Which item is an example of secondary data in market research?

• A. Government census figures
• B. Observation of consumer behavior
• C. Telephone surveys from customers
• D. All of the above

Answer: (A)

Secondary data are data that were collected for a purpose other than your current study and are already available from existing sources. Government census figures fit this because they’re produced by a government agency for nationwide statistics and policy, not specifically for your market-research project; researchers can reuse them to analyze market size, demographics, or trends without having to collect new data.

Observation of consumer behavior and telephone surveys from customers, by contrast, involve collecting new information directly from people for the current study, so they’re considered primary data. Observation is watching and recording behavior as it happens, and surveys gather fresh responses from participants.

Because only government census figures come from existing sources not created for your specific research, they are the secondary data example.