Researching Information

C H A P T E R 5

• How Do You Plan Your Research?• How Do You Conduct Research?– What Secondary Sources Are Available?– What Tools Can Be Used to Find Secondary

Sources?– What Are the Most Common Tools for Primary

Research?• How Do You Evaluate Information?

Presentation Overview

1. Determine your purpose, analyze your readers, and consider your schedule and budget.

2. Determine what type of information you need. 3. Select the appropriate research method(s).– What types of tools can you use?– What research media (a.k.a. secondary sources)

can you use?– What primary research methods can you use?

How Do You Plan Your Research?

Secondary research involves gathering information from previously documented research or studies.

Primary research (sometimes called original or firsthand research) is gathering information for the first time—not relying on research previously conducted by others.

How Do You Conduct Research?

• Print media: books, journals, newsletters, trade magazines, reports, product materials, and other forms

• Online databases• Web sites• Online discussion groups: Usenet newsgroups

and electronic mailing lists• Personal publications: blogs, podcasts, wikis

What Secondary Sources Are Available?

• Online catalogs• Indexes– Periodicals– Newspaper– Government

document• Reference works• Abstract services

• Interlibrary loan• Online document

delivery

What Tools Can Be Used to Find Secondary Sources?

• Interviews, formal and informal• Inquiry letters and e-mails• Surveys and questionnaires• Observations and experiments

What Are the Most Common Tools for Primary Research?

Scenario: You work as an accountant for the That’s Amore Pizzeria franchise headquarters. The accounting software the company has been using is outdated, and your supervisor asks that you research all of the software options available and recommend one. What methods, sources, and tools might you use?

How Do You Conduct Research?

Scenario: You make a radical career move and are now working in the sales and marketing department at franchise headquarters for That’s Amore Pizzeria. Management wants to know why sales are down by 20% this year. What methods, sources, and tools might you use?

How Do You Conduct Research?

Scenario: Through your research, you determine that the food at many of the franchises is not up to the standards set by the company. Management wants to find a better way to enforce these standards. In your new role as the assistant to the vice president, you are assigned to benchmark best practices used by other restaurant franchises to ensure quality. What methods, sources, and tools might you use?

How Do You Conduct Research?

Ask: • Is the information credible and unbiased?• Is the information up-to-date?• Is the information complete?• Is the information accurate?

How Do You Evaluate Information?

Remember:• The Internet may not contain all the

information available about your topic.• No search engine indexes all information on

the Internet.• Some online sources are not up-to-date.• Some search engines and subject directories

typically index sites that have many links to them.

How Do You Evaluate Information?

Questions?