Desk Research - invaluable, inexpensive and at your fingertips
March 2008
Peter Wills, CEO Snap Surveys
Desk Research used to be a misnomer, but no longer
In the early 90’s, critics were slamming the Internet as being unsuitable for surveys, and suggesting that using the Internet for desk research was of no use at all since the information was limited and typically out of date. The old adage was that if it had been useful, then there would have been a charge for it.
The last 10 to 15 years have seen the Internet dominate the survey world, and today, valuable Desk Research can be done quickly, easily and at low cost.
Technically, Desk Research is the term used for the identification and analysis of information that has already been compiled and published in some form. It is referred to as “secondary” research because the information already exists, as opposed to “primary” research which typically requires a survey to produce new data.
The label Desk Research is more appropriate than ever before
It is interesting that the label “Desk Research” is more appropriate now than when it was first used. Early Desk Research probably meant endless hours at libraries pouring through data that was housed there, and probably little time was spent at your own desk. Today, it has all changed and the starting point is the PC on your desk with an Internet browser loaded.
Use your favourite search engine, otherwise just use Google
The essence of any good Desk Research is to have access to a good search engine. While I could spend hours reviewing the merits of one search engine against another, the key is to use the search engine that you are most familiar with. As your searches become more sophisticated, you’ll need to use some of the advanced features of your search engine, so it may be best to stick to the one you know best.
If you have no favourites, then I can strongly recommend Google. It is the most dominant search engine on the market with a 57% market share in terms of usage and a 43% market share in terms of online marketing. Google was first developed in 1995 and arrived on the market in 1998 after Andy Bechtolsheim, one of the founders of Sun Microsystems, wrote them a cheque for $100,000 after a quick demo of a product they’d developed called BackRub. The rest is pretty much history and Google is now up there amongst the corporate giants of Microsoft, Sun and Oracle.
Google is perceived as a threat by all the major players in the industry, and it is no surprise that Microsoft has recently taken the step of trying to incorporate Yahoo into their empire to generate a real competitor to Google, a feat that they have been unable to do with their own offering, msn.com.
How to get the most out of your search engine
The primary function of a search engine is fairly straightforward to use – you type keywords into a search box and the software trawls its databases for the most appropriate links. On the surface, nothing could be simpler, but when you’re faced with a search that finds millions of entries on the web, you’ve a daunting task ahead if you’re to identify the information you require.
Would you rather look through 1,840,000 search engine entries or just 688?
The first step is to use the search engine with a little more sophistication. For example, type London Crime Statistics into Google and you’re faced with 1,840,000 entries, though generally the most relevant entries are listed first. However, you’ve collected every entry for “London” as well as “Crime” and “Statistics”. Simply put quotes around the entire entry of “London Crime Statistics” and the response is 688 of hopefully more relevant information.
Finding out the tricks of the trade can be difficult as the Online Help for most search engine packages is generally fairly limited. However, there are plenty of good books out there, with titles such as Google for Dummies, Yahoo for Dummies etc.
As you carry out your research, you’ll be viewing many pages on the web. When you do locate a relevant page, be sure to bookmark it for future reference. In Internet Explorer, the option is available within the menu option “Favorites”.
How up to date is the information?
With a move towards transparency, particularly at Government level, there is a huge quantity of information available on Government websites. A good source of information is the National Statistics office for the country in which you live. (In the UK, it’s the Office for National Statistics, accessible as www.statistics.gov.uk In the USA, it’s www.fedstats.gov/ and in Spain it’s www.ine.es ). Various themes are covered, from population to income, health and the environment. Crime statistics in the UK, for example, are available on that site but they do only relate to data from 2-3 years ago.
To gain access to more current information, seek out web sites that are specific to the geographical or market sector in which you are interested. There you may locate information that is perhaps only 2-3 months old.
By way of example, imagine that you were investigating vandalism and crime within your community; a survey might be a useful way of identifying current levels of crime. However, much of this information may already be available, and the results that you might find as part of your Desk Research might well help in making your own survey a little more targeted in terms of what questions you ask and the population that you are researching.
Try typing “Crime Statistics for the UK” into your search engine and you’ll locate websites for central government departments and the results, whilst detailed will typically be for the last complete year and therefore could easily refer to data that is at least 18 months old, due to the need to accumulate statistics from so many different sources. Also, it is unlikely that you’ll be able to produce statistics at a local level.
As an alternative, type “London Crime Statistics” into your search engine and you’ll locate the website for The Metropolitan Police that covers London www.met.police.uk/crimestatistics/ . Historical comparisons are immediately available showing data that is literally a few weeks old. Crimes are displayed for the last month by type, with comparisons for the same month last year. The same information is then presented for the last 3 months. Further down the page are crime statistics for each area within London, and that data can even be downloaded into Excel.
With that level of detailed information at hand, you are now in a better position to determine the level of crime in your area as opposed to other areas, and thereby generate a more targeted questionnaire of your own, should you feel the need to do so.
What about the traditional sources?
Using the Internet is certainly quick and easy but don’t ignore other sources of information. All cities have libraries and many of these have business sections, where they carry a wide range of useful documents. It is well worth a visit to your local library to check it out, and don’t be afraid to ask for help from the library staff. They are hugely knowledgeable and always like a challenge.
Most towns and cities have a Chamber of Commerce and these too can be useful sources of reference information. In the UK, Chambers of Commerce often have a Business Link section that cater for all types of requests from local businesses. In the US, their format can be slightly different and in smaller towns tends to be more of a trade association for local retailers. There is a website that is a directory for all Chambers worldwide and can be contacted at www.worldchambers.com.
Libraries within academic institutions are very valuable resources and generally have access to research reports worldwide. Access is generally restricted but if there’s any way you can make use of them, your research task will be made that much easier.
Most market sectors have trade associations and forums for those working within that sector. There’s a website that has a fairly comprehensive list of all these bodies and it can be found at www.taforum.org. Individual trade associations do have access to research reports about their industries, and these may be made available to you.
Finally, how about Researcher Agencies doing some Desk Research on their customers?
Research Agencies are often accused of not understanding the markets and issues for those sectors where they’re bidding for work. What better way to start understanding the market than to do some Desk Research in advance of the pitch. Most of the information they need is there at their fingertips, and a couple of hours research will undoubtedly pay dividends.
Why don’t research agencies do more of their own Desk Research?
A selection of useful websites for research
| www.publist.com | A database of over 150,000 magazine, journals, newsletters and other periodicals. A useful source of hard-to-find publications from across the worldwide, covering thousands of different topics. |
| www.marketresearch.com | A useful site containing thousands of market research reports for sale. Once you’ve registered, you can review the reports simply by entering a keyword or series of keywords. Each report has an abstract, but even more useful is the table of contents that shows not only all the chapters, but also the tables contained within the report. This will enable you to determine the depth to which the research has been undertaken. |
| www.eustatistics.gov.uk | Providing statistics for the 27 member states of the EU. Be careful when you do search for Eurostat via search engine as you may locate www.eurostat.com but this is a UK company offering advice on statistical software. |
| unstats.un.org | Compilation and dissemination of global statistical information for The United Nations. |
| www.kompass.co.uk | Kompass is a leading provider of locally collected business information for sales, marketing, procurement and research. The data is sourced from over 70 countries worldwide and can be made available in the form of directories, mailing lists, CDs and online. |