | Can involve systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and demographic studies | Mostly involves literature reviews, desk research methods, and keyword searches |
Depth of analysis | Can combine multiple datasets and perform quantitative and qualitative research | Provides a broad overview with minimal data collection |
Use case | Helps answer research questions, conduct market research, and validate previous research | Serves as a starting point for a research project, giving quick background information |
When to use secondary research
In most cases, researchers use secondary research as a starting point before deciding whether additional primary research is needed.
Use secondary research when:
✅ You need cost-effective insights: Gathering primary data through surveys, focus groups, or experiments can be time-consuming and expensive. Secondary research uses academic journals, government agencies, and industry reports to provide insights without additional costs.
✅ You’re in the early stages of a research plan: Before designing a research methodology, secondary data helps define the research question, refine research hypotheses, and identify gaps that may require primary research.
✅ You need historical or large-scale data: Government reports, market research studies, and demographic datasets provide long-term trends and large-scale insights that would be difficult to collect independently.
✅ You’re benchmarking against competitors: Industry reports, case studies, and previous research help analyze competitors’ strategies, identify best practices, and uncover market research trends.