Conducting comprehensive secondary research, or desk research, ensures that your innovation builds upon existing knowledge and targets areas that have not already been reached, allowing you to stand out among competitors. Additionally, it provides the opportunity to exercise due diligence in learning about any legal, regulatory, or policy issues that might be of relevance and/or an obstacle to your innovation entering the market.

Conduct a thorough review of academic studies, industry reports, company reports, news articles, public databases related to your problem area and potential solutions. Analyze your collected information to identify key patterns and insights.

• Use secondary research to help you identify key impact metrics and benchmarks for your work.
• In addition to researching examples of success, pay attention to failed interventions or unintended consequences in your field.
• Be sure to conduct thorough market research to understand your industry and the viability of your idea (i.e., Total Addressable Market (TAM), Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM)).
• Pair your secondary research with primary research (e.g., interviews with subject-matter experts) to cross-analyze insights and minimize bias in your research.  
• Critically analyze the credibility, bias, and methodology of each research source you use. Try not to overlook unconventional, alternative sources of knowledge such as lived experience, oral histories, elder wisdom, or indigenous knowledge.
• Don’t limit yourself to your specific field—expand your search to other fields or industries to discover more innovative, high-impact approaches.
• Create a simple database to log your research findings using tools like Microsoft Excel, Google Spreadsheets, Airtable, Notion, or Notably.