There are two sources of data or information that provide insight into consumers: primary and secondary.
- Primary resources are gathered by you (or a company or organization hired by you) to address your specific questions or problems. Primary information comes directly from the consumers by way of surveys, interviews, focus groups, or customer analytics. Although primary source information is extremely targeted and useful, gathering it is often time-consuming and expensive and requires understanding of research methods.
- Secondary resources, in comparison, have already been collected by someone else for their own purposes and made available for others to use. Government agencies, trade/professional associations, and market research firms are typical sources of secondary consumer information. Although some secondary sources are fee-based, a great deal of them are free. The only drawback is that they may not directly correlated to your specific research questions.
This guide will point you in the direction of secondary sources of consumer analysis. Some of them are library databases and other resources that are paid for the Libraries and made available to students at no cost. Other sources are found on the open web.
