Nothing to fear

Editor’s note: Trudy Ann Brandenburg is senior market research analyst at Nationwide Insurance, Columbus, Ohio.

The beads of sweat form on your brow and begin to trickle down through your eyebrows as you listen to what your client needs. “How am I going to find this information?” you ask yourself. “They want this by next week and I don’t even know where to start.”

Not to worry. Doing secondary research is nothing to fear. If fact, it can be fun, like a treasure hunt. Gathering and summarizing secondary information can be done easily if you break it down into steps.

First, make sure you understand the exact information your client (whether it’s an internal or an external one) is seeking and understand the audience that the final report and information will ultimately be going to. If you don’t understand exactly what’s expected, go back and talk to the person requesting the information until you do understand his or her needs. Do not be embarrassed by asking what you may feel are stupid questions. You may appear stupid later if you don’t ask the questions up front! Take notes during the request and keep referring back to the original notes while you’re doing your research. You’ll be less likely to stray from the subject by continually focusing on the specific request.

Second, talk to other people. They may already know an answer you need or they may be able point you in the right direction.

Third, do a literature search for articles in newspapers, periodicals and trade magazines about your topic. You can do this online through most public libraries and it is normally free. All you need is a public library card. Contact your local library for more information. And do not forget to talk to a librarian about the information you’re looking for. They are often a forgotten jewel in our age of the Internet, but they are professional researchers that are friendly and willing to help.

Some other sites with free and reliable sources of information are Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com), Excite News (http://news.excite.com), www.prnewswire.com, and www.businesswire.com. Other sites include www.cnn.com and www.msnbc.com for up-to-date headlines and search features. Many local newspaper sites also offer free access and a searchable archive.

If you have account access to informational databases, such as Lexis-Nexis, Dialog, or Factiva, you can also use these powerful tools for article and company information searches. These are valuable resources, but they may not be available to you because of required contractual agreements and costs.

Articles contain valuable information and may include Web sites and quotes from reports that may have been written on your topic. Many times information is provided about how to get additional reports. Articles also contain contact names for companies. Professors and associations are also often listed that you may find helpful for more information. The reporter’s or author’s name is normally listed in the article containing contact information. These people can often help you with your project. I have discovered that research and educational professionals are extremely open to providing help.

Although the Internet is one of the most valuable tools in research today, it can be cumbersome if you don’t know exactly where to go. You can search for days, and even though the information may be available on the Internet, you may never find it. Having a specific URL may be helpful to cut down on your surf time on the Internet. Magazines and books written like telephone directories listing specific URLs are also available at local libraries or can be purchased at book stores.

If you’re researching for information on a specific company, begin at the company’s Web page, but don’t use company Web site information alone. Remember, they will be less likely to post any negative information on their Web site.

If you don’t know a company’s Web address, then do a search using a browser, look it up on a browser or simply guess. Most company URLs are (the company name).com.

Don’t get so caught up in finding information that you run out of time to read what you’ve found and write your report. Secondary research can lead you down many twists and turns, but you have to set a “stop researching” deadline. Accept the fact that you will never find everything about your topic.

After you’ve collected as much information as possible, read through it, highlighting specific text you will need. As you read, various trends will emerge and help you begin forming the idea for the layout of your report. Make notes in the margins and use Post-it Flags and Post-it Notes. Hang these off the side of your paper to label your information for the appropriate report sections. This will make writing your summary report much easier.

If you’ve done a large amount of research and are unable to find the requested information, be honest and tell the client as early as possible. If a report is still required, state why you were unable to find the information. Don’t pad your report with superfluous findings. Glossing over the specific questions with a large quantity of data rather than quality information will get you and your client nowhere. Sometimes, secondary information is simply not available, especially if you are researching privately owned companies. It is up to you, the researcher, to help your client understand this.

Write your summary report in sections, state the specific question or parts of the question you are answering as your report headers. Always date your report and always, always, always source your information. Keep a copy of all the information you used in the report in a binder, sectioned the same way that your report was written. Make sure you put your contact information on the report in case someone needs the full text of an article or more information.

When typing your report, make sure it is grammatically correct, easy on the eye, and easy to understand. Use graphics, but not too many. Technical reports with cutesy graphics may degrade the value of the report. Graphs and charts may make some information easier to understand while making other information more confusing. Mainly, know the audience that will be reading the report and write for their preference.

Include an executive summary and finish your presentation with a catchy, but not busy, cover. Make sure you have other pairs of eyes look over your report before you give it to your client.

Lastly, give your report to your client with confidence, knowing that you have done your best work. Ask for their honest feedback. This will only help you conduct better secondary research, improve your report writing, and enhance your skills, services, confidence, and possibly even your income!