Mastering Desk Research: A Deep Dive into Business Success

Preface
Through my posts and articles, I try to simplify specialized topics in the marketing research field, making them accessible to the public. This process is called: Vulgarization.

In this article, I will discuss desk research, AKA secondary research.
This type of research, in terms of methodology, does not fall under either qualitative or quantitative research. Instead, it is considered an independent entity in terms of the nature of the research. Such research relies on collecting, analyzing, and organizing data and information previously gathered through either quantitative or qualitative primary research, or surveys, or from databases in various entities.

Definition
Desk research are those that are conducted relying solely on available published data and information, whether from within or outside the organization. This data or information that the desk research depends on is available in the form of materials published for the public, either for free or for a specific fee. Examples of these sources include periodic reports, magazines, or books. Hence, the term “Secondary” from “second hand”, meaning reused.

This indicates that the data or information in the research has been used before. The other term, “desk research,” hints that the research is conducted from a desk without the need to go to the field to conduct interviews or gather observations. I might also call it recycled research because preparing a report for this type of research resembles recycling waste. However, in this case, it’s the recycling of information. Once the results (reports) of primary research (quantitative and qualitative) are published, they become a source for desk research.

Desk research is classified as one of the types of marketing research, although its methodology and research steps closely resemble academic research or, more precisely, the scientific research method. It’s worth noting that most international marketing research agencies in Saudi Arabia often do not respond to quotation requests that ask for desk research. This is mainly for two reasons: the scarcity of specialists in this research branch and its low cost, which means less profitability. Often, when forced to take a project to maintain their relationship with a particular client, they outsource it to another research agency specialized in desk research, sometimes even in another country.

Difference between Primary and Desk Research
Desk research has advantages over primary research. For instance, it’s much cheaper and faster to execute. However, in terms of the accuracy of information, primary quantitative or qualitative research surpasses desk research. Primary research provides more recent information, whereas previously published data might have been released long ago. In this rapidly changing era, shifts in trends and habits happen very quickly, making the results of desk research less reliable for decision-making. Nonetheless, desk research offers significant insights and indicators that aid decision-makers. Most often, desk research is used as a supportive step before primary research. Before initiating any primary research, a quick desk research is conducted to ensure no recently published research on the same topic. Instead of reinventing the wheel, this existing research is utilized. Imagine how an employer would feel if they invested $20,000 in conducting specific primary research only to discover later that it’s free or for sale at $2,000.

This type of research is used to prepare research tools such as surveys or discussion guides, especially in fields where it may be difficult to formulate research tools for various reasons. Just as the accuracy of primary research results largely depends on the sampling mechanism and data collection methods, secondary research is primarily affected by the information sources from which the data was gathered. The level of trust varies based on the reliability and objectivity of the entities from which the data was collected. For example, if secondary research is prepared based on newspaper articles, the reliability of its results would be much less than other secondary research on the same topic that relied on officially published government statistics or publications from specialized associations and unions in the same industry.

Life Cycle of Secondary Research

1. Defining the Objective
   There should be a specific objective behind conducting any secondary research. Reasons could be the existence of a particular problem. The research aims to discover hidden opportunities in a particular market. In most cases, the main goal of conducting specific secondary research is to provide sufficient information to make a sound decision. As previously mentioned, the aim of conducting secondary research is to assist in formulating objectives for primary quantitative or qualitative research or to determine the best sampling methodology that can be adopted for specific primary research. This is latter reason does the secondary research is known as “Exploratory Research”.
2. Identifying the Required Information
   A list of the information to be collected in the research is prepared, which will later be classified within the research report in the form of sections or chapters, each containing specific information. All of these sections or chapters aim to achieve the purpose of conducting the research, which was agreed upon in the first step of the life cycle.
3. Determining Information Sources
   After identifying the targeted information, the researcher will then start thinking about possible and available information sources from which they can obtain this information. This step largely depends on the experience of practitioners in this type of research. It’s similar to a newly graduated criminal investigator. He has studied many theories, but practically he needs many experiences to become skilled in following the threads of crimes and connecting them to find the perpetrator.
4. Gathering and Managing Information
   After identifying the sources, the researcher starts collecting the information and placing it in specific templates. Then, they classify, tabulate, and condense the information. Decision-makers want the gist and prefer something concise because they don’t have the time to read dozens of pages from various sources. In this step, the researcher becomes more proficient with increased practice.
5. Preparing the Report
   After examining all potential sources and collecting information from them, this information is arranged after analysis into a concise report. Analyzing this information involves comparing it with different sources and then choosing the most accurate based on the reliability of the source. Often, the researcher will find contradictions in the same piece of information across several sources. At this point, the researcher uses personal judgment to determine the most accurate information. Each slide or section of this report contains the information sources used for the data present in that slide. Also, a list of all used sources is placed at the end of the report as a reference for the decision-maker if they wish to delve deeper into any aspect.

Desk Research Information Sources

Given that the information to be presented in the desk research report is available (the judgment of its existence is based on previous experience in a certain market and the available sources in this market) somewhere — the source — these sources are often used to supply us with information for other desk research. It’s similar to water wells; when we need water, we look for the nearest dug wells instead of digging new ones. So, we agree that the sources of information for this research are often used, and often these sources are categorized by their location into two types:

1. Internal Information Sources: Data from within the organization, both “historical and current”, and results of previous research conducted by the organization.
2. External Information Sources: Publications from government entities like the General Statistics Office, Customs Department, ministries, books, master’s and doctoral theses, and scientific journals.

Monitoring, tabulating, and archiving administrative information sources is critical. Here, we find a disorder in the company in this process, as each department or department manager determines information sources of interest to them. This assumes that this department manager is aware of the importance of information in this era and that he can monitor these sources.

First Type: Internal Information Sources
Everything documented or recorded within the company is considered secondary data that can be relied upon in desk research. The availability of this data relates to the company’s interest in information and its documentation, recording, tabulating, classifying, and providing appropriate tools to access it. Some organizations may be illiterate in terms of managing their information, and searching for historical data in them can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Assuming that the company is interested in information, what are the potential internal sources for this information?

1. Company Records: The researcher can find data on revenues, expenditures, profits or losses, and sales in these records. All this data might be available but not well tabulated or classified. Therefore, the researcher might cooperate with the administration to create custom templates for entering their daily business data. This assists in data analysis and better report preparation. For instance, the financial department might provide information about total sales, and some details about the distribution of this total might be found in the sales department based on cities or specific clients. However, it’s effective if this data is readily available upon request, rather than the administration taking more than a week or two to provide these details.
2. Front-line Employees: This refers to employees who deal directly with clients, such as sales representatives, customer service employees, or technical support staff. All of these can be a rich source of qualitative data, and their information source is the client themselves due to their direct and regular interaction with them. Here arises the importance of preparing specific report templates that are required to be filled out weekly by front-line employees. Alternatively, meetings can be held with them weekly where these matters are discussed orally, where their comments are noted, or the meeting is audio-recorded.
3. Previous researches. By this, we mean the research conducted by the company. This includes primary and secondary research. Both can be a rich source for the desk research currently being conducted.
4. Previous experiences. There’s a department in companies that recognize the importance of information called the “Knowledge Management” department. I’m not about to delve into its functions, but this department provides an environment and tools that nurture the company’s past experiences in specific issues. The researcher benefits from this by referring to previous problems and experiences that were successfully handled to solve current issues they are trying to address through desk research. However, if there isn’t a Knowledge Management department in the company, it burdens the researcher with the task of interviewing veteran employees. Many of these employees might not be in the company anymore, leading to naively handling the issue and possibly repeating the company’s past mistakes when dealing with similar matters.

The second type: External information sources.

These come in various forms and the interest in these sources varies according to the industry the company operates in. The skill in accessing the information quickly relies on knowing its location — in which source — and how to reach it.

1. What is published by governmental, educational, commercial, agricultural bodies, and statistical agencies.
2. Public libraries and university libraries. Each contains specialized books and possibly international scientific journals not available in the market. Academic libraries stand out by providing access to master’s and doctoral theses, in addition to books that are more specialized if the university has a specific focus. However, there is a limitation in accessing academic libraries as they might be exclusive to students or university staff. Understanding the archiving system in libraries — most often the Dewey Decimal Classification is used — and learning how to access the books will save you a lot of time when visiting the library to find specific books.
3. Specialized companies. Some companies specialize in gathering information about certain markets. These companies regularly publish their specialized reports for a fee or an annual subscription, and sometimes for free. However, you might find that their research is expensive and more detailed than you need. In such cases, you can negotiate with these companies to get a specific part of their report instead of the entire report for a lower price. Examples of these companies are: Euromonitor, IDC, and Gartner.
4. Personal networks. This refers to trying to communicate with friends, former colleagues, relatives who might have information about the research topic, directly or indirectly. I personally benefited from this method every time I conducted desk research.
5. The Internet: All the external information sources we previously mentioned might be available in electronic form on the internet. However, the purpose of distinguishing the internet as a separate source is the importance of separating electronic sources into a separate file due to the different nature of dealing with everything that is electronic. I advise all readers to attend the two free courses related to refining the researcher’s skills in using the most powerful search engine in the world, Google. You can find these two courses [here] (the original text includes the word “here” implying a link), and a certificate is awarded upon successfully completing the test. This course enhances the potential of the researcher, especially those who want to specialize in desktop research, and the course lessons are available in the form of visual episodes.

Finally, I should note that Google is not always the best solution for researchers. In some cases, there are specialized search engines in specific areas that may surpass Google. I’m not going into details about them in this article.

Case Study:
One of the merchants is engaged in importing and selling stainless steel panels. There are dozens of merchants in each city working in the same profession. Some stand out from others in terms of price and the availability of specific types because it’s impossible for any one of them to provide all types at the same time due to storage costs. One merchant conducted a preliminary desktop research using his internal sources and analyzed the sales, identified his major customers, and understood the best-selling types over the past three years. He realized where his focus should be and also identified which types have never been sold or had very slow sales. He decided to avoid importing them in the future and to sell the entire quantity he has at the lowest prices to reduce storage costs. After that, he analyzed the sales on a monthly basis to try to find a seasonal relationship associated with the purchase of a particular type of stainless steel at a specific time of the year. He then analyzed the customer behavior in the payment process, identifying those who were late and those who did not adhere to payment. All these analyses help him make decisions in his future dealings.

Regarding external sources: This merchant began researching the internet for suppliers — other than the ones he currently deals with. He then started communicating with them to know their prices, procedures, and speed of shipping the required goods. Through this research, he found cheaper and faster suppliers and began his journey to stand out in the market in which he operates in. Later, he conducted another research to study the relationship between the prices of the panels and the raw materials from which stainless steel is made. He also found out that the raw materials at a particular time of the year decrease significantly, affected by many factors, and that this decrease, in turn, affects the prices of the panels. As a result, he allocated the most significant part of his budget to purchases during that period. Throughout the year, he offers competitive prices, competing with major merchants in the market despite his small size. If those significant merchants had his research skills, they would be bankrupt.

Conclusion:
In an age where information is at our fingertips, harnessing the potential of comprehensive research tools, both internal and external, is paramount for any business endeavor. As illustrated in our case study, the judicious application of research methodologies provides a competitive edge and can revolutionize how business is done. The tale of the stainless steel merchant underscores that even in traditional trades, digital resources and analytical skills can lead to unparalleled success. In an ever-evolving market, it is not the largest enterprises but the most informed that truly thrive. Thus, it is essential for businesses, irrespective of their size or domain, to invest in refining their research skills and utilize data-driven insights to navigate the market dynamics effectively.

Originally written and published in Arabic on LinkedIn on 18 Dec 2015.