57 The Professional Search - Searching as Industry (Information Research)
Description
This article is from the Information Research FAQ, by David Novak david@spireproject.com with numerous contributions by others.
57 The Professional Search - Searching as Industry (Information Research)
Professional research demands a more effective, timely use of resources
at hand. It is challenging, and it is an occupation.
Unlike research undertaken for your own needs, professional researchers
often know little about the topic they are asked to investigate. We may
not know the phrases which accurately describe a specific concept, we
sometimes don't recognize gold if its labeled copper, but we have to do
everything fast - lest the cost escalate above the expectation of the
client.
Client? Yes, professional research starts with the client.
Professional research involves far less book and library work, and far
more interviewing, database access and online article purchasing. When
money is involved, time becomes very precious. The first luxury lost:
the luxury to get to know the topic in leisurely detail.
Instead, professional research starts with a careful description of
exactly what information is desired (and why). You must quickly build a
good plan about who you will ask and where you will look. This is,
after all, your primary skill others have great difficulty in
duplicating - traversing the information sphere swiftly and skillfully.
Many researchers today can search databases. Most researchers are
familiar with library work. Personal research has the added benefit of
being part of the learning process. So why reach for a professional?
The first unique skill we must refine is our knowledge of the research
tools. Computer databases may be easily accessible, but are not easy to
search. Interviewing is conceptually simple, but is not simple in
practice. Each aspect of research can and must be refined.
The second unique skill: interpretation. Working with information
frequently allows us to better judge the reliability and bias of the
information we retrieve.
Most information you find will be tainted. Secondary expertise almost
always present information in a biased way. You will counter this bias
both by being aware of the bias and by interviewing someone with a
different view. An inventor proclaims a devise in near completion - do
we believe? Obviously it requires further study. This is often lost on
amateur researchers - by collecting information from a variety of
different resources, with a range of bias, we can create a superior
assessment of the value of each item of information. Research based
solely on government research, no matter how well done, is
unprofessional.
The third unique skill is speed. We must be able to provide research as
a service, as a business, quickly. This goes beyond research to the
banal work of copyright and legal protection, selecting effective
research tools, finding fast expertise to supplement your own.
The skills of professional research are like the artist. They take a
lifetime to learn. The work is just business.
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