Business Research Methodology : Importance of Secondary Source.

Discuss about the Business Research Methodology for Importance of Secondary Source.

Introduction

Research can be defined as a process to understand the phenomenon by collecting, analysing and interpreting data. It can be stated that research is an investigation well planned and systematic to get answers to questions. The investigation is done by the researcher and the process is called research methodology. According to Williams (2007) quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods are used for the purpose of investigation. For the purpose of analysing numerical data quantitative method is used, making quantification easy. Inquiry strategies are employed in quantitative research method according to Creswell (2003). The use of experiments and surveys are the strategies used to collect information to convert it into statistical data used to support claims made. Quantitative data can be classified as experimental, descriptive and casual comparative (Church, 2001) (Williams, 2007) (Creswell, 2003)

Qualitative research can be defined as the process of discovery holistically. In this method the researcher is involved in the actual experience as stated by Williams (2007). Instead of collecting numerical information qualitative method collects feelings, emotions, perceptions, etc.  Rather than numbers the qualitative method is concerned with words.

For the purpose of investigation a researcher collects data from various sources and by various means, it is very crucial that as deliberate thought is put to finalising the subject of research similarly precaution is taken to select the research methodology. The two sources of data collection at the disposal of any researcher are primary resource and secondary resource. In the current study the subject of research is secondary data collection method. For the ease of understanding and expansion of scope of knowledge a service sector industry from Maldives has been selected; sector being tourism (Dwyer, Gill, & Seetaram, 2012). This service sector is being analysed in a contained framework which is:”role of women in tourism sector in Maldives”. The purpose of narrowing down the scope is to collect secondary data pertaining to the research subject and understand the importance, advantages and limitations of the utilization of secondary data. Collecting information can get very strenuous and result in the data collectors disinterest in the task at hand; this could lead to the corruption of the data. It is the very important that the information collected is should be presented in a clear and a non-biased techniques (Harwell, 2015) (Destination BC Corp., 2015)

Importance

The importance of the use of secondary data in the research

The purpose of the study is to collect information with respect to the role of women in tourism industry in Maldives. For data collection both qualitative and quantitative methods would be implemented. As stated by Creswell, 2009 to develop a meaningful picture of the research topic i.e. an inclusive situation a researcher can collect information from various sources and develop an understanding out of it by looking at it from various angles. According to Leedy and Ormrod, 2010 to study a phenomenon in its complexity a researcher can undertake a qualitative research and study that phenomenon in its natural setting as a way for further exploration (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010)

It is important that for the study of a phenomenon secondary data is used so that the researcher to obtain new perspectives, it is very difficult for a researcher to look at one phenomenon from various perspective due to his stock of knowledge and because one’s view of reality is always shaped by one’s culture and perceptions. Secondary data is also important because it helps the researcher to obtain new thoughts and theories; it allows the issues in the phenomenon to surface; it serves as a base for further development of the phenomenon understanding (Ahmed, Opoku, & Aziz, 2016). A phenomenon if researched through qualitative secondary method allows validity check for its broad assumptions, theories, generalization and claims to be examined.  

By using quantitative secondary information a researcher can determine whether certain policies are effective or not in an organisation. It is also important to collect second hand information before developing a research objective as it helps to develop the understanding about the existent research gap.

For example for research on the role of women in Maldives tourism sector, data pertaining to women population would be required. Data taken into consideration for the research purpose before being utilized would have to be from government researches, reports and surveys. The other sources of secondary data would include magazines and researches conducted by researchers (Alm & Johanson, 2011). The population data can be made available from government archives and studies conducted by other national and international organizations (Shakeela, Ruhanen, & Breakey, 2010). Also other research conducted relating to the same phenomenon would be collected. Here the research question is “Role of women in tourism sector in Maldives”. According to available data from the Ministry of Planning and National Development reveals that the women participation in tourism sector is the lowest while in education, health, manufacturing and agriculture it is higher. Also according to the UNWTO & UN Women 2010 report the presence of women entrepreneurs in tourism sector in Maldives is practically non-existent. This secondary information is collected from valid sources and thus helps the researcher to state problem and develop a hypothesis (Matias, Nijkamp, & sarmento, 2012).

The age group to be taken into consideration would be from 18-34 years. For this data from national statistical survey would be required. Also it would be the need to take into consideration the different vocations being practised by these women and thus data pertaining to this information would also be collected.

Advantages

Advantages of the use of secondary data

Calantone and Shawnee (2009) states that the use of secondary data is advantageous because it is cost effective and less time consuming. In case of secondary data the data has been collected and analysed already by the researcher of that study and has spent time and money. Calantone and Shawnee further states that archival data is not contaminated by the perception of the respondent and interest. Thus secondary data is far more objective than data collected through primary sources. The availability of secondary source data is far wider and thus helps to eliminate duplication and validation. The veracity of the research being undertaken enhances because chances of manipulation of the entire research methodology, i.e. research questions, survey techniques and sample taken. Another advantage of using secondary data is that it can be used to incorporate with other studies and a thorough research work can be carried out. Also tools like the Bayesian inference can be used while intending a thorough research. Use of secondary data allows a researcher to compare nations, populations, cities, groups and societies according to Goodwin (2012) in this way a research can be replicated (Goodwin, 2012).

Use of secondary data allows the researcher to validate his research internally and externally by identifying errors, problems or biases. According to Christopher (2008) use of secondary data allows the theoretical aims and substantive issues of the issues to be reflected because the use of primary sources reflects more practical and methodological problems (Pannucci & Wilkins, 2011)

For conducting the research for tourism sector, it is essential to collect information regarding the population of the Maldives and the women in the population and age, education and lifestyle of the women population in Maldives. This information is available at the Ministry Satistical Survey, and the sector specific information such as the percentage of population working in the sector, women population working in the tourism sector, age group of these women population, percentage of local women working in the sector and the percentage of foreign women working in the sector, etc will be available from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture. This easily available secondary data will be utilized as the base for the understanding of the research subject and the research done on the role of women in the tourist sector will be dependent on the available information (Khan, 2011). This easily available information though collected from reliable source acts as not just information or data but as facts for the researchers. While conducting the research factors that affect a women’s decision to work or not are family’s influence, safety on job, type of work, etc. Thus already conducted studies on these factors like “Glass Ceilling Theory” of Knuston and Schmidgall (1999); acts as secondary data that can be incorporated in the research and thus helps to thoroughly conduct the research (Atlinay, Paraskevas, & Jang, 2015)

Limitations

Limitations of Secondary data

One disadvantage according to Christopher (2008) is that though the secondary data is cost effective it leaves the researcher with a loss of control. This is because the researcher has no control over the generation of the research conducted. Thus it requires the researcher to acquire knowledge about the data collection process implemented when the research was conducted. Manipulation of data in the form required for the study is very difficult because the researcher intending to use the data has no control over the generation of the data.

The data collected could be biased i.e. the objectives and purpose of the research can bias the information in various ways. Using an autobiography as a source of information can be misleading because the intention of writing that information is not clear. Mostly the autobiographies are written with intent to portrait a personality and thus many scenarios could be exaggerated or fabricated in some way (Calantone & Shawnee, 2009). Also a persons’ stock of knowledge i.e. perception is biased many times.

Another limitation for the use of secondary data utilization is the loss of paper documents. Though digitalization has replaced paper work but in many third world countries most of the information is documented on papers, and thus there are always chances that it could get destroyed by fire, water or rodents. Incompleteness of documents is another limitation because when personal data is being collected via interview or questionnaire or survey methods it is likely that the person who has not had prior experience in filling up surveys are bound to make mistakes and temper data (Brown, 2009)

A researcher conducting research on non-verbal communication would find secondary data limited because verbally commuted information would be coded down by the interviewer but the non-verbal communication would be left out. Secondary data is historical data. Secondary data collected over time are used for comparison, like census data. Also there are chances that the collected secondary data relevant to ones research could be outdated and research objective have to be modified.

Collecting secondary data for study related to service industry could get trick when it comes to available data being outdated. The role of women in the tourism sector is to be conducted in the year 2016 but the data available from the government agencies are from the year 2010, also the UN Women report is from the year 2010. Thus the chances are that the study conducted would have to rely on the available information (Richards & Munsters, 2010). These reports are bound to have assumptions built-in, many of the areas of the research ignored and might be presentation of optimism. The chances are that eh reports issued by government might be compiled on the perception of the chairman in-charge or also the by the people conducting the research (Coles, Duval, & Shaw, 2013)  

According to Saunders, et al. (2004) unforeseen discoveries can crop out of comparative and contextual data and he further states that secondary data is non-obstructive. According to the  Creswell study conducted gets biased as the secondary data collected is not original to the study, also the accuracy and reliability of the data is questionable at times . Government publications and magazines utilized as secondary sources of data have proved inaccurate and misleading at times as stated by Boslaugh (2007) (Boslaugh, 2007). For economical and sociological surveys the most powerful resource is the government issued documents, statistical reports and researches. These reports are bound to have assumptions built-in, many of the areas of the research ignored and might be presentation of optimism. The chances are that eh reports issued by government might be compiled on the perception of the chairman in-charge or also the by the people conducting the research. Secondary data is imperfect reflections of reality if compared to primary source of data. According to Beaulieu (1992) through secondary data it is difficult to reveal individual or group value, belief systems that might be underlying.

Summary

The aim of the research was to understand the importance, advantages and limitations for the use of secondary data in a research. The purpose of the research on the other hand was to develop learners’ ability. The use of research methods varies from research to research but the sources of research are generally two i.e. Primary sources and secondary sources. In this research an attempt has been made to achieve the research objective but also to develop relevant case scenarios using a service sector in the Maldives.

Regardless of the information needed to be collected it can be established that the research objective should be the researcher’s priority and collection of secondary data can make it easier for the researcher to clear objectives, methodology and gap analysis.

It can be summarised that the importance of secondary source of data is undeniable. With the use of secondary data a base for the research can be prepared and the research can be conducted from there on. This easily available secondary data will be utilized as the base for the understanding of the research subject and the research done on the role of women in the tourist sector will be dependent on the available information.

References

Ahmed, V., Opoku, A., & Aziz, Z. (2016). Research Methodology in the Built Environment: A Selection of Case Studies. Routledge.

Alm, E., & Johanson, S. (2011). Women in Tourism. Lund University.

Atlinay, L., Paraskevas, A., & Jang, S. (. (2015). Planning Research in Hospitality and Tourism. Routledge.

Boslaugh, S. (2007). Secondary Data Sources for Public Health. Cambridge University Press.

Brown, L. (2009). Using an ethnographic approach to understand the adjustment journey of International students ar a university in England. Bournemouth University.

Calantone, R., & Shawnee, V. K. (2009). Special Topic Forum on Using Archival and Secondary Data Sources in Supply Chain Management Research. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 94-95.

Church, R. M. (2001). The Effective Use of Secondary Data. Learning and Motivation, 32-45.

Coles, T., Duval, D. T., & Shaw, G. (2013). Student's Guide to Writing Dissertations and Theses in Tourism Studies and Related Disciplines. Routledge.

Creswell, J. W. (2003). RESEARCH DESIGN: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Sage publication.

Destination BC Corp. (2015). Tourism Buisness Essentials: Research guide for Tourism operators. Destination BC Corp.

Dwyer, L., Gill, A., & Seetaram, N. (2012). Handbook of Research Methods in Tourism: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Goodwin, J. (2012). SAGE Secondary Data Analysis. SAGE.

Harwell, M. R. (2015). Research Design in Quantitative/Qualitative/Mixed Methods. University of Minnesota.

Khan, J. A. (2011). Research Methodology. APH Publishing.

Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Practical research:Emperical designs. Merrill.

Matias, A., Nijkamp, P., & sarmento, m. (2012). Quantitative Methods in Tourism Economics. Springer Publishing.

Pannucci, C. J., & Wilkins, E. G. (2011). Identifying and Avoiding Bias in Research. HHS Author Access.

Richards, G., & Munsters, W. (2010). Cultural Tourism Research Methods. CABI .

Shakeela, A., Ruhanen, L., & Breakey, N. (2010). Women's participation in tourism. Emerald Insight:Bridging Tourism Theory and Practice, 61-71.

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