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Title:
Super Searchers Go To The Source
Review:
The latest offering from the Super Searchers series, this book aims to
illustrate that by going straight to the source, serious researchers
can gain very valuable information, which just isn't available from
secondary, published sources.
Going straight to the source involves telephone research, face-to-face
interviewing, direct observation and checking public records. Primary
research skills don't seem to be taught much and many people are
scared of using them because they haven't had much practice. The
benefits, however, can be extremely worthwhile. A telephone interview
could confirm a market trend or a company strategy or a face-to-face
interview might give you that extra piece of information that makes
your research stand out from the crowd.
This book is invaluable for researchers needing to learn more about
the different primary research techniques. It's broadly divided into
four sections covering primary research, interview skills, competitive
intelligence, private investigation and public records, and primary
research for journalists. Each of the twelve chapters takes the form
of an interview between Risa Sacks and a practitioner, which makes for
really easy reading and absorption of the material - it's just like
sitting in on a conversation. The practitioners have an interesting
mix of backgrounds and practice in a wide range of environments, so
there's an incredible amount of experience captured in the book.
You'll pick up tips and tricks from a freelance health-care futurist,
a self-employed private investigator, a competitive intelligence
specialist, a researcher in a large corporation, a telephone
researcher and a New York Times reporter. For example, when asked if
she uses discussion groups or email lists, Robyn Yarmovsky responds
that she keeps tabs on Buslib-L, Web4Lib and the Free Pint Bar!
Key take-aways are summarized at the end of each interview, there's a
useful appendix of referenced sites and sources and the book has a
comprehensive index - all of which help make the book a useful
reference tool to have to hand.
One point to note is that the book is very US-oriented. All but two
of the twelve practitioners are based in the States and their
experiences reflect their location. So if you are based in another
country, it is very likely that some of the techniques recommended
won't work, due to cultural differences. This is emphasised in the
interview with Andrew Pollard, a UK-based competitor intelligence
practitioner, who comments, "The American culture is much more open
and willing to talk. Not in all cases, but you can get much more
information from the phone ... It's much more difficult on the
Continent. They will want to know who you are, where you come from,
why you want to know and more. They won't talk much, in fact, they'll
often put the phone down." And he continues, "No company that wants
to get information out of a French national should ever use anything
other than a French national."
The interviews with practitioners using public records as primary
sources are also of limited use to researchers based outside the
United States, primarily because of unfamiliarity with the sources
mentioned, but also because public records resources differ greatly
from country to country.
Despite it's US bias, this book is still worth reading if you want to
increase your knowledge of interviewing techniques and discover how
going straight to the source can improve your research results. It
opens your mind to thinking about the benefits of primary research and
makes you wonder why the subject isn't given more prominence on
library and information management courses today.
Free Pint Reviewer:
Helen Clegg is Market Analyst with R.R. Donnelley Europe in Amsterdam.
She holds a B.A. Honours in French & German and an M.Sc. in Library
and Information Studies. Helen is a frequent contributor to Free Pint
and has also written for the US Online magazine. Helen can be
contacted at <Helen.Clegg@rrd.com>.
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