Online Research Shortcuts - Gathering Industry Information

EDITOR’S NOTE:
This week’s tip is courtesy of Wendy Scherer of Scherer Cybrarian.

One of the great things about the Internet is the availability of a tremendous amount of information. One of the bad things about the Internet is the availability of a tremendous amount of information. We’ve all done searches where we get 7,000 results. You know that what you’re looking for is in there somewhere. But where? This article will show you how to focus your search for industry information and avoid, or at least reduce, that search stress.

A recent Roper Starch survey revealed some interesting web searching statistics:

• Over one-third of Internet users report that they spend more than 2 hours per week searching the Web for accurate information.

   

• 71 percent of Internet users get frustrated when searching the Internet for accurate information. On average, it takes about 12 minutes before a user gets frustrated when searching the Internet.

   

• 46 percent of users said uncovering the wrong information during an online search is frustrating.

   

• 86 percent of users feel that Web searching could be more efficient.

   

So what can you do to make those first 12 minutes the most productive?

You want trends, growth and forecast statistics and background on, let’s say, the dairy industry. Where should you start?

• Google - Our personal favorite search engine. First thing to do here is change the preferences to allow for 100 results per page. You will find the link to preferences to the right of the search box. Once there, scroll down to ‘number of results.’ Trust me, it’ll save you time. If you search for dairy industry trends (not in quotes) you get the following starting points:

  Recent Dairy Industry Trends - 4 year’s worth of informationInternational Dairy Foods Association - IDFA - Industry Facts Dairy Network - an industry resource Dairy Foods Magazine - the online version National Dairy Trends - a great PowerPoint presentation U.S. Dairy Industry at a Crossroad: Biotechnology and Policy Dairy Industry: Information on Milk Prices and Changing Market Structure, a 127-page report by the GAO from June 2001.

  And these results are all just from the first page!

   

• Association Central - Find the major associations for the industry. Type “dairy” (no quotes needed) in the search box and you will get 16 Power Profile and 98 Standard Profile results.

   

• Industry Portals - This is a great site to bookmark. Two useful sites for this search can be found here: DairyBiz - industry portal MooMilk - consumer site

   

• Trade Publications - Always a good source of information. To find the pertinent publications, try TradePub.com and type “dairy” (no quotes) in the search box. It takes you to a free subscription sign up for Dairy Today, a publication of the American Dairy Producers. A quick Google search for “Dairy Today” takes you to the AgWeb Dairy page with updated news and information. A great find.

  Or go to Google Trade Publications Directory (to get there go to Google, select Directory and then the following links in order: Business > Resources > News and Publications > Magazines > Trade) and look through the list. A shortcut we use to find what we’re looking for is the Find feature built into browsers (CTRL F). Type the word “dairy” (no quotes) in the search box. (Use this tip to find terms on web pages, too.) You’ll see Dairy Foods Magazine on the list.

   

• Hoovers is an incredible research tool. Not only can you search for specific company information, you can find industry profiles. Some sections are subscriber only, but much is free. To find industry information, click on Companies & Industries then click on Sector, and then choose Food, Beverage & Tobacco. You’ll find a listing for Dairy Products. Tabs at the top of the page let you search these dairy companies by Definition or SIC codes.

   

• Business.com is another good starting point. On the first page, you’ll see industry breakdowns. Click on Dairy under Agriculture. On the Dairy page, you’ll find links to all sorts of industry information.

   

By finding the most relevant and recent sources first, you save time and money starting your industry information search. Next steps? Explore the top 10-20 links you found. Remember that sources are important. Statistics from “some guy” may not be meaningful or reliable. Also remember that date of publication is vital. In today’s changing economy, information even one year old (except historical data) could be useless or misleading.

You will surely have some questions still. You can contact the trade associations and do article searches for published information. Or you can contact a professional researcher.

And your 12-minute window begins again.

By Wendy Goldman Scherer
Scherer Cybrarian is a secondary research firm, providing information and analysis to companies, investors and individuals. We find information and present it in a way to save our clients time and energy in the process, anything from industry profiles, competitive overviews and detailed information about companies to fact finding and statistical details. For more information or to discuss your information needs, call 443-535-0642 or send an email.

Related Links:

Google
Association Central
Industry Portals
TradePub.com
Google Trade Publications Directory
Hoovers
Business.com

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