Introduction to the Special Topic Forum: Using Archival and Secondary Data Sources in Supply Chain Management Research‪.‬

INTRODUCTION Much empirical research in supply chain management has been based on the analysis of primary data--data that have been collected for the purposes of the research at hand. Typical methods for collecting primary data include research surveys/questionnaires, direct observations and case interviews. In contrast to primary data, secondary data are data that exist for some other purpose than the research at hand. Generally, any database in existence before the initiation of a research study is data that are secondary to that study. The reasoning is that conceptualization of the original data collection design was entirely independent of any consideration of the current study. The most obvious source of secondary research data for business researchers is the public reporting of firms, which is generally undertaken to satisfy a variety of regulations emanating from various government sources. A researcher might obtain secondary data from surveys conducted by other researchers or research organizations, from survey results published in the literature and from existing archives developed and maintained by companies, universities, industry organizations, private/public agencies and/or government agencies.