Secondary Market Research Tactics, part 1

Secondary market research consists of data points and report findings that were conducted and/or compiled by another source. It is typically used by students (for a college course that requires industry data about a company, a niche market, or an industry), businesses, and sometimes consumers who want to see who else is in the industry that could provide complementary products and services so they can make better purchase decisions. While research gathered this way is often inexpensive, it is also less accurate and doesn't provide a complete picture about a niche industry (e.g., Mazda aftermarket auto parts).

Perhaps a client or constituents within your firm have asked about growing market share or starting a new business line in other verticals or market segments. Maybe searching for this data validates or invalidates questions you have about a particular industry. Or perhaps, you are just looking for additional data to support primary research findings before presenting them to a client. All these are common uses of secondary market research findings.

There is a multitude of general use and industry sources where users can get a hold of published market data. The main types of secondary market research sources include government, trade associations (National Association of Realtors, National Automobile Dealers Association, commercial (e.g., JD Power & Associates, NPD, Nieslen), and national or international institutions (e.g., RAND) 
General use public sources:
Subscription-based sources:
When compiling secondary research data, don't forget to cite the source used and the link where it was found, this can be helpful in verifying your sources.
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