Getting Started on Your Information Strategy

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It should come as no surprise that the first of the “Research Skills” we will discuss is the one about how to effectively conduct a search. Unless you have been handed the exact URL for an online document or you know right where a book is on a shelf, you will need to conduct a search in a database to find where useful information might be found.

Searching usually involves goal-directed and highly targeted information strategies using well-established sources of information found in many types of information spaces – libraries, databases, public records repositories, and so forth. When we talk about the specific kinds of research skills related to locating certain kinds of information (public records, surveys, information about individuals or companies, etc.) you will need to have the ability to:

Getting Started on Your Information Strategy

In the section on Question Analysis we worked on developing a list of information tasks that you must undertake to get the information needed for your message assignment. These tasks and the questions that must be answered are crucial at the start of your information strategy.

Searching will be your first step to completing most information tasks. Whether your task is to find a quick fact (What does the W in George W Bush stand for?), a particular public record (I need the 10-K reports for our three main competitors), to get ideas or background (What kind of coverage has there been on digital wallets?), audience data (What is the demographic profile of people who buy energy drinks?), or a well-documented government statistic (What is the population of Duluth?), searching will be required.

There are a number of things that stand in the way of finding good information when you start your strategy:

Developing your search skills and knowledge of how and where searching is done online will help you address each of these issues.