SECONDARY DATA & SURVEY

Advantages and Disadvantages of Secondary Data:
Secondary data is often the most convenient and cost-effective option when doing marketing research. according to study.com secondary data is information that has been collected for a purpose other than your current research project but has some relevance and utility for your research.
The primary advantage of secondary data is their availability. Obtaining secondary data is almost always faster and less expensive than acquiring primary data. This is particularly true when researchers use electronic retrieval to access data stored digitally. In many situations, collecting secondary data is instantaneous. (Essentials of Marketing Research, 4e, 122).
An inherent disadvantage of secondary data is that they were not designed specifically to meet the researchers' needs. Thus, researchers must ask how pertinent are the data to their particular project. The most common reasons why secondary data do not adequately satisfy research needs are (1) outdated information, (2) variation in definition of terms, (3) different units of measurement, and (4) lack of information to verify the data's accuracy. (Essentials of Marketing Research, 4e,123,124).

Survey:
 According to Essentials of Marketing Research, a survey is defined as a method of collecting primary data based on communication with a representative sample of individuals. Surveys provide a snapshot at a given point in time.
 Typically, surveys attempt to describe what is happening, what people believe, what they are like or to learn the reasons for a particular marketing activity. Demographic information and information on media exposure might also be collected in the survey to help plan a market segmentation strategy (Essentials of Marketing Research, 4e, 147)