6. Visit the Library for More Research Sources and Online Data
Libraries and professional services organizations are trained to help researchers. You should consider visiting the physical library, or at least the webpage for your local library or for the library at a top business school.
It may sound archaic. But libraries, especially in larger urban areas, have access to subscription databases that contain a wealth of trustworthy information that you would be unlikely to find elsewhere (and unable to access without free use of the library's subscription).
Popular research databases like OneSource, Hoover's, Standard & Poor's and Data Monitor are excellent business information hubs. Print news aggregators like Factiva and LexisNexis allow you to perform keyword searches on business publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Harvard Business Review — three great publications for current business information.
If you're overwhelmed, enlist the help of a real live librarian. If you're short on time, visit Digital Librarian, a directory of online resources that are organized by topic. Virtual Library is a subject-specific catalogue that is maintained by experts in each respective field.
While these sites are useful, nothing can replace a face-to-face interaction, says West. "Web sites that organize information have very little in common with what you get when you talk to a real librarian." She says, "They're both useful but I would never say, "If you don't have time to see a real librarian, go to a Web site and look through links." I'd tell you to visit one of the 24/7 reference sites where you can talk live to a real librarian."
If you have the budget or need help preparing a report or presentation, consider enlisting the services of professional researchers, says Cullen.
If you are researching to improve your career, or you are interested in long-term tracking of particular business or technology topics, you should set aside time to research online. But you have to be strategic about your research approach or you can get overwhelmed, says Cullen. Generally, "it's good to take an interest in research as part of your job," she says, "because your competitors are doing it, so you too should keep as up to date as possible with public knowledge and opinion."
Margaret Locher is a freelance writer who has a master's degree in library science.
SIDEBAR: What's Trustworthy Online?
How do you know what information you can trust online? Here are five tips from a research librarian:1. The URL domain: If a URL ends in .edu, .gov or .org, you can bet the information you'll find there is primary. Primary sources are more authoritative than secondary sources.
2. Web site audience size and reach. This is especially true for blogs. The more people who link to it or subscribe to it, the more you can trust it.
3. Membership ranks. For trade associations, check out what companies are listed as members. Big names that you recognize will tell you the association is reputable.
4. Source materials. Think about Wikipedia. Wikipedia itself is not trustworthy because it is written by anyone, not necessarily an expert, and includes articles by contributors with an agenda. Scroll to the bottom of the entry and go to the links that are cited under References. The more references (ideally to news articles or books), the more trustworthy the wiki entry.
5. Quality of links and listed resources. Generally, the more primary the information, the better. But you're busy. So look for a good aggregator of firsthand information. For example, a blog might cite a book that cites a white paper. You can't necessarily trust the blog, or even the book. And the white paper is the result of months of research.
If you can access that raw research itself, that's the most perfect source of information, but "the white paper is where a CIO should go, not to the research," says technology librarian Jessamyn West. "Half the trick of being CIO is finding good, secondary cultivators of primary sources."
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