Searchers Academy workshop presentation - Internet Librarian 2013

1. Cost-Effective Searching:
Online strategies & practices to get the most
for your search dollar and your time
Searchers Academy
Marcy Phelps
Phelps Research
www.PhelpsResearch.com
1

2. Presentation links
phelpsresearch.com/speaking
Slideshare.net/marcyphelps
Twitter:
#InternetLibrarian
@marcyphelps
www.PhelpsResearch.com
2

3. What’s cost-effective?
COST-EFFECTIVE ≠ FREE
TIME = MONEY
www.PhelpsResearch.com
3

4. Value
Strategy
and
Resources
Time +
Expense
www.PhelpsResearch.com
4

5. Be
Prepared!
www.PhelpsResearch.com
5

6. Take control
Reference/client interview
Ongoing communication w/client
www.PhelpsResearch.com
6

7. Manage expectations
Narrow scope
Phase project
Pilot project
www.PhelpsResearch.com
7

8. Set your budget and stick to it!
www.PhelpsResearch.com
8

9. SEARCHING ON A BUDGET
www.PhelpsResearch.com
9

10. Make Google your friend
site:
filetype:
Autocomplete
Country-specific
Images
Practice for database searching
www.PhelpsResearch.com
10

11. “your topic” (“market research” OR
“research report” OR “market study”)
“your topic” (forecast OR trends OR
outlook OR statistics)
“person’s name” (bio OR biography OR
resume OR CV)
www.PhelpsResearch.com
11

12. Know when to pick up the phone
www.PhelpsResearch.com
12

13. “Only human sources can provide
commentary, opinion, feelings, intuition,
emotions, and commitment.”
-- Dr. Ben Gilad
www.PhelpsResearch.com
13

14. Use appropriate
free alternatives
What’s your area of
expertise?
Who are your clients?
How specialized is the
request?
What’s your time
frame?
www.PhelpsResearch.com
14

15. Government databases
USPTO.gov
General patent info for researching
competitors/markets
ERIC - Education Resource Information
Center (www.eric.ed.gov)
Education + psychology sociology, group
dynamics, and other topics
#IL2011
15

16. National Library of Medicine
nlm.nih.gov
PubMed
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
TOXMAP – environmental health mapped
toxmap.nlm.nih.gov
National Network of Libraries of Medicine
nnlm.gov
www.PhelpsResearch.com
16

17. USA.gov
Search or use specialized portals:
Data and Statistics
usa.gov/Topics/Reference-Shelf/Data.shtml
U.S. Government Information, by Topic
usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/All-Topics.shtml
www.PhelpsResearch.com
17

18. A .gov for any topic
Directory of U.S. Govt. Portals
snipurl.com/256np9
Also includes:
Portals for government employees
Spanish-language portals
2 portals that don’t exist anymore
www.PhelpsResearch.com
18

19. Scirus.com “Scirus is set to retire in early
2014”
Journal content, scientists’ home pages,
courseware, pre-prints, institutions, patents
The Public Library of Law (www.plol.org)
Case law, statutes, regulations, court rules,
constitutions, legal forms
19

20. MarketsAndMarkets: Press Releases
http://snipurl.com/27vnybn
Press releases & summaries of reports
Snippets of data about market size,
shipments, projections, new technologies,
key companies and more
www.PhelpsResearch.com
20

21. Reportlinker.com
Search for 1.2 million public documents
covering 450 industries, 220 countries
Market research reports, business news
articles
1990s – present
Also try
ReportBuyer.com
Market Research Library (snipurl.com/254de7f)
www.PhelpsResearch.com
21

22. bizologie: Free Research Reports
http://snipurl.com/253p0aq
KnowThis.com: Secondary Research - Low
Cost Sources
http://snipurl.com/27vo00f
MarketingCharts.com
www.PhelpsResearch.com
22

23. Know when to pay
 Specialized content
 Variety of formats
 Authoritative sources
 Customer service
 Pro search tools
 Copyright compliance
 Search multiple
 Added
sources
analysis/opinions
www.PhelpsResearch.com
23

24. Transactional pricing
Short-term subscriptions
Free trials
AIIP & other association discounts
www.PhelpsResearch.com
24

25. Low-cost options
Moody’s Analytics: Economy.com
First Research Industry Reports
http://snipurl.com/256skj
Claritas Marketplace
http://snipurl.com/256sak
Demographic reports/good for local areas
Call account rep!
www.PhelpsResearch.com
25

26. Alacra Store
www.alacrastore.com
100 million+ reports, company snapshots,
market profiles
From 120+ premium business information
sources
Pay per document
www.PhelpsResearch.com
26

27. NewsLibrary.com
Per article, monthly & annual subscriptions
APA PsycNET
snipurl.com/25cw9d
Search PsycARTICLES and PsycBOOKS free;
purchase articles or book chapters.
Purchase a 24-hour pass to search PsycINFO,
PsycEXTRA, and PsycCRITIQUES; downloads
free
Skyminder.com
www.PhelpsResearch.com
27

28. TIME-SAVERS
www.PhelpsResearch.com
28

29. Create a report toolkit
Templates – Word, PP
Word Styles
Chart gallery
Map gallery
Branded!
www.PhelpsResearch.com
29

30. Formatted results
World Bank eAtlas of Global Development
http://snipurl.com/xskgi
Maps/graphs for more than 175 thematicallyorganized indicators for > 200 countries
Data Visualization Gallery
http://census.gov/dataviz
Federal IT Dashboard
https://www.itdashboard.gov/
www.PhelpsResearch.com
30

31. American FactFinder
http://factfinder2.census.gov
Mapped U.S. demographic data from
Decennial Census, American Community
Survey, & other Census Bureau products
www.PhelpsResearch.com
31

32. Map it yourself
BatchGeo.com
Paste list of addresses
www.PhelpsResearch.com
32

33. Evernote.com
Save search results, emails, Twitter
messages
Search/share saved notes
Use on all devices
www.PhelpsResearch.com
33

34. It’s all about balance
Combine strategy and
tools that match your
expertise/time/project
Always balance time
costs vs. search costs
www.PhelpsResearch.com
34