Secondary data have already been recorded prior to the start of the project and consist of two kinds:

(a) internal secondary data, which originate from within the organization, such as sales reports and customer comments, and

(b) external secondary data, which are created by other organizations, such as the U.S. Census Bureau (which provides data on the country’s population, manufacturers, retailers, and so on) or business and trade publications

(which provide data on industry trends, market size, etc.).