What is secondary data collection?

Secondary data collection is data that is collected by a person or group other than the primary researcher or research team. Secondary data is usually collected for a purpose that differs from the reason for its original collection.

Using secondary data collection is sometimes a problem when the person or research team is not familiar with the data or the reasons behind its collection. Secondary data must also be vetted to ensure that the data collection is from a reliable source. Secondary data collection from previous studies helps a research team save money, time and resources on a current project.