Secondary research makes the foundation for any kind of academic writing you are doing, be it a primary research paper, essay, dissertation, or thesis. Secondary research is a type of research method where the data from the existing literature is utilized and combined as well as comparing this data to the primary source of information. It increases the overall effectiveness of your research and is cost-effective as compared to the primary research
However, conducting secondary research is a crucial step when doing any kind of academic writing. Therefore, you must know how secondary research is conducted. In order to conduct thorough secondary research, you require secondary sources from where you will extract the relevant data according to a particular topic. Hence you must be aware of what secondary sources are. If you think writing is not your cup of tea then you can hire an essay writer service in this regard.
Secondary sources in research
A secondary source is a research source in which already analyzed information on the particular topic is presented. This information is then utilized to relate to the data or information found in the primary source in order to create a comprehensive analysis. Some types of secondary sources include
- Publications, journals, research articles, and papers
- News articles and documentaries
- Review papers
- Encyclopedia and books
- Google scholars where you can find sources online
Steps to Conducting secondary research for a research paper
Following steps should be followed by a paper or essay writer in order to carry out a thorough and comprehensive secondary research
Determine your topic of research
If you are conducting primary research, you must have determined the related topic, otherwise conduct in-depth research and determine the topic. Identifying the topic would help you further determine the research questions you need to answer in your research paper. This will help you identify your research domain based on which you will explore what information sources you will be using to get the required data.
Locate the research sources
This is one of the most important and technical parts of conducting secondary research. Things you should be considered while locating the sources are; Academic writing requires academic sources, hence non-academic sources should not be used; The source must be authentic and reliable. The following points should be considered while locating the sources
- You should not use any information from Wikipedia, although it contains relevant information, it is not considered authentic
- Use google scholar that will provide you with various research papers and direct you to different sources as well
- Enter appropriate keywords to locate the most related sources. This is one of the most common mistakes that students encounter while research for a secondary source. You can use the same keywords devised for your own primary research paper
- Use digital libraries or search engines, the access to which is provided by your universities or college
- Consult Books that are one of the authentic sources to extract the particular information from. You can find books easily through web sources like google books
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Collate the existing data
Once you get to know how to locate the sources related to your research it is time to extract the most relevant data from it to include in the paper. Start collecting the data from different sources to approve the reliability and authenticity of the information. One thing to keep in mind while doing all this stuff is to not forget to properly cite the information or otherwise, this will be considered plagiarism. It is very important to give due credit to the original authors. In contrast, if you fail to do so you may face negative consequences of this act.
Compare the data
Ok, now you have gathered much information related to the topic. Now you need to compare the data that is acquired from various sources as it will be in the form of various formats, in that way you would be able to regulate it into a consistent database
Data analysis
Have a look at your findings to see if you have efficiently and effectively given the answers to the research questions you devised during step one. if you really need to dig deeper for actionable insights, repeat all of the stages again. Most of the information acquired from secondary research is incorporated in the introduction, literature review, and discussion part of the research paper. However, students sometimes think of it as a laborious and difficult task. In such a case, you can take help from a essay writing service who would certainly help you with the task.
With these steps followed you are good to conduct effective and efficient secondary research related to your topic; However, several guidelines could be followed that will add more value to your secondary research. These guidelines are mentioned below
- Make sure to make notes of each and every point you need to discuss in your research. research concepts or ideas expressed during the brainstorming process may contain the key to subsequent secondary research
- Make sure the data you extracted is from a credible source
- To check the credibility of a source, go through the references and appendix of the secondary source
- Whatever information you extract, make sure to critically analyze it and draw actionable results from it, otherwise just summarizing data would not be as valuable to the readers.
All of the aforementioned guidelines and steps are crucial for conducting the effective and thorough secondary research. However, if you are short of time and want assistance while doing research, No worries, you can always turn to some “write my essay” services who will carry out the task for you.
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