Easy Tricks to Help You Track Down and Analyze Research Data (Part 1)

Your supervisor has asked you to handle a project that requires you to track down and then analyze research data in order to offer a conclusion about a particular subject or idea that is relevant to the organization. As you sit back and look at the assignment, you are suddenly overwhelmed with the idea and wonder how you will even begin.

What you need to remember is that research is basically comparison. Your goal should be to find an answer to your questions and then to gather sufficient evidence to support your argument.

Get Yourself Organized

First and foremost, before you can begin to look for information that will answer your organization's questions or support any conclusions, you need to organize your thoughts to determine exactly what questions you are trying to answer.

It may be that the company is considering buying a new piece of equipment or they are thinking of eliminating a program. Perhaps they are considering introducing a new product into the marketplace. Or maybe they are wondering if they should reduce headcount and if so, who should be laid off. Your task is then to find information that will suggest the best course of action based on positive and/or negative outcomes for each action. Here are the three steps to get you organized:

Step 1:

Begin by stating your questions in clear and concise language. For example, should we purchase a new $1MM piece of equipment? Is it better to continue providing company cars for sales representatives or substitute a monthly vehicle allowance program instead? Is there a market for our new product?

Step 2:

Determine what comparison you will be making (do we buy the equipment or not, do we offer company cars or a company vehicle allowance, if we make this product who will buy it) and the variables you will need to measure (overall cost, return on investment, ease of program implementation, customer demographics and others). Your job should be to look at all your options and determine the pluses and minuses of each.

Step 3:

Determine methods and sources for gathering types of data. The type of research and analysis you will be conducting will influence where you can gather information.

Find the Data You Need

The questions you ask and the type of information you need will dictate where you should go to get data to assist you in your analysis. However, here is a list of a dozen resources you may choose to access:

• Industry associations
• Internet search
• Books
• Periodicals
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
• Government agencies
• Surveys
• Focus groups
• Interviews

The more resources you use the greater chance you have of getting a well-rounded comparison and coming up with the best options. However, determining the best sources for the data you need depends on what kind of information you seek.

Using Google to Conduct Internet Research

The Internet offers a lot of options for finding information. However, it is important to understand how to uncover sources of data. Here are three tips.

Tip 1: Using Quotes in Google.

Using quotes in Google will enable you to search for an exact phrase. So if you need to find out all the sources for a particular piece of equipment, you may want to enclose it in quotes. Or if you need data for a particular segment of the country, you can focus your search by including the terms in quotes - "tractors Memphis Tennessee."

Tip 2: Search for Similar Terms.

If you are searching for similar words - cars, autos, and trucks - you can simplify your search. Don't type out a long list of words, use a ~ , called a tilde (pronounced ‘tilda'), in front of a search term. It will provide a result that includes similar terms.

Tip 3: Google Advanced Search.

This tool offers you additional options that include the ability to use phrases (like when using quotes) as well as the ability to eliminate certain terms (which can also be done manually by placing a minus sign before all the words you don't want).

The whole idea is to be able to establish what questions you need addressed and then to find the resources that can provide the best answers. With a little time and effort, you will be a top-notch researcher in no time.

For assistance on how to analyze the information you have gathered, check out Easy Tricks to Help You Track Down and Analyze Research Data (Part 2).