Final answer:
Marketing information already in existence is known as secondary data, which includes materials like books, articles, and past reports from other studies, and it allows for nonreactive research without influencing subject behaviors.
Step-by-step explanation:
Marketing information that already exists is called secondary data. Secondary data refers to information that is gathered by someone else other than the user and is used for research purposes. Examples of secondary data include books, articles, infographics, and data collected by agencies or organizations like the WHO. This type of data is beneficial because it constitutes nonreactive or unobtrusive research, which does not involve direct contact with subjects, thus preserving the authenticity of the observed behaviors.
Common materials considered as secondary data are:
- Photos and letters obtained from another person
- Books and articles written by others summarizing their studies
- Previously published statistics and reports
Secondary data can be contrasted with primary data, which includes firsthand accounts and information that is collected directly by the researcher through methods like surveys, interviews, or experiments.