“Good advice. If I listened earlier, I wouldn’t be here. But that’s just the trouble with me. I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.”
Developing a search plan is a good idea when searching for business intelligence, especially when you are looking for targeted results. (And I hope that you are!)
As I mentioned in my first post: If you had no research skills before Google, you probably don’t now.
Most internet users are sure that they know all about finding information and don’t need any help. I have talked so many times with people who are so confident that what they need is not to be found.
Way back in the mists of the internet beginnings, I was promoting my book (Internet for Newbies) when a man came up to me, and said he thought that the internet was just not worth bothering with. He was looking for information about planting trees. “I really looked hard and could not find a thing.” “Where did you look?” I asked. “ On AOL” (which was very new at that time), he said.
I tried to explain that there were more sites on the internet than AOL and that there were methods for expanding search terms. He was absolutely sure that he did not need any advice. ( Hard to believe, but Google did not exist then. )
I have also found that when people tell me that they can’t find what they need, and I find it in less than five minutes, they get very annoyed. So I have learned to keep quieter and take longer. BUT, that is not a good technique if you need business information and don’t have time to waste.
So, lets talk about search plans. As you do this over and over, you will get better and better at devising a plan.
The main thing is to be organized. And, unlike Alice, to pay attention to your own advice. Critical thinking is probably your most important skill now. The biggest question is: What specifically am I going to do with this information?
By answering this, you will already begin to narrow down your search.
Are you going to create a mailing list of office managers who buy paper supplies; do you need to find information on a new industry so that you can decide if it needs your service or product; or maybe you want to discover the plans for that new office building you heard about. All these things are more specific than saying to yourself “I need to find more customers so I can call them.”
After you have decided what you will do with the knowledge or facts after you find them, there are some basic questions to ask yourself:
- What do I understand about this already?
- What is my search topic?
- What are the key concepts?
- Do I understand what it is I’m looking for?
- How much information will I need?
- How soon do I need to find this information?
- What are the keywords or phrases?
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After thinking about your answers, write out what you’re looking for. Brainstorm the most important key words and synonyms. For example, information on airplanes may be found using air craft, jet, plane, and a host of specific planes (e.g. Boeing 757, Dreamliner, Airbus). Identify these words and use them in your search efforts.
As you try various words, sources and combinations, write down your results. I keep a log of my searches.
Often during a research project I will find new terms and then I go back and use those terms in sources I have already checked. The results are often gratifying.
Contact Me: cwilliams@intellhunt.com