how do you write a desk research report

What is Desk Research? A Guide + Examples

Desk research can help you make data-driven decisions, define or adapt strategies, and uncover untapped market potential to drive growth – when it’s done right!

Nowadays, we have all the information we need at our fingertips; but knowing where to find the right data quickly is key.

So, what is desk research? What does it involve, and how can Similarweb Research Intelligence help?

Let’s find out.

What is desk research?

Desk research is a type of market research that uses existing data to support or validate outcomes and conclusions. Also known as secondary research , it’s a cost-effective way to obtain relevant data from a broad range of channels.

How is desk research used?

From small start-ups to established businesses, doing desk research provides you with crucial insights into trends, competitors, and market size . Whatever you do, desk research can help with product positioning and guide data-driven business decisions that help you become the ultimate competitor and find new ways to grow.

According to the latest data on the Internet of Things , around 130 new devices connect to the web every second. Stats on the state of data show we create and consume data at an exponential rate–data interactions will only continue to rise.

Primary vs. secondary research – what’s the difference?

Most market research methods fall into either primary or secondary research. When we talk about desk research, we tend to focus only on secondary methods. However, most primary research can also be done remotely, from a desk.

Primary research is self-conducted research that gathers data to answer questions. It usually involves going directly to a source, such as a customer or a prospect. Compared to secondary research, it takes longer, costs more, and demands more resources. Primary research methods include interviews, market research surveys , questionnaires, competitor reviews, market mapping , focus groups, etc.

Secondary research is the synthesis or summary of existing research using previously gained information from various sources. Most market research starts with secondary research: It aims to provide a researcher or analyst with a basis of knowledge formed from existing data. Secondary research methods include collecting data from the internet, government databases, reports, and academic journals, to name just a few.

Pros and cons of desk research

As with any type of market research, you need to choose the right method to deliver the best outcome for your research goal. Desk research is advantageous for several reasons, but it won’t always suit every market research project. Market research best practice tells us that we should use desk-based research before primary research – as this helps to reduce or refine the scope of the work before the second, more costly phase.

Here’s a summary of the pros and cons of desk research.

Advantages of desk-based research

Doing secondary market research is highly beneficial; here’s why.

• Low cost – most secondary research sources are low-to-no cost.
• Speed – as the data already exists, data collection is quick.
• Clarity – desk research drives & add-value to primary research actions.
• Scalability – due to the large datasets used in secondary research.
• Availability – pre-collected data is readily available to analyze.
• Insightful – get valuable insights and help resolve some initial research questions.

Disadvantages of desk-based research

As any good researcher will attest, it’s always good to look at a topic from every angle. Here are a few things to consider before starting any secondary research process.

• Out of-date data – consider if the coverage dates of the research are relevant. In a fast-moving market, having access to up-to-date information could be critical.
• Lack of perceived control over the data – secondary research is undertaken by a third party; as such, methodology controls need to be reviewed with caution.
• No exclusivity – desk research data is widely available and can be used by other researchers.
• Verification & interpretation – particularly when working with large data sets, it can take time to analyze and review to ensure the information is suitable for your research.

Types of desk-based research

Nowadays, you can do most market research from a desk. Here, I’ll focus solely on secondary research methods: Where finding and using the right resources is key. The data you use needs to be up-to-date and should always come from a trusted source.

Desk research methods – internal data resources

Before stepping into external research, look for any relevant internal sources. This data can often prove invaluable, and it’s a great place to start gathering insights that only you can see. The information is already yours, so aside from the fact it won’t cost a dime, it’s data your rivals won’t have access to.

Sources of internal information that can help you do desk research include:

• Historical campaign and sales analysis: Everything from website traffic and conversions through to sales. Accessible through your own analytics platform(s).
• Website and mobile application data: Your own platforms can also tell you where users are – such as the device split between mobile and desktop.
• Existing customer information: audience demographics , product use, and efficiency of service.
• Previous research conducted by other analysts: Even if the research seems unrelated, there could be indicative information within.

Desk research methods – external data resources

Using external data sources for desk research is an ideal way to get information about market trends, and explore a new topic.

• The internet: A virtual aggregator of all secondary research sources – always validate findings with credible sources.
• Commercial resources: Research associations and company reports usually cost money but give you data that’s specific to your industry/aim.
• Trade association reports: To see if there’s a trade association of interest, do a quick search online or use the Encyclopedia of Associations , the Directory of Associations , or the National Trade and Professional Associations Directory
• Industry Experts: Expert consultancy is an efficient way of getting information from someone who has ‘been there, done that.’ Also, consider ‘influencers.’
• Research associations & journals: Most research associations are independent and offer bespoke, specialized reports.
• Media coverage: TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines can often help uncover facts and relevant media stories related to your topic.
• Market research intelligence software: Platforms like Similarweb give you actionable insights into industry and competitors’ trends. With access to mobile app intelligence, you get a complete picture of the digital landscape.
• Government & non-government agencies: In the US, the biggest generator of data is the federal government. US Census Bureau , Congressional Research Service , US Government Publishing Office , US Small Business Administration , and the Department of Education . Most information from these sources is free.
• Local government sites: A reliable source to find data on population density or employment trends.
• Public library records: Access data via the Digital Public Library of America in the US or the National Archives in the UK.
• Competitor information: Sign-up for mailing lists, view comparison reports, and read online reviews.
• Educational institutions: Academic research papers and journals are well-researched. If you can find a relevant one, you’ll likely get solid data from credible sources.

How to choose the best type of desk research

With so many freely-available sources online for desk-based research; it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The best guidance I can offer is to keep a list of key questions you are trying to answer with this research, and consider:

• What are you hoping to learn from your research?
• Why is this data relevant?
• Is there an action you can take from this information?
• How up-to-date is the data you are using?

Always keep the questions you’re trying to answer front of mind. It’ll help you stay focused and keep your desk research on the right track. Time and money will usually determine the right type of desk research to use, but, even then, it’s important to stay focussed on where you spend your time vs. the return on that investment.

Inspiration: This article outlines some of the best market research questions to ask.

How to do desk research in five steps

Follow these steps to guide you through doing desktop research:

1. Clearly define your research topic Identify your topic and its purpose, then list any relevant research attributes.

2. Select appropriate resources Make a list of sources that’ll provide relevant information for your research topic.

3. Look for existing data Once you’ve collated your research sources, look for internal and external data relevant to your research topic. Remember to only use data from authentic sources.

4. Collate, compare & assemble Next, you’ll need to collate all the data you’ve obtained, remove any duplication, and bring it together into a usable format.

5. Data analysis The final step of doing desk research is to analyze the data. At this point, you should be able to see if your research questions have been answered. If any questions remain unanswered, go back to step 2, and look for alternative resources that will help you get clearer insights.

Desk-based research tools

Online resources are by far your most valuable asset for doing secondary research. However, software like Similarweb Digital Intelligence , Google Analytics (GA), and Google Search Console (GSC) can save you time and give you a more visually-appealing view of relevant data.

My list of go-to tools for desk research includes:

• Google Analytics & Search Console – your own site’s performance and visitor stats.
• Similarweb Digital Research Intelligence – uncover market, industry & competitor trends across web, mobile, and apps.
• Tableau – data visualization for presenting your findings.
• Competitor data – on rival’s websites, newsletters, and social media accounts.

Read: The best market research tools of 2023

Note that GA and GSC are free to use but limited in terms of what you can see outside your own site. With Similarweb, you can access virtually limitless industry-wide data.

Stop Guessing, Start Analyzing

Get actionable insights for desk research here

How Similarweb helps with desk research

Here are just a few examples of how Similarweb Digital Research Intelligence can help you with secondary research.

• Benchmarking yourself against your industry – Benchmarking suite
• Understand how competitor websites and apps perform – Company research module
• Get a full picture of your industry – Market research & industry analysis tools
• Understand how apps are impacting your market – App Intelligence
• Analyze consumer behavior – Audience analysis tool
• Understand the complete customer journey – Consumer journey tracker

Using research intelligence tools will save you time and money while removing bias from the data – ultimately giving you clarity and a complete view of the digital world relevant to your research topic.

Success Story: See how Airbnb uses Similarweb to reveal growth opportunities in new markets .

Desk research examples with Similarweb

A good example of desk research in action is looking into an industry to uncover market leaders, trends, relevant search trends, and an overview of a complete industry. Using the market analysis module in Similarweb, you can find out exactly what’s happening in your market, and make data-driven decisions that’ll help you increase market share , and drive faster, more sustainable business growth.

For this particular desk research example, I chose the airline industry.

Let’s dive in.

Industry Overview

See a snapshot of industry traffic and engagement metrics . This data is typically based on Similarweb’s index of the top 100 websites in a chosen vertical. You can easily create a custom industry , allowing you to do competitive benchmarking against specific companies in your market.

Industry Leaders

Quickly see who is winning in an industry using the Market quadrant analysis graph and industry leaders table. Analyze top-performing websites in your vertical, and dive into their traffic and engagement performance to view bounce rates, visit duration, monthly visits, month-on-month changes, unique visitors, pages/visits, and traffic share .

Industry Trends

Analyze trends in near real-time so you can take action when it matters most–not a quarter later. Create a personalized view of your industry for in-depth analysis and make informed decisions that will help you grow your market share.

Marketing Channels

Access valuable traffic metrics and insights for each marketing channel. See data for direct, social, display ads, paid search, referrals, emails, and organic traffic channels and evaluate performance for each. Uncover opportunities to grow your own traffic share, evaluate engagement and quality of traffic, and identify trends over time.

Search Trends (within an industry)

Discover trending topics and emerging search terms in any industry. View what’s trending, search volume, % change, volume trend, and traffic leaders for both branded and non-branded search in your sector. Use these insights to get an understanding of market demand, search intent, and audience interests within a specific category, brand, or product.

Demographics

Gain crucial insights into the audiences visiting your website, your competitors’ websites, and your industry as a whole. See gender and age distribution across web, mobile, or combined traffic channels, and compare your demographics with that of your rivals.

The market analysis element of Similarweb will help you answer some of your most important research questions, such as:

• How a specific industry grew over time
• Who the top and emerging players are in your industry
• Which products or services are trending and/or what are consumers searching for
• What demographics are relevant to you, and your competitors

The app intelligence module completes the picture and gives you a broad view of the digital landscape across your market. You can quickly see how apps are impacting your industry, and look at download, engagement, installs, ranking, and more.

Here, I’m sticking with the airline industry to establish whether or not android or iOS is the best fit for a new app. Immediately, I can see there are between 1-1.5M monthly active users on iOS vs. an equivalent of around 350,000k on Android.

Like what you see? Take a tour of Similarweb for yourself.

Discover industry insights for desk research here

Wrapping up

Good desk research helps you quickly uncover key information that can shape and steer successful market research projects. When done right, you’ll be able to answer questions and discover crucial data about your industry, competitors, and key trends to consider while building a strategy for growth.

Asking the right research questions from the onset and keeping these at the forefront of your mind throughout will save time and help direct your market analysis in the right direction.

Is desk-based research free?

Depending on the method used, desktop research can be done for free. If you require industry or government agency reports, these often carry a charge but are more likely to be free from bias when compared to commercially produced reports that (sometimes) receive sponsorship. 

Which businesses can utilize secondary desk research?

Desk-based research can uncover crucial insights into market trends, market sizing, and competitors. The information can be used by any size business to help guide strategic decision-making and help refine a product’s positioning.

Should you do secondary research before primary research?

Absolutely, yes. Secondary research should always come before primary or field research. The formative research phase helps pinpoint where more in-depth primary research is required. Desk research can also verify and support findings from field research but should not replace primary research–as they are each utilized under different circumstances.

Who does desk-based research?

Desk research can ‘technically’ be done by anyone, but it’s typically performed by a researcher, an analyst, or a marketing professional. Good market research has solid foundational data to drive critical business decisions. Experienced researchers and analysts are best-placed to spot opportunities, trends, and patterns when the stakes are this high.

So, while anybody can access secondary data free of charge, investing the necessary resources to do things right to get the most out of the process is essential.

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What Is Desk Research? Meaning, Methodology, Examples

Apr 4, 2024

10 min. read

Research in the digital age takes many shapes and forms. There are traditional methods that collect first-hand data via testing, focus groups, interviews, and proprietary data. And then there are ways to tap into the time and effort others have put into research, playing “armchair detective” by conducting desk research .

Desk research gives you a shortcut to insights by pulling data from other resources, which is crucial for understanding the customer journey . It takes less time and is more cost-effective compared to conducting primary market research . Most importantly, it can give you the consumer insights you need to make important business decisions.

Let’s explore the official desk research definition along with types of desk research, methodologies, examples, and how to do desk research effectively.

Desk Research Meaning: What is Desk Research?

Advantages and limitations of desk research, desk research methodology and methods, how to conduct desk research effectively, best practices for desk research, applications of desk research, how to conduct desk research with meltwater.

Desk Research definition: Desk research, also known as secondary research or complementary research , involves gathering information and data from existing sources, such as books, journals, articles, websites, reports, and other published materials. Users analyze and synthesize information from already available information.

Companies use desk research at the onset of a project to gain a better understanding of a topic, identify knowledge gaps, and inform the next stages of research. It can also supplement original findings and provide context and background information.

Desk research gives marketers attractive advantages over traditional primary research, but it’s not without its shortcomings. Let’s explore these in more detail.

Desk research advantages

• Quick insights. Conducting interviews, focus groups, panels, and tests can take weeks or even months, along with additional time to analyze your findings. With desk research, you can pull from existing information to gain similar results in less time.
• Cost-effectiveness. Desk market research is usually less expensive than primary research because it requires less time and fewer resources. You don’t have to recruit participants or administer surveys, for example.
• Accessibility. There’s a world of data out there ready for you to leverage, including online databases, research studies, libraries, and archives.
• Diverse sources. Desk market research doesn’t limit you to one information source. You can use a combination of sources to gain a comprehensive overview of a topic.

Want to see how Meltwater can supercharge your market research efforts? Simply fill out the form at the bottom of this post and we'll be in touch.

Desk research limitations 

• Data quality. Marketers don’t know how reliable or valid the data is, which is why it’s important to choose your sources carefully. Only use data from credible sources, ideally ones that do not have a financial interest in the data’s findings.
• Less control. Users are at the mercy of the data that’s available and cannot tailor it to their needs. There’s no opportunity to ask follow-up questions or address specific research needs.
• Potential bias. Some sources may include biased findings and/or outdated information, which can lead to inaccurate conclusions. Users can mitigate the risk of bias by relying only on credible sources or corroborating evidence with multiple sources.

Desk research typically involves multiple sources and processes to gain a comprehensive understanding of an idea. There are two main desk methodologies: qualitative research and quantitative research .

• Qualitative research refers to analyzing existing data (e.g., interviews, surveys, observations) to gain insights into people's behaviors, motivations, and opinions. This method delves deeper into the context and meaning behind the data.
• Quantitative research refers to analyzing and interpreting numerical data to draw conclusions and make predictions. This involves quantifying patterns and trends to find relationships between variables.

Both desk research methodologies use a variety of methods to find and analyze data and make decisions.

Examples of desk research methods include but are not limited to:

• Literature review. Analyze findings from various types of literature, including medical journals, studies, academic papers, books, articles, online publications, and government agencies.
• Competitor analysis . Learn more about the products, services, and strategies of your competitors, including identifying their strengths and weaknesses, market gaps, and overall sentiment.
• Social listening . Discover trending topics and sentiments on social media channels to learn more about your target audience and brand health.
• Consumer intelligence . Understand your audience based on digital behaviors, triggers, web usage patterns, and interests.
• Market research . Analyze market reports, industry trends, demographics, and consumer buying patterns to identify market opportunities and strengthen your positioning.

Now let’s look at how to use these methods to their full potential.

While desk research techniques can vary, they all follow a similar formula. Here’s how you can conduct desk research effectively, even if it’s your first time.

1. Define your objective

Desk research starts with a specific question you want to answer. 

In marketing , your objective might be to:

• Learn about Gen Z buying behaviors for home goods
• Gauge the effectiveness of influencer marketing for food brands
• Understand the pain points of your competitor’s customers

These questions can help you find credible sources that can provide answers.

2. Choose reliable data sources

Based on your objectives, start collecting secondary data sources that have done the heavy lifting for you. Examples include:

• Market reports (often available as gated assets from research companies)
• Trade publications
• Academic journals
• Company websites
• Government publications and data
• Online databases and resources, such as Google Scholar 
• Secondary research companies or market research tools like Meltwater and Linkfluence
• Online blogs, articles, case studies, and white papers from credible sources

In many cases, you’ll use a combination of these source types to gain a thorough answer to your question.

3. Start gathering evidence

Go through your source materials to start answering your question. This is usually the most time-intensive part of desk research; you’ll need to extract insights and do some fact-checking to trust those insights.

One of your top priorities in this step is to use reliable sources. Here are some ways you can evaluate sources to use in your desk research:

• Consider the authority and reputation of the source (e.g., do they have expertise in your subject)
• Check whether the content is sponsored, which could indicate bias
• Assess whether the data is current
• Evaluate the publisher’s peer review processes , if applicable
• Review the content’s citations and references
• Seek consensus among multiple sources
• Use sources with built-in credibility, such as .gov or .edu sites or well-known medical and academic journals

If your source materials have supporting elements, such as infographics, charts, or graphs, include those with your desk research.

4. Cross-reference your findings with other sources

For desk research to be effective, you need to be able to trust the data you find. One way to build trust is to cross-reference your findings with other sources. 

For instance, you might see who else is citing the same sources you are in their research. If there are reputable companies using those same sources, you might feel they’re more credible compared to a random internet fact that lacks supporting evidence. 

5. Draw your conclusions & document the results

Organize and synthesize your findings in a way that makes sense for your objectives. Consider your stakeholders and why the information is important.

For example, the way you share your research with an internal team might have a different structure and tone compared to a client-facing document.

Bonus tip: Include a list of sources with your documentation to build credibility in your findings. 

When conducting desk research, follow these best practices to ensure a reliable and helpful outcome.

Organize and manage your research data

It’s helpful to have a system to organize your research data. This way, you can easily go back to review sources or share information with others. Spreadsheets, databases, and platforms like Meltwater for market research are great options to keep your desk research in one place.

Create actionable recommendations

It’s not enough to state your findings; make sure others know why the data matters. Share the data along with your conclusions and recommendations for what to do next.

Remember, desk research is about decision-making, not the data itself.

Document your sources

Whether you choose to share your sources or not, it’s best practice to document your sources for your own records. This makes it easier to provide evidence if someone asks for it or to look back at your research if you have additional questions.

Now for the big question: How can marketers apply desk research to their day-to-day tasks?

Try these desk research examples to power your marketing efforts.

Use desk research for market intelligence

Markets, preferences, and buying habits change over time, and marketers need to stay up to date on their industries. Desk research can provide market intelligence insights, including new competitors, trends, and audience segments that may impact your business.

Apply desk research in competitive analysis

Desk research can help you identify your true competitors and provide more context about their strengths and weaknesses. Marketers can use this intel to improve their positioning and messaging. For instance, a competitor’s weak spot might be something your company does well, and you can emphasize this area in your messaging.

Include desk research in content strategy and audience analysis

Desk research can support consumer intelligence by helping you define various audience segments and how to market to them. These insights can help you develop content and creative assets on the right topics and in the right formats, as well as share them in the best channels to reach your audience.

Emerging technologies like Meltwater's integrated suite of solutions have a strong impact on desk research, helping you streamline how you find and vet data to support your desired topics.

Using a combination of data science, AI, and market research expertise, Meltwater offers the largest media database of its kind to help marketers learn more about their audience and how to connect with them. Millions of real-time data points cover all niches, topics, and industries, giving you the on-demand insights you need.

Our clients use Meltwater for desk research to measure audience sentiment and identify audience segments as well as to conduct competitor analysis , social listening , and brand monitoring , all of which benefit from real-time data. 

Learn more about how you can leverage Meltwater as a research solution when you request a demo by filling out the form below:

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Desk Research: What it is, Tips & Examples

What is desk research?

Desk research is a type of research that is based on the material published in reports and similar documents that are available in public libraries, websites, data obtained from surveys already carried out, etc. Some organizations also store data that can be used for research purposes.

It is a research method that involves the use of existing data. These are collected and summarized to increase the overall effectiveness of the investigation.

Secondary research is much more cost-effective than primary research , as it uses existing data, unlike primary research, in which data is collected first-hand by organizations, companies, or may employ a third party to obtain the data in your name.

LEARN ABOUT: Data Management Framework

Desk research examples

Being a cost-effective method, desk research is a popular choice for businesses and organizations as not everyone can pay large sums of money to conduct research and collect data. That is why it’s also called “ documentary research “.

Here are some more common secondary research methods and examples:

1. Data available on the Internet: One of the most popular ways to collect data for desk research is through the Internet. The information is available and can be downloaded with just one click.

This data is practically free or you may have to pay a negligible amount for it. Websites have a lot of information that companies or organizations can use to meet their research needs. However, you need to consider a reliable website to collect information.

2. Government and non-government agencies: Data for secondary research can also be collected from some government and non-government agencies. There will always be valuable and relevant data that companies or organizations can use.

3. Public libraries: Public libraries are another good source to search for data by doing desk research. They have copies of important research that has been done before. They are a store of documents from which relevant information can be extracted.

The services offered at these public libraries vary. Most often, they have a huge collection of government publications with market statistics, a large collection of business directories, and newsletters.

4. Educational Institutions: The importance of collecting data from educational institutions for secondary research is often overlooked. However, more research is done in colleges and universities than in any other business sector.

The data collected by universities is mainly used for primary research. However, companies or organizations can go to educational institutions and request data.

5. Sources of business information: Newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations are a great source of data for desk research. These sources have first-hand information on economic developments, the political agenda, the market, demographic segmentation and similar topics.

Companies or organizations can request to obtain the most relevant data for their study. Not only do they have the opportunity to identify your potential customers, but they can also learn the ways to promote their products or services through these sources, as they have a broader scope.

Differences between primary research and Desk Research

How to do a desk research.

These are the steps to follow to conduct a desk investigation:

• Identify the research topic: Before you begin, identify the topic you need to research. Once done, make a list of the attributes of the research and its purpose.
• Identify research sources: Subsequently, explain the sources of information that will provide you with the most relevant data applicable to your research.
• Collect existing data: Once the sources of information collection have been narrowed, check to see if previous data is available that is closely related to the topic. They can be obtained from various sources, such as newspapers, public libraries, government and non-government agencies, etc.
• Combine and compare: Once the data is collected, combine and compare it so that the information is not duplicated and put it together in an accessible format. Make sure to collect data from authentic sources so you don’t get in the way of your investigation.
• Analyze data: Analyze the data that is collected and identify if all the questions have been answered. If not, repeat the process to dig deeper into practical ideas.
• Most of the information is secondary research and readily available. There are many sources from which the data you need can be collected and used, as opposed to primary research, where data must be collected from scratch.
• It is a less expensive and time-consuming process, as the required data is readily available and does not cost much if it is extracted from authentic sources.
• The data that is collected through secondary or desktop research gives organizations or companies an idea about the effectiveness of primary research. Thus, a hypothesis can be formed and the cost of conducting the primary research can be evaluated.
• Doing desk research is faster due to the availability of data. It can be completed in a few weeks, depending on the objective of the companies or the scale of the data required.

Disadvantages

• Although the data is readily available, the credibility and authenticity of the available information must be assessed.
• Not all secondary data resources offer the latest reports and statistics. Even when they are accurate, they may not be up to date.

Desk research is a very popular research method, because it uses existing and reliable data that can be easily obtained. This is a great benefit for businesses and organizations as it increases the effectiveness of the investigation.

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Desk Research 101: Definition, Methods, and Examples

Parvathi vijayamohan.

2 March 2023

Table Of Contents

If you ever had to do a research study or a survey at some point, you would have started with desk research .

There’s another, more technical name for it – secondary research. To rewind a bit, there are two types of research: primary , where you go out and study things first-hand, and secondary , where you explore what others have done.

But what is desk research? How do you do it, and use it? This article will help you:

• Understand what is desk-based research
• Explore 3 examples of desk research
• Make note of 6 common desk research methods
• Uncover the advantages of desk research

What is desk research?

Desk research can be defined as a type of market/product research, where you collect data at your desk (metaphorically speaking) from existing sources to get initial ideas about your research topic.

Desk research or secondary research is an essential process from a business’s point of view. After all, secondary data sources are such an easy way to get information about their industry, trends, competitors, and customers.

Types of secondary data sources

#1. Internal secondary data: This consists of data from within the researcher’s company. Examples include:

• Company reports and presentations
• Case studies
• Podcasts, vlogs and blogs
• Press releases
• Websites and social media
• Company databases and data sets

#2. External secondary data: Researchers collect this from outside their respective firms. Examples include:

• Digital and print publications
• Domain-specific publications and periodicals
• Online research communities, like  ResearchGate
• Industry speeches and conference presentations
• Research papers

What are examples of desk research in action?

#1. testing product-audience match.

Let’s say you’re developing a fintech product. You want to do a concept testing study. To make sure you get it right, you’re interested in finding out your target audience’s attitudes about a topic in your domain. For e.g., Gen Z’s perceptions about money in the US.

With a quick Google search, you get news articles, reports, and research studies about Gen Z’s financial habits and attitudes. Also, infographics and videos provide plenty of quantitative data to draw on.

These steps are a solid starting point for framing your concept testing study. You can further reduce the time spent on survey design with a  Concept Testing Survey Template . Sign up to get free access to this and hundreds more templates.

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#2. Tracking the evolution of the Web

As we wade into the brave new world of  Web 5.0 , there are quite a few of us who still remember static websites, flash animations, and images sliced up into tables.

If you want to refresh your memory, you can hop on the  Wayback Machine . iI gives you access to over 20 years of web history, with over 635 billion web pages saved over time!

Curiosity aside, there are practical use cases for this web archive. SEO specialist Artur Bowsza explores this in his fantastic article  Internet Archeology with the Wayback Machine .

Imagine you’re investigating a recent drop in a website’s visibility. You know there were some recent changes in the website’s code, but couldn’t get any details. Or maybe you’re preparing a case study of your recent successful project, but the website has changed so much, and you never bothered to take a screenshot. Wouldn’t it be great to travel back in time and uncover the long-forgotten versions of the website – like an archaeologist, discovering secrets from the past but working in the digital world?

#3. Repairing a business reputation

As a brand, you hope that a crisis never happens. But if hell does break loose, having a crisis management strategy is essential.

If you want examples, just do a Google search. From Gamestop getting caught in a  Reddit stock trading frenzy  to Facebook being voted  The Worst Company of 2021 , we have seen plenty of brands come under fire in recent years.

Some in-depth desk research can help you nail your crisis communication. Reputation management expert Lida Citroen outlines this in her article 7 Ways to Recover After a Reputation Crisis .

Conduct a thoughtful and thorough perception sweep of the reputation hit’s after-effects. This includes assessing digital impact such as social media, online relationships and Google search results. The evaluation gives you a baseline. How serious is the situation? Sometimes the way we believe the situation to be is not reflected in the business impact of the damage.

6 popular methods of desk research

#1. the internet.

No surprise there. When was the last time you checked a book to answer the burning question of “is pineapple on pizza illegal?” (it should be).

However, choosing authentic and credible sources from an information overload can be tricky. To help you out, the Lydia M. Olson Library has a 6-point checklist to filter out low-quality sources. You can read them in detail here .

#2. Libraries

You have earned some serious street cred if your preferred source is a library. But, jokes apart, finding the correct information for your research topic in a library can be time-consuming.

However, depending on which library you visit, you will find a wealth of verifiable, quotable information in the form of newspapers, magazines, research journals, books, documents, and more.

#3. Governmental and non-governmental organizations

NGOs, and governmental agencies like the US Census Bureau, have valuable demographic data that businesses can use during desk research. This data is collected using survey tools like SurveySparrow .

You may have to pay a certain fee to download or access the information from these agencies. However, the data obtained will be reliable and trustworthy.

#4. Educational institutions

Colleges and universities conduct plenty of primary research studies every year. This makes them a treasure trove for desk researchers.

However, getting access to this data requires legwork. The procedures vary according to the institution; among other things, you will need to submit an application to the relevant authority and abide by a data use agreement.

#5. Company databases

For businesses, customer and employee data are focus areas all on their own. But after the pandemic, companies are using even more applications and tools for the operations and service sides.

This gives businesses access to vast amounts of information useful for desk research and beyond. For example, one interesting  use case  is making employee onboarding more effective with just basic employee data, like their hobbies or skills.

#6. Commercial information media

These include radio, newspapers, podcasts, YouTube, and TV stations. They are decent sources of first-hand info on political and economic developments, market research, public opinion and other trending subjects.

However, this is also a source that blurs the lines between advertising, information and entertainment. So as far as credibility is concerned, you are better off supporting this data with additional sources.

Why is desk research helpful?

Desk research helps with the following:

• Better domain understanding.  Before doing market research, running a usability test, or starting any user-centric project, you want to see what companies have done in the past (in related areas if not the same domain). Then, instead of learning everything from scratch, you can review their research, success, and mistakes and learn from that. 
• Quicker opportunity spotting.  How do you know if you’ve found something new? By reviewing what has gone before. By doing this, you can spot gaps in the data that match up with the problem you’re trying to solve.
• More money saved . Thanks to the internet, most of the data you need is at your fingertips, and they are cheaper to compile than field data. With a few (search and mental) filters, you can quickly find credible sources with factual information.
• More time saved . You have less than 15 minutes with your research participant. Two minutes if you’re doing an online survey. Do you really want to waste that time asking questions that have already been answered elsewhere? Lack of preparation can also hurt your credibility.
• Better context.  Desk research helps to provide focus and a framework for primary research. By using desk research, companies can also get the insight to make better decisions about their customers and employees.
• More meaningful data.  Desk research is the yin to the yang of field research – they are both required for a meaningful study. That’s why desk research serves as a starting point for every kind of study.

This brings us to the last question.

How do you do desk research?

Good question! In her blog post , Lorène Fauvelle covers the desk research process in detail.

Y ou can also follow our 4-step guide below:

• First,  start with a general topic l ike “handmade organic soaps”. Read through existing literature about handmade soaps to see if there is a gap in the literature that your study can fill.
• Once you find that gap, it’s time to  specify your research topic . So in the example above, you can specify it like this: “What is the global market size for handmade organic soaps”?
• Identify the relevant secondary data for desk research. This only applies if there is past data that could be useful for your research.
• Review the secondary data  according to:
• The aim of the previous study
• The author/sponsors of the study
• The methodology of the study
• The time of the research

Note: One more thing about desk research…

Beware of dismissing research just because it was done a few years ago. People new to research often make the mistake of viewing research reports like so many yogurts in a fridge where the sell-by dates have expired. Just because it was done a couple of years ago, don’t think it’s no longer relevant. The best research tends to focus on human behaviour, and that tends to change very slowly.

• Dr David Travis, Desk Research: The What, Why and How

Wrapping up

That’s all folks! We hope this blog was helpful for you.

How have you used desk research for your work? Let us know in the comments below.

Growth Marketer at SurveySparrow

Fledgling growth marketer. Cloud watcher. Aunty to a naughty beagle.

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Secondary research: definition, methods, & examples.

19 min read This ultimate guide to secondary research helps you understand changes in market trends, customers buying patterns and your competition using existing data sources.

In situations where you’re not involved in the data gathering process ( primary research ), you have to rely on existing information and data to arrive at specific research conclusions or outcomes. This approach is known as secondary research.

In this article, we’re going to explain what secondary research is, how it works, and share some examples of it in practice.

Free eBook: The ultimate guide to conducting market research

What is secondary research?

Secondary research, also known as desk research, is a research method that involves compiling existing data sourced from a variety of channels . This includes internal sources (e.g.in-house research) or, more commonly, external sources (such as government statistics, organizational bodies, and the internet).

Secondary research comes in several formats, such as published datasets, reports, and survey responses , and can also be sourced from websites, libraries, and museums.

The information is usually free — or available at a limited access cost — and gathered using surveys , telephone interviews, observation, face-to-face interviews, and more.

When using secondary research, researchers collect, verify, analyze and incorporate it to help them confirm research goals for the research period.

As well as the above, it can be used to review previous research into an area of interest. Researchers can look for patterns across data spanning several years and identify trends — or use it to verify early hypothesis statements and establish whether it’s worth continuing research into a prospective area.

How to conduct secondary research

There are five key steps to conducting secondary research effectively and efficiently:

1.    Identify and define the research topic

First, understand what you will be researching and define the topic by thinking about the research questions you want to be answered.

Ask yourself: What is the point of conducting this research? Then, ask: What do we want to achieve?

This may indicate an exploratory reason (why something happened) or confirm a hypothesis. The answers may indicate ideas that need primary or secondary research (or a combination) to investigate them.

2.    Find research and existing data sources

If secondary research is needed, think about where you might find the information. This helps you narrow down your secondary sources to those that help you answer your questions. What keywords do you need to use?

Which organizations are closely working on this topic already? Are there any competitors that you need to be aware of?

Create a list of the data sources, information, and people that could help you with your work.

3.    Begin searching and collecting the existing data

Now that you have the list of data sources, start accessing the data and collect the information into an organized system. This may mean you start setting up research journal accounts or making telephone calls to book meetings with third-party research teams to verify the details around data results.

As you search and access information, remember to check the data’s date, the credibility of the source, the relevance of the material to your research topic, and the methodology used by the third-party researchers. Start small and as you gain results, investigate further in the areas that help your research’s aims.

4.    Combine the data and compare the results

When you have your data in one place, you need to understand, filter, order, and combine it intelligently. Data may come in different formats where some data could be unusable, while other information may need to be deleted.

After this, you can start to look at different data sets to see what they tell you. You may find that you need to compare the same datasets over different periods for changes over time or compare different datasets to notice overlaps or trends. Ask yourself: What does this data mean to my research? Does it help or hinder my research?

5.    Analyze your data and explore further

In this last stage of the process, look at the information you have and ask yourself if this answers your original questions for your research. Are there any gaps? Do you understand the information you’ve found? If you feel there is more to cover, repeat the steps and delve deeper into the topic so that you can get all the information you need.

If secondary research can’t provide these answers, consider supplementing your results with data gained from primary research. As you explore further, add to your knowledge and update your findings. This will help you present clear, credible information.

Primary vs secondary research

Unlike secondary research, primary research involves creating data first-hand by directly working with interviewees, target users, or a target market. Primary research focuses on the method for carrying out research, asking questions, and collecting data using approaches such as:

• Interviews (panel, face-to-face or over the phone)
• Questionnaires or surveys
• Focus groups

Using these methods, researchers can get in-depth, targeted responses to questions, making results more accurate and specific to their research goals. However, it does take time to do and administer.

Unlike primary research, secondary research uses existing data, which also includes published results from primary research. Researchers summarize the existing research and use the results to support their research goals.

Both primary and secondary research have their places. Primary research can support the findings found through secondary research (and fill knowledge gaps), while secondary research can be a starting point for further primary research. Because of this, these research methods are often combined for optimal research results that are accurate at both the micro and macro level.

Sources of Secondary Research

There are two types of secondary research sources: internal and external. Internal data refers to in-house data that can be gathered from the researcher’s organization. External data refers to data published outside of and not owned by the researcher’s organization.

Internal data

Internal data is a good first port of call for insights and knowledge, as you may already have relevant information stored in your systems. Because you own this information — and it won’t be available to other researchers — it can give you a competitive edge . Examples of internal data include:

• Database information on sales history and business goal conversions
• Information from website applications and mobile site data
• Customer-generated data on product and service efficiency and use
• Previous research results or supplemental research areas
• Previous campaign results

External data

External data is useful when you: 1) need information on a new topic, 2) want to fill in gaps in your knowledge, or 3) want data that breaks down a population or market for trend and pattern analysis. Examples of external data include:

• Government, non-government agencies, and trade body statistics
• Company reports and research
• Competitor research
• Public library collections
• Textbooks and research journals
• Media stories in newspapers
• Online journals and research sites

Three examples of secondary research methods in action

How and why might you conduct secondary research? Let’s look at a few examples:

1.    Collecting factual information from the internet on a specific topic or market

There are plenty of sites that hold data for people to view and use in their research. For example, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, or Wiley Online Library all provide previous research on a particular topic. Researchers can create free accounts and use the search facilities to look into a topic by keyword, before following the instructions to download or export results for further analysis.

This can be useful for exploring a new market that your organization wants to consider entering. For instance, by viewing the U.S Census Bureau demographic data for that area, you can see what the demographics of your target audience are , and create compelling marketing campaigns accordingly.

2.    Finding out the views of your target audience on a particular topic

If you’re interested in seeing the historical views on a particular topic, for example, attitudes to women’s rights in the US, you can turn to secondary sources.

Textbooks, news articles, reviews, and journal entries can all provide qualitative reports and interviews covering how people discussed women’s rights. There may be multimedia elements like video or documented posters of propaganda showing biased language usage.

By gathering this information, synthesizing it, and evaluating the language, who created it and when it was shared, you can create a timeline of how a topic was discussed over time.

3.    When you want to know the latest thinking on a topic

Educational institutions, such as schools and colleges, create a lot of research-based reports on younger audiences or their academic specialisms. Dissertations from students also can be submitted to research journals, making these places useful places to see the latest insights from a new generation of academics.

Information can be requested — and sometimes academic institutions may want to collaborate and conduct research on your behalf. This can provide key primary data in areas that you want to research, as well as secondary data sources for your research.

Advantages of secondary research

There are several benefits of using secondary research, which we’ve outlined below:

• Easily and readily available data – There is an abundance of readily accessible data sources that have been pre-collected for use, in person at local libraries and online using the internet. This data is usually sorted by filters or can be exported into spreadsheet format, meaning that little technical expertise is needed to access and use the data.
• Faster research speeds – Since the data is already published and in the public arena, you don’t need to collect this information through primary research. This can make the research easier to do and faster, as you can get started with the data quickly.
• Low financial and time costs – Most secondary data sources can be accessed for free or at a small cost to the researcher, so the overall research costs are kept low. In addition, by saving on preliminary research, the time costs for the researcher are kept down as well.
• Secondary data can drive additional research actions – The insights gained can support future research activities (like conducting a follow-up survey or specifying future detailed research topics) or help add value to these activities.
• Secondary data can be useful pre-research insights – Secondary source data can provide pre-research insights and information on effects that can help resolve whether research should be conducted. It can also help highlight knowledge gaps, so subsequent research can consider this.
• Ability to scale up results – Secondary sources can include large datasets (like Census data results across several states) so research results can be scaled up quickly using large secondary data sources.

Disadvantages of secondary research

The disadvantages of secondary research are worth considering in advance of conducting research :

• Secondary research data can be out of date – Secondary sources can be updated regularly, but if you’re exploring the data between two updates, the data can be out of date. Researchers will need to consider whether the data available provides the right research coverage dates, so that insights are accurate and timely, or if the data needs to be updated. Also, fast-moving markets may find secondary data expires very quickly.
• Secondary research needs to be verified and interpreted – Where there’s a lot of data from one source, a researcher needs to review and analyze it. The data may need to be verified against other data sets or your hypotheses for accuracy and to ensure you’re using the right data for your research.
• The researcher has had no control over the secondary research – As the researcher has not been involved in the secondary research, invalid data can affect the results. It’s therefore vital that the methodology and controls are closely reviewed so that the data is collected in a systematic and error-free way.
• Secondary research data is not exclusive – As data sets are commonly available, there is no exclusivity and many researchers can use the same data. This can be problematic where researchers want to have exclusive rights over the research results and risk duplication of research in the future.

When do we conduct secondary research?

Now that you know the basics of secondary research, when do researchers normally conduct secondary research?

It’s often used at the beginning of research, when the researcher is trying to understand the current landscape . In addition, if the research area is new to the researcher, it can form crucial background context to help them understand what information exists already. This can plug knowledge gaps, supplement the researcher’s own learning or add to the research.

Secondary research can also be used in conjunction with primary research. Secondary research can become the formative research that helps pinpoint where further primary research is needed to find out specific information. It can also support or verify the findings from primary research.

You can use secondary research where high levels of control aren’t needed by the researcher, but a lot of knowledge on a topic is required from different angles.

Secondary research should not be used in place of primary research as both are very different and are used for various circumstances.

Questions to ask before conducting secondary research

Before you start your secondary research, ask yourself these questions:

• Is there similar internal data that we have created for a similar area in the past?

If your organization has past research, it’s best to review this work before starting a new project. The older work may provide you with the answers, and give you a starting dataset and context of how your organization approached the research before. However, be mindful that the work is probably out of date and view it with that note in mind. Read through and look for where this helps your research goals or where more work is needed.

• What am I trying to achieve with this research?

When you have clear goals, and understand what you need to achieve, you can look for the perfect type of secondary or primary research to support the aims. Different secondary research data will provide you with different information – for example, looking at news stories to tell you a breakdown of your market’s buying patterns won’t be as useful as internal or external data e-commerce and sales data sources.

• How credible will my research be?

If you are looking for credibility, you want to consider how accurate the research results will need to be, and if you can sacrifice credibility for speed by using secondary sources to get you started. Bear in mind which sources you choose — low-credibility data sites, like political party websites that are highly biased to favor their own party, would skew your results.

• What is the date of the secondary research?

When you’re looking to conduct research, you want the results to be as useful as possible , so using data that is 10 years old won’t be as accurate as using data that was created a year ago. Since a lot can change in a few years, note the date of your research and look for earlier data sets that can tell you a more recent picture of results. One caveat to this is using data collected over a long-term period for comparisons with earlier periods, which can tell you about the rate and direction of change.

• Can the data sources be verified? Does the information you have check out?

If you can’t verify the data by looking at the research methodology, speaking to the original team or cross-checking the facts with other research, it could be hard to be sure that the data is accurate. Think about whether you can use another source, or if it’s worth doing some supplementary primary research to replicate and verify results to help with this issue.

We created a front-to-back guide on conducting market research, The ultimate guide to conducting market research , so you can understand the research journey with confidence.

In it, you’ll learn more about:

• What effective market research looks like
• The use cases for market research
• The most important steps to conducting market research
• And how to take action on your research findings

Download the free guide for a clearer view on secondary research and other key research types for your business.

Related resources

Market intelligence 10 min read, marketing insights 11 min read, ethnographic research 11 min read, qualitative vs quantitative research 13 min read, qualitative research questions 11 min read, qualitative research design 12 min read, primary vs secondary research 14 min read, request demo.

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How to Do Desk Research in 5 Simple Steps

Before you launch a product, you should get answers to several questions. The first and, we believe, most important one is to define the overall market situation and take a closer look at the potential customer. Mastering how to do desk research is a suitable, cost-effective way to get information for making data-driven decisions.

In this article, we’re going to highlight some essential tools for conducting desk research and defining user groups.

What is desk research?

Desk research (also called secondary research) is a research method that involves using existing data. This technique will allow you to get the first idea of your market and users “from your desk.”

Secondary research includes already published materials in reports, articles, or similar documents. We also recommend using software tools that can help you become more familiar with your users (you can find some of them below).

This method is much more cost-efficient than primary research and requests less time for conducting it. Still, a lot of analysis work should be done, and the result is really helpful. The best way is to mix qualitative user research and desk research. It’ll help you fit into your timelines and budgets.

Primary vs. secondary research

Since we’ve just mentioned primary research, let’s see what it is and how it differs from secondary desk research.

Primary research refers to the process of gathering firsthand data directly from the source, be it customers or prospects. This approach takes more time and effort than desk research, but you get the latest and most detailed information.

The most common primary research methods include the following:

• interviews;
• questionnaires;
• competitor reviews;
• focus groups;
• market mapping.

Secondary research , or desk research, involves analyzing existing data and information collected by someone else or for another project or research purpose. It’s often the starting point for market research, providing foundational knowledge from pre-existing data. This method is quicker and easier than primary research, but the information you get might be older or less specific.

The desk research methods include gathering data from the following sources:

• government databases;
• academic journals;
• social media.

While both research methodologies are helpful, you may be wondering when to use each. 

Go for primary research when you:

• need up-to-date information not readily available;
• study specific questions or problems not addressed in existing research;
• require in-depth info directly from your target audience;
• aim to test new ideas.

Desk research often paves the way for primary research. Chose this approach when you:

• need a basic overview of a topic or industry;
• want to get a background knowledge and context;
• aim to study existing trends and statistics;
• want to compare different perspectives on the same topic;
• seek to save time and resources.

Need help with desk research ?

Pros and cons of desk research

Desk research is a valuable tool for any researcher. But, like any tool, it has its strengths and weaknesses. 

Pros of desk research

Using desk research methods is highly beneficial. Here are just several reasons for that:

• Budget-friendly. Compared to primary research, desk research is more cost-efficient. You’re using existing information at low to no cost instead of generating it yourself.
• Fast. Desk research lets you access data and reports instantly, offering quick insights without lengthy data collection.
• Scalable. Desk research allows you to cover vast amounts of data.
• Readily available data. Data for desk research is readily available online, and you can access it anytime.
• Insightful. With careful searching, you can find helpful reports, studies, and expert opinions that provide valuable perspectives on your topic.

Cons of desk research

Despite the advantages, desk research comes with its cons. Here’s what to prepare for:

• Outdated data. Data for desk research can quickly become outdated, so verifying its relevance is a must.
• Limited control. You’re relying on someone else’s data, meaning you can’t control its methodology or accuracy.
• Minimal exclusivity. Desk research findings are readily available to others, therefore they’re not exclusive to your unique project.
• Verification complexities. Verifying data sources and interpreting information can be time-consuming.

Types of internal and external data sources

Desk research is a way to gather insights literally without leaving your desk. But where do you find the necessary info? Let’s look at the secondary data sources available to you:

Internal data sources

Your company is already a goldmine of information. So before jumping into other types of desk research, consider digging into internal resources:

• Historical campaigns and sales. Review past campaigns, website traffic insights, sales conversions, and other relevant data.
• Product analytics. Dive into product analytics to learn more about different customer segments , user behavior, engagement patterns, performance metrics, and user flows.
• Internal research. Use existing internal research reports and studies (if any) and get insights from them.

External data sources

Besides studying your company information, there are plenty of external resources to explore. Look into the following examples of secondary data:

• Internet. Access any type of resources through the web.
• Commercial resources. Industry reports or market research studies by third-party firms can offer data specific to your topic.
• Trade associations. Use reports and resources from trade associations, for example, the Directory of Associations , the National Trade and Professional Associations Directory , or the Encyclopedia of Associations .
• Industry experts. Connect with industry thought leaders and analysts.
• Research associations. Access independent research papers and industry publications.
• Media. Monitor news, press releases, magazine articles, and TV and radio content to get information on your topic.
• Market research software. Leverage specialized software platforms that offer advanced analytics, reports, or access to industry data.
• Government data. Use statistics and reports from government agencies like the US Census Bureau , US Government Publishing Office , US Small Business Administration , and so on.
• Local government data. Get market data, demographic info, and employment trends through local gov websites.
• Public libraries. Access library databases through the Digital Public Library of America or the National Archives in the UK.
• Competitors. Study competitor websites, press releases, mailing lists, online reviews, and social media activity.
• Educational resources. Analyze academic research papers and journals relevant to your topic.

Examples of desk research

Let’s now explore some examples of design projects leveraging desk research:

Analyzing dreams with Sleepify

The creator of the Sleepify project sought a user-centric design for an app tracking dreams and well-being. They leveraged external desk research and competitor analysis to:

• study sleep’s impact on a person’s well-being through UCE Research and ePsychologi.pl platforms;
• discover the strengths and weaknesses of competitor apps.

The secondary research findings, along with quantitative research, were used for creating a high-fidelity prototype, ready for user testing and validation.

Keeping users fit with MYFIT

MYFIT project suggests creating a fitness app packed with workout routines, aimed to boost user engagement and retention. It is expected to be a clean, stylish, and modern fitness app designed to keep users active and motivated. The designer proposes to tackle this challenge by:

• researching user behavior and frustrations with existing apps using various methods;
• exploring why users abandon fitness apps;
• creating optimal user journeys.

Reaching personalized sales with AI

Designers aimed to explore the potential of using AI for personalized sales in the gaming industry. Their desk research targeted:

• The global market size of generative AI in business, its usage in gaming, and sales marketing.
• Industry gap. While personalization thrives in eCommerce, the gaming industry lags behind.

The insight the designers derived is that a personalized AI tool based on in-game actions, purchase history, demographics, and player data could revolutionize game sales.

Five steps to conduct desk research

As already mentioned, the reason to conduct research is to become more familiar with your users and potential customers. Your focus should be on collecting notable data and analyzing it. Here’s how to do this in five steps:

1. Determine your research topic and goal

Before even starting your research, ask yourself what you want to study and why. Outline the questions you aim to answer or the information you’re looking for. Is it to understand industry trends or handle customer journey mapping ? The more specific your question, the easier it will be to steer your research in the right direction.

2. Choose relevant secondary data sources

Go through internal and external resources relevant to your topic, making sure they are credible and objective. Make a list of resources suitable for your research topic and goals.

3. Explore existing data

Go down your resource list and find relevant data. Here’s what you can study:

Most likely, you should start with the existing text available in the public domain. What to look for? Everything! You can go through government or private companies’ reports, the original material on which these reports are based, conference proceedings, primary periodicals, official publications, and articles in newspapers and journals. 

This method of data collection is the most inexpensive and nontime-consuming way.

Document analysis is an important part of business analysis . This process includes the examination of existing documents and recordings. In some way, you are using the research that has already been completed.

The objective of this process is to track changes over the whole period. You can analyze logs, email logs, databases, web analytics, minutes of meetings, staff reports, and information logs. These are only a few examples of the sources for this type of research.

For instance, before redesigning the existing product, you have to understand the reason for the low level of purchases or numerous complaints in support. Documents and records help track the interaction between employees and customers or between your current website and customers. This is the way to make correct conclusions.

Knowing your competitors helps analyze the existing solutions and define the current problems they cover. Obviously, to share the entire experience and provide an ultimate guide for conducting competitive research, we have to write a whole new article. Here are some points to pay attention to:

• determine the products your competitors offer;
• pay attention to their sales tactics and results;
• analyze how they market their products;
• take note of their content strategies;
• look at competitors’ social media presence, strategies, and go-to platforms;
• make a SWOT analysis to learn their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

There are a lot of tools that may help. We’d like to share some of those that we use while conducting desk research:

• Crunchbase is a live company database, which updates constantly. This tool helps you identify upcoming marketing tendencies. For example, you can find how many companies in a specific industry are raising.
• Capterra is an intermediary between buyers and technology vendors within the software industry. Here, you can find the most comprehensive lists of products per industry, reviews, ratings, and infographics, and easily compare needed competitors.
• Serpstat is one of the top-rated SEO tools and definitely will help you outline competitor analysis just by entering your domain.
• Semrush analyzes the data for you and gives you instant recommendations on SEO, content marketing, and advertising that help you improve your online visibility in days.

4. Organize and compare your data

Gathering data is just the beginning. Now, you should organize and make sense of it. Consider using mind maps or spreadsheets to structure your data. Remove any duplications as well.

5. Analyze your data

Now that you have your data in a digestible format, analyze it for helpful insights. Check if the gathered data answers the questions you aimed to study. If not, go back to step two and find other sources of information.

Useful resources for defining your user groups

As soon as you finalize your desk research, you will most likely be able to group your users. So now it’s time to take a deeper look at them. Here are some free tools you can use to identify your user personas.

Google Analytics

If you already have launched your website, don’t forget to insert the Google Analytics tracking code. It will help you get more information about your clients. Now we’ll share which reports we suggest using:

This report shows the key age group and gender of your website visitors. To kick off the demographic report, follow the flow: Audience tab at the left menu > Demographics > Overview.

Learn more about the preferred interests of your users. As you have already opened an Age or Gender report, you can add a secondary dimension. Select ‘Affinity Category’ at the dropdown. You will see all the segments your visitors are interested in. It is helpful to identify your ideal online customers at scale.

One more good analytics tool to identify the users who are actively researching and comparing items across the Google Display Network (YouTube, paid search results via AdWords, display ads via AdSense, etc.)

This report will provide you with an overview of all the languages your users have set in their browsers and the locations where they may live. It will be useful in understanding cultural differences and will decrease effort for your marketing campaigns.

If you’re going to create a mobile app, think about which devices your guests are most likely to use to access your website. Go to Audience > Benchmarking > Devices. After that, dive deeper into Mobile Devices’ info. You will see exactly which brand of mobile devices they are using. Go to Audience > Mobile > Devices.

So, we’ve just outlined some useful data to understand your users better. Now, let’s move forward to other sources.

Facebook Insights

As almost everyone over the Internet is a social media user, it is good to use the data it represents. It will help you create more target posts and campaigns that cover your customer needs.

If you already have a customer list or just a list of users with phones or email addresses, you can use it to gain extra information about these people.

You need a list in the .csv file. In the Facebook Ads Manager, you can create a custom audience. Then Facebook Audience Insights will finish uploading the list, and you will receive a ‘Ready’ notification. At this point, you can analyze your audience.

Initially, you need to open an Audience Insights tool. You can choose an Audience you want to analyze. This tool can give you access to such data:

• age, gender, and relationship status;
• lifestyle preferences, demographics, and interests;
• education level and job title;
• Facebook pages that are likely relevant to your audience;
• top cities, countries, and languages;
• frequency of certain activities;
• device usage;
• household size and estimated household income;
• homeownership status and house market value;
• spending methods, purchase behavior, and estimated retail and online retail spending habits.

Even if you don’t have a customer list yet, you can use generic insights connected to your Business Page. You can also use software tools that provide you with potential customer emails. Take a look at these tools:

• Snov.io helps find more convertible leads, verify contacts, track your lead’s progress, and automate cold outreach.
• Hunter is a cloud-based email search solution that helps businesses find emails on company websites, verify domains, compose follow-ups, and more.

Try to pull out the most useful insights about your potential users, finalize all the gathered information, and be sure your team is aware of the user groups you are trying to reach.  

LinkedIn is one more powerful resource for collecting data. A good LinkedIn profile is a pretty ready proto persona. You can discover the user’s location, career path and goals, achievements, and daily work responsibilities. It is especially useful for B2B marketing. By the way, if you are in this segment, you can also use tools like Leadfeeder to understand which companies are visiting your website.

Now, we will break out four components that could be revealed from LinkedIn: business attributes, pain points, hangouts, and values.

They give you a deeper view of the demographics of your business page followers and visitors. What can you gather here? You can see location, job function, seniority, industry, company size. There is also data about similar companies and the comparison in analytics. It’s a great specific tool to reinforce Google Analytics.

Pay attention to the sections ‘Summary,’ ‘Skills & Endorsements,’ ‘Activity,’ and ‘Interests.’ 

In ‘Summary,’ we can get an overview of the person’s work trajectory, education, and main skills. From the ‘Skills & Endorsements’ section, we can receive data about a person’s strengths and people who endorsed their skills (who can also be useful in the research). The ‘Activity’ section is a great way to observe what the person is talking about, what they like, and comment. ‘Interests’ shows a list of the following companies and people, so it is possible to examine what engages the person.

Company Page includes information about the history, size, and career opportunities. Such pages also may have stories about employees and their quotes. The company’s job descriptions show the professional attributes required of a candidate.

After gathering all this data, you can create a direct message to increase the chances that relevant people will view it. How to do it? Open your Company Page > Click on ‘Create Post’ > Manage Post Audience: from Anyone to Targeted audience. Add some specific details about your audience.

Use LinkedIn Advanced Search to earn data about market size and the number of required companies or people. By working on the filters, you can find more insights about locations, education, seniority levels, etc.

Last thoughts

Taking market temperature and understanding your audience are the key ingredients in a way to creating a successful product. Pay attention to detail, document the whole process, and share it with your team and all the stakeholders. Help them to keep an empathic approach to your product and audience.

Have a great time conducting research. If you will need professional help with it, feel free to contact us .

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What is the desk research method?

Secondary desk research is a research method that involves collecting and analyzing information from existing sources like reports, articles, and websites. This approach is particularly valuable in the early stages of prototyping , as it helps to gather essential insights with a streamlined resource investment.

How to do UX desk research?

To do UX desk research, follow these steps:

1.Define your goals and research questions,

2.Choose secondary data sources like usability studies or industry reports,

3.Go through the data relevant to your research,

4.Structure and compare the gathered data,

5.Analyze the data to make necessary UX improvements.

What are examples of desk research?

What are the two types of desk research techniques?

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Desk research

What is it and how do you conduct it properly, deskresearch.

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What is desk research?

Desk research vs. literature reviews, desk research as a research method, how do you properly tackle desk research, where do you find information for desk research.

Desk research means that you use previously collected data for your research instead of collecting it yourself. You answer your research question based on the existing data you analyze. This might include previous literature, company information, or other available data. What exactly is desk research and how do you conduct it properly? 

When you do desk research, you collect existing data and use it to learn more about your research topic. You are not collecting quantitative or qualitative data yourself through things like surveys, interviews or observations. 

In desk research, you work with secondary data (data collected by someone else). In field research, on the other hand, you work with primary data (data you collected yourself). 

Desk research is an especially relevant research method if a lot of information on a topic is already available and/or if it is difficult to collect this data yourself. This type of research is less appropriate if you are one of the first to research the topic.

Often the terms "desk research" and "literature review" are used interchangeably. However,  they don't mean exactly the same thing. 

A literature review (also called "narrative review") is designed to gain more theoretical knowledge about a topic.

In desk research you collect existing research results or factual results in order to use them to explain a certain phenomenon. In doing so, you often answer an explanatory research question. You investigate a possible connection between variables. 

You can use desk research as a research method on its own in your thesis. Your entire thesis research will then consist of desk research. In that case, you describe the results of the desk research in the results chapter. In the method chapter you explain how you approached the research.

It is also possible for you to use desk research as a stepping stone to a study that you will conduct yourself with data you have collected yourself. You arrive at hypotheses or theories through desk research that you then test through your own data collection. When you use desk research in this way, you incorporate its results into the theoretical framework. This type of research is called deduction . 

You can also use desk research to supplement, for example, surveys, interviews , an experiment, or observations. In these cases, desk research can help explain the results you found. 

If you are going to conduct desk research, you need to go through a number of stages to do so. For example, it is important that you select the right sources and report on the sources in a logical way. To do this, take the following steps:

Determine appropriate search terms. First, determine what search terms you will use to find sources through, for example, your educational institution's online library or Google Scholar. Often, you will use terms that appear in your problem statement or research question. Search for English search terms and any other languages you may want to include.

Find appropriate sources. You do this with the chosen search terms, but also, for example, by looking in the list of found sources. Perhaps there is another useful source cited by one of the articles you read through. Save all sources in one convenient folder and put them in your bibliography so you don’t forget them. 

Determine which sources are relevant. Not all sources found are equally relevant to your topic. You also want to avoid having so many sources that you cannot see the forest for the trees. Check whether the sources you have found actually match your problem, research question, and research goal. Also check the reliability of the source. Ideally you should mostly use sources from leading journals and from authors who are affiliated with a scientific institute.

Incorporate the sources you found into your text. Are you doing a quantitative analysis? If so, you will first use SPSS or Excel. Are you referring verbatim to content from the sources? Then it's mainly a matter of putting relevant content together correctly in your thesis. Make sure you create a logical thread, for example by discussing sources by topic or in chronological order. 

Review the bibliography. Make sure all sources from your desk research are correctly listed in the bibliography. Also, check the source citation. Make sure your sources are formatted in APA style (or the source citation style that applies to your course).

The sources you use must be relevant and reliable. You cannot use sources like Wikipedia. In terms of sources, consider, for example:

scholarly articles (which you can find through Google Scholar and your university or college's online library, among others);

statistics from organizations such as the Central Bureau of Statistics or other reputable research institutions;

LexisNexis: a database of newspapers where you can find all kinds of news sources;

reliable databases within your field;

collections published with an academic publisher;

annual reports or corporate reports;

reports from other agencies;

literature;

documents from archives;

reports from the municipality, for example;

photographs or art objects.

Sometimes you can use very different types of sources for your research. For example, are you doing research on Instagram posts? Then, of course, you can collect existing Instagram posts on social media for that purpose and they count as sources.

Getting your sources checked

For desk research you often use a large number of sources. Unfortunately, it is easy to make an error when citing your sources. Do you want to prevent errors from creeping in unnoticed? Have your sources checked by one of our editors. They will review every source manually and ensure that all sources are correctly listed in your bibliography. 

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How to conduct effective desk research for UX and service design?

As designers, we are often thrust into projects on topics and within industries that we know next to nothing about. Part of our job is to dive deep into a new subject and learn as much as we can quickly in order to ramp up and be able to design better experiences. Exploratory research in the form of in-depth interviews , diary studies , and workshops is one way to do that, but there is often great value in conducting secondary research, too! This means looking into research that’s already been conducted and can be applied to your new project. Desk research is the best way to orient ourselves to the industry and context we will be working within. Today’s post will tell you exactly how to conduct desk research in UX and service design. 

Back in Part One of our series on desk research, how to use desk research in UX and service design? , we set a solid foundation for what desk research is, when to use it in the design process, and the six main types of desk research, (document review, as-is data sources, web audits/google analytics device, literature review, jurisdictional scans, and comparative analysis) used in UX and service design. In this post, we are taking things a step further and looking at exactly how to conduct desk research used most often in a UX or design research project. 

We’ll cover…

The desk research planning process

How to conduct a literature review and trend analysis in ux and service design.

• Deep dive: running a comparative analysis in UX
• Conducting a SWOT analysis

The best way to tackle desk research is to be prepared with a solid plan! Here are five key steps to starting the desk research planning process:

• Talk to your stakeholders. You want to go into desk research with a solid understanding of what the company or organization already knows about the topic at hand, and one of the best ways to do that is by talking to stakeholders and executives! It’s important to involve stakeholders early and wherever possible, so book their time in advance and keep in frequent contact. When you get the chance to sit down with them, get granular with your questions and listen carefully to their answers. It’s likely you’ll identify more problem areas you weren’t aware of, and develop more questions. Remember, the majority of what you’re learning from these stakeholder conversations comes from their own unique understanding and perspective, which isn’t always the entire picture. The great thing about desk research is it gives you the opportunity to cleanse your palate and get to the facts!
• Define the goal or questions at hand. What problem are we trying to solve? What information are you trying to find? What would be most helpful to the product or service you are designing?
• Determine which types of desk research you’ll use. Which methods will be most effective for your research question and project goals? There are many different types of desk research you can dig into, so depending on what information you’re looking for, you’ll want to consider both internal and external desk research. Internal research is usually the starting point, and will tell you what’s going on within your organization through data that’s readily available to you. For more info on internal vs. external research and an entire breakdown of the six types of desk research, check out part one of this blog series!  
• Make a list of potential topics that you want to dig into. Think of everything that impacts this project! Stakeholders will be of great help here. There will be one obvious topic, which is what your project is on, but you’ll need to branch out from there and think about other subjects that might impact your main topic. A great way to do this is by creating a mind map – start with your main topic in the centre and work outwards. For example, if travel is at the centre of your mind map, moving outward you might write subtopics like domestic travel, international travel, the economy, illness, climate change, etc. 
• Jot down a rough plan! Once you’ve set some goals, create a rough plan. Write down everything you’ve found out so far, the topics you want to uncover through the literature, how you’ll use the information you uncover, etc. 

Now that you have spoken with stakeholders and executives, defined goals, solidified the questions you’re looking to answer and made a rough plan, it’s time to get into actually conducting the desk research. A literature review can be about anything, but a trend analysis means you’re looking in the literature for trends about the topic at hand. You’ll want to look for what’s going on right now, what’s a few years away, and what might happen in the future. Do this by adding search terms like, “topic + travel + 2025” or “2030” (aka travel trends 2025).

A modern literature review often starts with a google search. Look for online journal articles, reputable online blogs and articles, research reports, and white papers. For a UX or service design project, we typically look for 20-30 credible sources. 

Note: A critical piece of desk research is choosing your sources – where will you extract your information from, both internally and externally? Your sources will help you to expand and dive deeper into the information you uncovered during your preparatory phase. Choose sources that are highly credible, reputable, and top sources. How can you know if you’ve found a credible source? There are a handful of frameworks, like The 5 W Questions , a SMART Check , and CRAAP Test , which you can use to critically assess your selected sources.

Let’s get into it…

• Start with broad search terms based on key topics. Type these broad terms into Google and start by clicking on the top-level links that are being served to you. Read through them and learn more about each of these topics, and keep the links to the first articles you stumble upon. They might not be the articles you end up sourcing in the end, but they’ll help by giving you more keywords to search for! You’ll notice patterns as trends emerge in the keywords you’re searching for, allowing you to discover more specific trends and subtopics.
• Save links and cut snippets of text. Use an excel spreadsheet to keep track of your sources as you go. Copy paste snippets of text that are interesting and add them to a cell in your spreadsheet, make sure you provide a link back to the original article inside the cell – otherwise things can get a little messy! This will help you with your data analysis later on.
• For example, if you’re reading an article titled, “Top 10 Trends in Travel,” you might notice they’re talking about climate change, technology, safety and cleanliness, etc. Once you’ve read a few articles and these themes continually overlap, they become your subtopics. You’ll then try to get five credible articles around “climate change and travel” that will help support your topic!
• Create summaries per subtopic. Typically, once you uncover a few themes that would be relevant to your project, write up a few descriptive paragraphs summarizing each theme and provide links to references. 
• Draw connections and inferences. As you start to summarize your themes, you’ll be able to draw connections in the literature about how that insight may impact your product, service, or organization. These insights are most important –it’s a major reason for conducting desk research in the first place.
• Draft a report. While a report isn’t always required, we recommend at least putting together a summary package with highlights and links to your chosen sources! If for some reason another team member hops on your project or you need to pivot, whoever is coming in isn’t starting from scratch.

Deep dive: running a comparative analysis in UX 

In addition to conducting a literature review, a comparative analysis is particularly useful in UX-specific projects. A comparative analysis should be performed early on in the UX design process as it is useful for understanding the product, mapping out the existing marketplace, and discovering potential threats and opportunities to the product/business. It involves comparing and evaluating the current products or services in the market, and is particularly helpful in UX/UI projects when you want to understand where your product will fit in the market, how it differs from the competition and any gaps or areas of opportunity that may be untapped. The value of a competitive analysis is that it can bring the design team a lot of inspiration, it can prove or disprove the value of your product/service, and help your team to find ways to differentiate your service further. It can include things like a simple feature list comparison between the various applications/products in the same space (like Trivago, Hotels.com and HotWire.) It may also include documenting detailed user flows by grabbing screenshots. 

If there are several products/services being looked into, you can create a spreadsheet to compare all the different experiences. Looking into your competition can also involve creating a dummy account on their website to capture the experience, or testing out their product and documenting your findings, capturing screenshots and making screen recordings of your interaction(s) with competitor experiences in order to compare them against several different criteria most beneficial to your users. The criteria may include, but are not limited to: 

• Look (UI design) and feel (UX design)
• User reviews (both good and bad!)
• Data entry requirements
• Accessibility compliance
• Technology constraints
• Ideal user paths/journeys
• Number of clicks
• Ease of use, features, friction, functionality, and flow.

SWOT analysis

A great way to evaluate a company’s competitive and strategic position is by conducting a SWOT analysis. “A SWOT analysis is designed to facilitate a realistic, fact-based, data-driven look at the strengths and weaknesses of an organization, initiatives, or within its industry.” – Investopedia . By breaking down a company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, you can make inferences based on what you learn and see, and determine how this could impact your client. Is this an opportunity, or is it a threat to look out for? The information you’ve learned from external literature reviews and your comparative analysis would inform the opportunities and threats piece of the SWOT analysis, whereas the strengths and weaknesses portion would be gathered through stakeholder workshops and internal desk research (such as previous research reports and presentations). 

For example, how might the climate crisis affect the travel and tourism industry? Tourism and travel are massive generators of income, but also contribute greatly to the climate crisis, which is negatively impacting many popular travel destinations. However, if travel hotspots lose tourism numbers because of the climate crisis, their local economies suffer. This makes climate change a threat to the travel industry as it impacts people’s abilities to travel and the destination’s ability to host tourists.

We hope this post helped you understand more about actually conducting desk research for your next UX or design research project. The best way to approach desk research is by being “bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.” Always go in with a beginner’s mindset , be curious, and absorb as much information as you can. 

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Desk Research

Desk research methodology is a method of collecting and analyzing information from available secondary sources, such as documents, reports, academic publications and other materials available online or in libraries. The purpose of desk research is to gain a broader perspective on the problem or issue under study, as well as to supplement or confirm knowledge on the topic. Desk research is particularly useful for research on historical events or processes and theoretical studies.

Application of Desk Research

Methods for implementing desk research include various ways to collect and analyze available market information without conducting face-to-face surveys with users. Here are some example methods: Analysis of available industry reports and publications: you can collect data from available industry reports and publications, such as market reports, industry analysis, scientific reports, etc. Analysis of statistical data: you can use available statistical data, such as demographic data, sales data, labor market data, etc. Review of websites and industry portals: you can collect data from various websites and industry portals, such as those of manufacturers, distributors, industry organizations, etc. Analysis of newspaper articles: you can analyze newspaper articles posted in newspapers, magazines and the Internet to gain information about the market and its trends. Internet search: you can search for market information using search engines such as Google to gain a wide range of available information. Social media data analysis: you can collect and analyze data from social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., to gain information about users’ opinions and preferences.

Methods of implementing Desk Research

The methods for carrying out desk research are as follows: Searching databases: Various databases, such as industry, statistical or scientific databases, can be used to find the information needed. Reviewing documents and reports: You can also review various types of documents and reports, such as financial reports, market statistics or industry reports, to obtain information on an issue of interest. Analyzing data from the Internet: You can also use various sources available on the Internet, such as websites, online forums and social media to find the information you need. Literature research: You can also conduct literature research, that is, you can analyze the available scientific literature and review articles from scientific journals or books in the field. Data analysis from other sources: You can also use data available from other sources, such as data files from government offices or institutions or data collected by other companies or organizations.

Our company Fieldstat specializes in Desk Research. We provide top-notch services and our teams are professionally qualified. We do market research, product quality research, competitive research, consumer research, social media research, technology research and much more. We have a wealth of tools and knowledge to meet our clients’ needs and deliver the best results. If you are looking for someone to help you gather and interpret information, please contact us.

Who commissions Desk Research?

Desk research is commissioned by various individuals or institutions that need information on a particular issue or market. Examples of people or institutions that may commission desk research: Companies: Many companies commission desk research to learn about the market situation, customer needs and preferences, competition or industry trends. Non-profit organizations: Non-profit organizations, such as foundations or associations, often commission desk research to obtain information on a particular field or social problem. Government institutions: Government institutions, such as ministries or offices, may also commission desk research to obtain information on various issues, such as to develop public policy. Individuals: Individuals can also commission desk research, such as if they want to learn about the market for services or products in order to make purchasing or investment decisions.

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What is Desk Research? Everything You Need to Know

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What is Desk Research? The Meaning

What are the methods of desk research, advantages and disadvantages of desk research, desk research examples for better knowledge, need help with research for your assignments hire our experts.

Researching is a basic skill that a student needs to have to create ideal academic documents. It is so because, without appropriate information, you cannot draft an ideal document. However, there is a process that you need to follow to gather the required data. Thus, this begins with conducting desk research or secondary research . Yes, you guessed it right, it is the research that can be conducted while sitting at your desk only. So, this blog is drafted to give you a brief understanding of the type of research.

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As the name suggests, desk research is a type of research that you can perform sitting at your desk. In other words, it is a type of market research where you gather data from existing resources to have an overview of the theme you are working on. Furthermore, desk research is a methodology of gathering and evaluating the data collected from the available resources like documents, libraries, publications and more. Desk based research is also known as a secondary method of gathering the required information.

The purpose of conducting a desk study is to build a base for further studies about a particular topic. In other words, developing a prototype for it is necessary before digging deep into any field. It is so because it will help you to understand what is already been done in the past around the specific subject. Thus, in simpler terms, this research helps you to have an overview of what is previously done in the sector and what is the scope you can work on.

So, if you have made up your mind to conduct desk based research for your next study, you need to know the methods of this type to get along with it smoothly.

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There are several methods of desk research that you can use to gather the required data. These are:

1. Data Available on the Internet

2. business databases and libraries, 3. educational institutions, 4. govt and non-govt organizations, 5. commercial information media, 6. trade associations.

Moving ahead to have an understanding of each source in brief to give you a deep insight into each of them:

It is the most common method to gather data for desk research , as it is the easiest way of doing it. It is a fact that no one in the present time refers to a book to find some information; rather, they surf the net to ease the process. It is one of those methods that can make you collect the information effortlessly. This is the most used way, as you can have the desired information with just a few clicks.

Libraries created by the businesses themselves are a great way to collect data. It is so because they have gathered that particular data after going through a rigorous process and ensuring its authenticity. So this makes it clear that this information will never be fake or incorrect. So, if you use that for your study, it will automatically make your paper credible as well. This might be a tricky procedure, but seeking assistance from experts at assignment writing services can reduce your pain.

Universities and colleges conduct numerous primary researches every year, which are the best sources of data that you can use. Although fetching this information requires you to have several connections, but if you have, then there is nothing easier than this source. These sources include academic journals, research papers and more that are well-researched and appropriately created. Moreover, all these documents are created after conducting thorough research from credible sources.

All the government and non-government institutions maintain records or statistical data that can help you to analyse the information you need. Moreover, these are the most authentic sources of getting information as they are gathered by credible authorities. Hence, performing desk based research from the government organization's data is the best thing you can do. Besides this, all these sources are mostly free of cost or will charge a minimum amount.

Commercial media are the oldest ways to gather all the required data without much ado. These include radio, newspapers, TV's, podcasts, YouTube, and more. All these media are reliable sources for collecting information on economic and political development, public opinion, market research, and all the latest topics. Moreover, this source includes all three: advertising, entertainment and information to present a perspective on a particular subject. Thus, getting knowledge from this is the easiest way to understand any tricky theme.

Using this way of desk based research methodology gathers data that is there with the trade unions. These are the communities that include traders from various segments of the industry. These associations gather the information by performing in-depth research to have an analysis of the growth of the sector, the updates in the technologies and more. Moreover, these associations can help you to have an overview of the market trends in specific areas.

These are some of the types of desk research methods you can use to perform this research. Moving ahead, let's explore the pros and cons of using this type of research for your papers.

As you are already aware, there are different methods of gathering data, so choosing an appropriate one becomes necessary. So, to ease the selection process, we have listed the pros and cons of the desk based research method so that you can opt wisely.

Advantages of Desk Research

There are several benefits of desk research that you will explore in this section:

• Inexpensive:  It is the most cost-effective method of collecting the required data. This is so because, using the internet, you can get all the necessary knowledge according to your theme or topic.
• Quick:  As the internet is readily available, you can receive all the information in just a few clicks. Thus, it is the most time-saving than the primary or any other. It is so because it will use pre-existing data.
• Clear:  By collecting information through the desk method, you will get a clear understanding before you conduct primary research. It is so because it will build a base for your further study.
• Scalable:  As the world of the internet is so diverse, you can gather the necessary information from anywhere in the world. Thus, you can collect large-scale data without much ado.
• Comprehensive:  As already discussed, this data collection process enables you to refer to several sources. Thus, you can have an entire series of questions you can solve through this.

These are the few advantages of the method; moving ahead, let's discover the other side of using it.

Disadvantages of Desk Research

There are several drawbacks of desk research that you will explore in this section:

• Non-Updated:  Using data that is already collected by someone else is not updated. It is so because it is not freshly gathered and not includes any modification as per current situations. Thus, using the desk based research can sometimes serve you with outdated information.
• No Control:  Using this method to collect information will not let you control anything, such as participants and situations. Thus, if you want to have this power, then this method is not for you.
• No Uniqueness:  Secondary data is not exclusive to anyone, as it is accessible to everyone. Thus, there will be nothing new in your research if you are using it.
• No Credibility:  You cannot find reliable data if you do not know how to figure out an authentic source to collect the information. Thus, it is crucial to have an understanding of credible resources while using this method.

These are the limitations of desk research that you must perceive before using this source of research. Moving ahead, we have listed a few illustrations of this method of conducting research, which will help you to have a better understanding.

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There are a few examples of desk research that you can refer to to increase your understanding of desk research. Some of them are:

• Academic Research:  A graduate student working on a research paper conducts  desk research to build a foundation for their research to identify gaps.
• Investment Analysis: Investors use this research to evaluate potential investments by reviewing financial statements, industry reports, and more.
• Market Research for a New Product:  Before launching a new product, a company might conduct this research to analyze existing market data and consumer behaviour.
• Policy Development:  Government agencies use desk based research  to develop policies and regulations by analyzing existing laws.
• Historical Research:  Historians use this to study the past. They examine historical documents, newspapers, and archives to connect events of different times together.
• Legal Research:  Lawyers frequently conduct desk research to find legal precedents and cases relevant to a specific case.

These are the examples of desk research have given you a deep understanding of the research method. Moreover, even after all these you are baffled around, seeking help from professional dissertation writing services is the best option. However, choosing an authentic platform is crucial to ensure high quality.

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Desk research is one of the most frequently used methods for gathering data. It is so because it uses the pre-existing data that will build a strong base for your further study on the particular topic. Moreover, gathering the data is not the only thing that will fetch you higher grades. Rather, you need to draft a research paper and submit it to get grades. However, creating an ideal paper is not child's play, but with our research paper writing service , you can reduce your workload.

At the Assignment Desk, you will find experts from all the fields to guide you in the right direction. These professionals are hand-picked to ease your work and help you to score well. Moreover, all these ensure you do not burn a hole in your pocket. It is possible due to the affordable prices of the services we serve you. So, why are you still struggling alone? Hire our expert and remove the burden from your fragile shoulders.

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• Customer Relationship Management

Desk Research - Methodology and Techniques

As depicted by name Desk Research is the research technique which is mainly acquired by sitting at a desk .

Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. However, it could also be a complete waste of time and money if the researcher does not have the proper knowledge of how the research is performed.

Desk research is very effective and can be conducted in starting phase of market research as it is quite quick and cheap and most of the basic information could be easily fetched which can be used as benchmark in the research process.

There are basically two types of desk research techniques:

The main advantage here in performing internal desk research is that it involves internal and existing organizational resources to organize the collected data in such a way that it is not only efficient but also usable. Internal desk research is comparatively very cheap and effective as internal recourses are deputed and the expenditure in getting data from outside is less.

There could be two approaches for digging out the relevant information from internet, one is directly browsing the specific information from industrial, marketing or business sites and extracting the information out of these sites. Secondly, using the various search engines like www.google.com, www.yahoo.com, www.infoseek.go.com, www.altavista.com etc, for modulated searching.

The important aspect here is to refine the searching techniques in such a way that results are promising and relevant. For this it is necessary that the researcher should know the importance of the research and follow the guideline intellectually to reduce the efforts made and time consumed in searching.

Customers are the one who are considered the most informed as they are actually using products and services and are aware of the current market trends more than any other. Hence the feedback and information provided by customers is the most accurate and useful data which can be used most effectively in the further process of research.

  Related Articles

• Customer Relationship Measurement
• Market Research and CRM
• Market Research Process
• Field Research
• Data Analysis and Compilation

View All Articles

Authorship/Referencing - About the Author(s)

The article is Written and Reviewed by Management Study Guide Content Team . MSG Content Team comprises experienced Faculty Member, Professionals and Subject Matter Experts. We are a ISO 2001:2015 Certified Education Provider . To Know more, click on About Us . The use of this material is free for learning and education purpose. Please reference authorship of content used, including link(s) to ManagementStudyGuide.com and the content page url.

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• Features of CRM
• Importance of CRM
• CRM and Marketing
• Misunderstandings about CRM
• Benefits and Challenges of CRM Software
• CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Software and Its Importance
• What is Customer Relationship
• Types of Customers
• Orientation of Customers
• Customer Modeling
• Customer Profiling
• Regression Scoring
• Quality of Relatiosnhip with Customers
• Need of Relatiosnhip with Customers
• Customer Relationship with Supplier
• Cost Sensitivity of Customers
• Bargaining Power of Customers
• Desk Research
• Report Preparation
• Action Plan in Report Preparation
• Strategic CRM
• Operational CRM
• Analytical CRM
• Collaborative CRM
• Customer’s Response - Introduction
• Measuring Customer Response
• Medium of Customer Responses
• Qualities of a Good Response
• Response in Consumer Sector
• Response in Core Sector
• Customer Acquisition - Introduction
• Customer Life Cycle
• Customer Acquisition Cost
• Measuring Acquisition Equity
• Customer Loyalty - Introduction
• Customer Loyalty & Satisfaction
• Drivers of Customer Loyalty
• Customer Loyalty Breakers
• Tracking Customer Loyalty
• Increasing Customer Loyalty
• Customer Satisfaction
• Why Dissatisfaction in Customers
• Measuring Customer Satisfaction
• Methods of Measuring Satisfaction
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Dissertation Structure & Layout 101: How to structure your dissertation, thesis or research project.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Reviewed By: David Phair (PhD) | July 2019

So, you’ve got a decent understanding of what a dissertation is , you’ve chosen your topic and hopefully you’ve received approval for your research proposal . Awesome! Now its time to start the actual dissertation or thesis writing journey.

To craft a high-quality document, the very first thing you need to understand is dissertation structure . In this post, we’ll walk you through the generic dissertation structure and layout, step by step. We’ll start with the big picture, and then zoom into each chapter to briefly discuss the core contents. If you’re just starting out on your research journey, you should start with this post, which covers the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis .

*The Caveat *

In this post, we’ll be discussing a traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout, which is generally used for social science research across universities, whether in the US, UK, Europe or Australia. However, some universities may have small variations on this structure (extra chapters, merged chapters, slightly different ordering, etc).

So, always check with your university if they have a prescribed structure or layout that they expect you to work with. If not, it’s safe to assume the structure we’ll discuss here is suitable. And even if they do have a prescribed structure, you’ll still get value from this post as we’ll explain the core contents of each section.  

Overview: S tructuring a dissertation or thesis

• Acknowledgements page
• Abstract (or executive summary)
• Table of contents , list of figures and tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Results
• Chapter 5: Discussion
• Chapter 6: Conclusion
• Reference list

As I mentioned, some universities will have slight variations on this structure. For example, they want an additional “personal reflection chapter”, or they might prefer the results and discussion chapter to be merged into one. Regardless, the overarching flow will always be the same, as this flow reflects the research process , which we discussed here – i.e.:

• The introduction chapter presents the core research question and aims .
• The literature review chapter assesses what the current research says about this question.
• The methodology, results and discussion chapters go about undertaking new research about this question.
• The conclusion chapter (attempts to) answer the core research question .

In other words, the dissertation structure and layout reflect the research process of asking a well-defined question(s), investigating, and then answering the question – see below.

To restate that – the structure and layout of a dissertation reflect the flow of the overall research process . This is essential to understand, as each chapter will make a lot more sense if you “get” this concept. If you’re not familiar with the research process, read this post before going further.

Right. Now that we’ve covered the big picture, let’s dive a little deeper into the details of each section and chapter. Oh and by the way, you can also grab our free dissertation/thesis template here to help speed things up.

The title page of your dissertation is the very first impression the marker will get of your work, so it pays to invest some time thinking about your title. But what makes for a good title? A strong title needs to be 3 things:

• Succinct (not overly lengthy or verbose)
• Specific (not vague or ambiguous)
• Representative of the research you’re undertaking (clearly linked to your research questions)

Typically, a good title includes mention of the following:

• The broader area of the research (i.e. the overarching topic)
• The specific focus of your research (i.e. your specific context)
• Indication of research design (e.g. quantitative , qualitative , or  mixed methods ).

For example:

A quantitative investigation [research design] into the antecedents of organisational trust [broader area] in the UK retail forex trading market [specific context/area of focus].

Again, some universities may have specific requirements regarding the format and structure of the title, so it’s worth double-checking expectations with your institution (if there’s no mention in the brief or study material).

Acknowledgements

This page provides you with an opportunity to say thank you to those who helped you along your research journey. Generally, it’s optional (and won’t count towards your marks), but it is academic best practice to include this.

So, who do you say thanks to? Well, there’s no prescribed requirements, but it’s common to mention the following people:

• Your dissertation supervisor or committee.
• Any professors, lecturers or academics that helped you understand the topic or methodologies.
• Any tutors, mentors or advisors.
• Your family and friends, especially spouse (for adult learners studying part-time).

There’s no need for lengthy rambling. Just state who you’re thankful to and for what (e.g. thank you to my supervisor, John Doe, for his endless patience and attentiveness) – be sincere. In terms of length, you should keep this to a page or less.

Abstract or executive summary

The dissertation abstract (or executive summary for some degrees) serves to provide the first-time reader (and marker or moderator) with a big-picture view of your research project. It should give them an understanding of the key insights and findings from the research, without them needing to read the rest of the report – in other words, it should be able to stand alone .

For it to stand alone, your abstract should cover the following key points (at a minimum):

• Your research questions and aims – what key question(s) did your research aim to answer?
• Your methodology – how did you go about investigating the topic and finding answers to your research question(s)?
• Your findings – following your own research, what did do you discover?
• Your conclusions – based on your findings, what conclusions did you draw? What answers did you find to your research question(s)?

So, in much the same way the dissertation structure mimics the research process, your abstract or executive summary should reflect the research process, from the initial stage of asking the original question to the final stage of answering that question.

In practical terms, it’s a good idea to write this section up last , once all your core chapters are complete. Otherwise, you’ll end up writing and rewriting this section multiple times (just wasting time). For a step by step guide on how to write a strong executive summary, check out this post .

Need a helping hand?

Table of contents

This section is straightforward. You’ll typically present your table of contents (TOC) first, followed by the two lists – figures and tables. I recommend that you use Microsoft Word’s automatic table of contents generator to generate your TOC. If you’re not familiar with this functionality, the video below explains it simply:

If you find that your table of contents is overly lengthy, consider removing one level of depth. Oftentimes, this can be done without detracting from the usefulness of the TOC.

Right, now that the “admin” sections are out of the way, its time to move on to your core chapters. These chapters are the heart of your dissertation and are where you’ll earn the marks. The first chapter is the introduction chapter – as you would expect, this is the time to introduce your research…

It’s important to understand that even though you’ve provided an overview of your research in your abstract, your introduction needs to be written as if the reader has not read that (remember, the abstract is essentially a standalone document). So, your introduction chapter needs to start from the very beginning, and should address the following questions:

• What will you be investigating (in plain-language, big picture-level)?
• Why is that worth investigating? How is it important to academia or business? How is it sufficiently original?
• What are your research aims and research question(s)? Note that the research questions can sometimes be presented at the end of the literature review (next chapter).
• What is the scope of your study? In other words, what will and won’t you cover ?
• How will you approach your research? In other words, what methodology will you adopt?
• How will you structure your dissertation? What are the core chapters and what will you do in each of them?

These are just the bare basic requirements for your intro chapter. Some universities will want additional bells and whistles in the intro chapter, so be sure to carefully read your brief or consult your research supervisor.

If done right, your introduction chapter will set a clear direction for the rest of your dissertation. Specifically, it will make it clear to the reader (and marker) exactly what you’ll be investigating, why that’s important, and how you’ll be going about the investigation. Conversely, if your introduction chapter leaves a first-time reader wondering what exactly you’ll be researching, you’ve still got some work to do.

Now that you’ve set a clear direction with your introduction chapter, the next step is the literature review . In this section, you will analyse the existing research (typically academic journal articles and high-quality industry publications), with a view to understanding the following questions:

• What does the literature currently say about the topic you’re investigating?
• Is the literature lacking or well established? Is it divided or in disagreement?
• How does your research fit into the bigger picture?
• How does your research contribute something original?
• How does the methodology of previous studies help you develop your own?

Depending on the nature of your study, you may also present a conceptual framework towards the end of your literature review, which you will then test in your actual research.

Again, some universities will want you to focus on some of these areas more than others, some will have additional or fewer requirements, and so on. Therefore, as always, its important to review your brief and/or discuss with your supervisor, so that you know exactly what’s expected of your literature review chapter.

Now that you’ve investigated the current state of knowledge in your literature review chapter and are familiar with the existing key theories, models and frameworks, its time to design your own research. Enter the methodology chapter – the most “science-ey” of the chapters…

In this chapter, you need to address two critical questions:

• Exactly HOW will you carry out your research (i.e. what is your intended research design)?
• Exactly WHY have you chosen to do things this way (i.e. how do you justify your design)?

Remember, the dissertation part of your degree is first and foremost about developing and demonstrating research skills . Therefore, the markers want to see that you know which methods to use, can clearly articulate why you’ve chosen then, and know how to deploy them effectively.

Importantly, this chapter requires detail – don’t hold back on the specifics. State exactly what you’ll be doing, with who, when, for how long, etc. Moreover, for every design choice you make, make sure you justify it.

In practice, you will likely end up coming back to this chapter once you’ve undertaken all your data collection and analysis, and revise it based on changes you made during the analysis phase. This is perfectly fine. Its natural for you to add an additional analysis technique, scrap an old one, etc based on where your data lead you. Of course, I’m talking about small changes here – not a fundamental switch from qualitative to quantitative, which will likely send your supervisor in a spin!

You’ve now collected your data and undertaken your analysis, whether qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. In this chapter, you’ll present the raw results of your analysis . For example, in the case of a quant study, you’ll present the demographic data, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics , etc.

Typically, Chapter 4 is simply a presentation and description of the data, not a discussion of the meaning of the data. In other words, it’s descriptive, rather than analytical – the meaning is discussed in Chapter 5. However, some universities will want you to combine chapters 4 and 5, so that you both present and interpret the meaning of the data at the same time. Check with your institution what their preference is.

Now that you’ve presented the data analysis results, its time to interpret and analyse them. In other words, its time to discuss what they mean, especially in relation to your research question(s).

What you discuss here will depend largely on your chosen methodology. For example, if you’ve gone the quantitative route, you might discuss the relationships between variables . If you’ve gone the qualitative route, you might discuss key themes and the meanings thereof. It all depends on what your research design choices were.

Most importantly, you need to discuss your results in relation to your research questions and aims, as well as the existing literature. What do the results tell you about your research questions? Are they aligned with the existing research or at odds? If so, why might this be? Dig deep into your findings and explain what the findings suggest, in plain English.

The final chapter – you’ve made it! Now that you’ve discussed your interpretation of the results, its time to bring it back to the beginning with the conclusion chapter . In other words, its time to (attempt to) answer your original research question s (from way back in chapter 1). Clearly state what your conclusions are in terms of your research questions. This might feel a bit repetitive, as you would have touched on this in the previous chapter, but its important to bring the discussion full circle and explicitly state your answer(s) to the research question(s).

Next, you’ll typically discuss the implications of your findings . In other words, you’ve answered your research questions – but what does this mean for the real world (or even for academia)? What should now be done differently, given the new insight you’ve generated?

Lastly, you should discuss the limitations of your research, as well as what this means for future research in the area. No study is perfect, especially not a Masters-level. Discuss the shortcomings of your research. Perhaps your methodology was limited, perhaps your sample size was small or not representative, etc, etc. Don’t be afraid to critique your work – the markers want to see that you can identify the limitations of your work. This is a strength, not a weakness. Be brutal!

This marks the end of your core chapters – woohoo! From here on out, it’s pretty smooth sailing.

The reference list is straightforward. It should contain a list of all resources cited in your dissertation, in the required format, e.g. APA , Harvard, etc.

It’s essential that you use reference management software for your dissertation. Do NOT try handle your referencing manually – its far too error prone. On a reference list of multiple pages, you’re going to make mistake. To this end, I suggest considering either Mendeley or Zotero. Both are free and provide a very straightforward interface to ensure that your referencing is 100% on point. I’ve included a simple how-to video for the Mendeley software (my personal favourite) below:

Some universities may ask you to include a bibliography, as opposed to a reference list. These two things are not the same . A bibliography is similar to a reference list, except that it also includes resources which informed your thinking but were not directly cited in your dissertation. So, double-check your brief and make sure you use the right one.

The very last piece of the puzzle is the appendix or set of appendices. This is where you’ll include any supporting data and evidence. Importantly, supporting is the keyword here.

Your appendices should provide additional “nice to know”, depth-adding information, which is not critical to the core analysis. Appendices should not be used as a way to cut down word count (see this post which covers how to reduce word count ). In other words, don’t place content that is critical to the core analysis here, just to save word count. You will not earn marks on any content in the appendices, so don’t try to play the system!

Time to recap…

And there you have it – the traditional dissertation structure and layout, from A-Z. To recap, the core structure for a dissertation or thesis is (typically) as follows:

• Acknowledgments page

Most importantly, the core chapters should reflect the research process (asking, investigating and answering your research question). Moreover, the research question(s) should form the golden thread throughout your dissertation structure. Everything should revolve around the research questions, and as you’ve seen, they should form both the start point (i.e. introduction chapter) and the endpoint (i.e. conclusion chapter).

I hope this post has provided you with clarity about the traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below, or feel free to get in touch with us. Also, be sure to check out the rest of the  Grad Coach Blog .

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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36 Comments

many thanks i found it very useful

Glad to hear that, Arun. Good luck writing your dissertation.

Such clear practical logical advice. I very much needed to read this to keep me focused in stead of fretting.. Perfect now ready to start my research!

what about scientific fields like computer or engineering thesis what is the difference in the structure? thank you very much

Thanks so much this helped me a lot!

Very helpful and accessible. What I like most is how practical the advice is along with helpful tools/ links.

Thanks Ade!

Thank you so much sir.. It was really helpful..

You’re welcome!

Hi! How many words maximum should contain the abstract?

Thank you so much 😊 Find this at the right moment

You’re most welcome. Good luck with your dissertation.

best ever benefit i got on right time thank you

Many times Clarity and vision of destination of dissertation is what makes the difference between good ,average and great researchers the same way a great automobile driver is fast with clarity of address and Clear weather conditions .

I guess Great researcher = great ideas + knowledge + great and fast data collection and modeling + great writing + high clarity on all these

You have given immense clarity from start to end.

Morning. Where will I write the definitions of what I’m referring to in my report?

Thank you so much Derek, I was almost lost! Thanks a tonnnn! Have a great day!

Thanks ! so concise and valuable

This was very helpful. Clear and concise. I know exactly what to do now.

Thank you for allowing me to go through briefly. I hope to find time to continue.

Really useful to me. Thanks a thousand times

Very interesting! It will definitely set me and many more for success. highly recommended.

Thank you soo much sir, for the opportunity to express my skills

Usefull, thanks a lot. Really clear

Very nice and easy to understand. Thank you .

That was incredibly useful. Thanks Grad Coach Crew!

My stress level just dropped at least 15 points after watching this. Just starting my thesis for my grad program and I feel a lot more capable now! Thanks for such a clear and helpful video, Emma and the GradCoach team!

Do we need to mention the number of words the dissertation contains in the main document?

It depends on your university’s requirements, so it would be best to check with them 🙂

Such a helpful post to help me get started with structuring my masters dissertation, thank you!

Great video; I appreciate that helpful information

It is so necessary or avital course

This blog is very informative for my research. Thank you

Doctoral students are required to fill out the National Research Council’s Survey of Earned Doctorates

wow this is an amazing gain in my life

This is so good

How can i arrange my specific objectives in my dissertation?

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