what do researcher mean by secondary data

Question

information from research aleady conducted for another purpose
data collected specifically for the researchers own study
data considered less important than primary data
data collected after any research to gather primary data

Answer 1

Researchers refer to secondary data as information that has been collected and complied by someone else for a different purpose than the current study. This data is not collected specifically for the researcher's own study and is often sourced from existing databases, published reports, or previously conducted studies. Secondary data can be used to provide context, support or augment the researcher's primary data, or to answer research questions that were not the primary focus of the original data collection effort.