Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to digiate.com. In this video we are going to cover the topic on desk research. Now let's start with what is desk research. Desk research involves gathering information from ancient records, statistical data collections, government data, academic publications etc. Basically it requires gathering information from existing sources. The information can be collected without leaving one's desk. Peel work is not involved. Thus resources spent only include phone bills, telephone directories and people's time. That is why it is believed to be a cost-intensive approach. It is also referred to as secondary research. Moving on to sources of desk research. First, data collected online. The advantage of online data is that it costs little to no money to gather. It is also time-intensive. It can be accessed with a few clicks. Firms can collect a lot of data for their business from websites. However, it is best to rely only on verified and authentic websites for this. Next, government and non-government organizations. Information can be collected from organizations that the government runs. Example, a lot of useful data is stored by small business development centers, US Census Bureau and US government printing office data. Some organizations also work independently of the government whose information can be used. Information from them is reliable and real. However, it does cost some money to access them. Next, libraries. Public libraries contain a lot of documents and information. They contain copies of studies that have already been carried out. This makes them valuable sources of information for secondary research. Next, universities, colleges and schools. There are a lot more researches conducted in universities than by businesses. Therefore, they gather a lot of information for primary research. These are often not taken into account by firms. However, if they wish, these institutions are open to them and can access data. Next, commercial information sources. Commercial sources have the advantages of getting good primary data on many things. They track demographic segmentation, market research, political agenda, economic developments etc. These sources include TV stations, radio, magazines, journals and local newspapers. Information from these is then used for secondary research. Next, using Google search. Just looking up things on Google can be advantageous way to begin an inquiry. Google search connects people to many white papers, reports, blogs and articles. Many subjects can be investigated quickly and easily. In addition, it might help inform people who are still trying to figure out what information they need. The engines use 70,000 searches every second. Most people with access to the internet use it frequently. And finally, market research analysis. The market research analysis is also called a multi-client report. These reports are made by businesses that specialize in conducting market studies. There are 30,000 plus reports of this kind. These are significantly better than the ones privately carried out by firm. Moreover, a large variety of subjects are studied in these reports. Moving on to how to conduct desk research. First, the researcher must find out what is to be studied. The person carrying out the research must know what is being studied. After that, the goals of the research and its characteristics must be decided. Next, find out the sources. A list of information sources has to be made and filtered. The sources must have information that is needed for the research. The researcher must find out the most relevant sources. Then, gather information that is already out there. This happens after the sources are identified. It is essential to see if there's already relevant data available. There are many possible data sources. Some of them are governmental and non-governmental organizations or libraries and news outlets. Then, gather and compare. The relevant information must be first gathered. The source of data must be reliable and genuine. If the data is wrong, it can be renewed in the study. The information must be then brought together and compared. And finally, analysis. At this stage, the information is studied to answer relevant questions. If some of them are unanswered, the process has to be redone. It helps to consider various possible observations from the data. Moving on to desk research versus primary research. Primary research is information gathered by people on the ground. Therefore, data belongs to the researcher. On the other hand, desk research is information gathered from sources of data. Primary research comes from first-hand data. On the other hand, the data for second research has already been sorted and studied before. It has undergone tests and been applied. Primary research information is gathered according to the firm that needs it. It is tailor-made for the needs. On the other hand, desk research data might not meet the needs of the firm or researcher. Primary research process requires total investment from the primary researcher. On the other hand, desk research is simpler and quicker to carry out. It is suitable for getting a bird's-eye view of a topic. In primary research, many resources have to be invested. The information gathering and analysis need a lot of time and patience. On the other hand, desk research entails a quick process. If he or she knows where to find the correct data, a lot of information is easy to also access. Moving on to the advantages of desk research. First, saves time. A readily accessible data also means it takes less time to carry out secondary research. It could be done in a matter of a week or a few. It is subject to the information volume and the purpose of research. Next, lower cost. Easily accessible data means not a lot of time or money is needed for this. Reliable sources only need a token amount for the data they offer. Next, pilot testing. Firms get a summary of primary researchers through secondary research. Firms can guess how much resources will be needed to conduct their own primary research. This helps them decide whether it is worth it or not. And finally, easier access. Data for the secondary research is easy to access. It does not have to be gathered from the beginning like in primary research. Multiple sources can provide this information. And finally, moving on to the disadvantages of desk research. First, lack of updation. Secondary data might be old and not relevant anymore. In addition, secondary sources might not keep the data up to date with the present. Next, dependent on primary research. Secondary research depends generally on good primary research data. Therefore, the research carried out by primary sources has good impact on how the secondary research is. And finally, needs verification. Easy to access information has to be verified. It is essential to find out if they are genuine. So that's it folks. This brings an end to the topic on desk research. These are the list of sources and links referred to for the content in the video. Thank you and see you in the next video.