Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!boulder!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!newshub.sdsu.edu!news.sgi.com!enews.sgi.com!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.uwa.edu.au!news.waia.asn.au!203.27.235.2.MISMATCH!centipede.wantree.com.au!news.iinet.net.au!not-for-mail From: david@cn.net.au (David Novak) Newsgroups: alt.internet.research,sci.research,alt.answers,sci.answers,news.answers Subject: Information Research FAQ v.3.8 (Part 8/9) Followup-To: poster Date: 22 August 1999 00:00:00 GMT Organization: iiNet Limited Lines: 810 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Message-ID: <7pthd7$2hl$8@news.iinet.net.au> NNTP-Posting-Host: reggae-09-31.nv.iinet.net.au Summary: Information Research FAQ: Resources, Tools & Training Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu sci.research:19229 alt.answers:44115 sci.answers:10561 news.answers:165729 Archive-name: internet/info-research-faq/part8 Posting-Frequency: monthly Last-modified: August 22 1999 URL: http://cn.net.au Copyright: (c) 1999 David Novak Maintainer: David Novak Information Research FAQ (Part 8/9) This section of the FAQ contains a collection of heavily researched articles prepared by an information professional and converted from html. These articles are better in html, so consider visiting the spire project (http://cn.net.au) or downloading the website zipped up as free shareware (http://cn.net.au/spire.htm). If you have suggestions, leads or corrections, please inform David (david@cn.net.au) Note also the disclaimer statements on Part 1 of this FAQ. Contents ----- Part 8 ----- 26. Information Research: Software & IT Research 27. Information Research: Researching Research 28. Information Research: Research as a Discipline 30. Information Research: Research Tools & Software 31. Information Research: The Information Market ___________________________________________________ 26. Information Research: Software and IT Research From the Spire Project (cn.net.au) http://cn.net.au/computer.html These research tools only pertain to the field of computer studies. Other, more general sources like article or book searches may be useful, but this article is specific to software and IT. ---------- Internet Resources ---------- Software Archives One of the fixtures of computer studies are the large archives of computer software. In some cases, like CPAN[1] and Perl programming, these archives are integral to distributing advances in programming. SimTel Software Archives archives Windows, Dos, and other software. Here is the primary site[2] and a list of mirror sites further down the same page. Winsite is a large archive for windows software. See their Winsite mirror list[3], but don't overlook their search function[4] on the winsite website. Tucows[5], is a small but precise archive of Internet software. ShareWare Lists and Search Engines If you need a more detailed search for software, start with the Virtual Software Library (VSL), available through shareware.com, with its power search option[6]. The ASP also has the definitive listing of shareware archives and sites (with a short description). An alternative source of competitive information would be the Association of Shareware Professionals[7] (ASP), is strong in organizing and reporting on Shareware. There is a directory of shareware delivered through the Simtel archive (mirrored everywhere[8], but here in the US[9]) Look in the directory msdos/info and look for: asp804.zip [Oct 30 20:00] 382k and the updates any update files: aspdat71.zip [Jan 30 13:32] 61k. If you can find an updated version of this directory, please inform us. RFC and FYI Archive The "Request for Comment" (RFC) and "For Your Information" (FYI) documents have a central role in the development of new standards in the computing field. This archive by Ohio State University, Computer & Information Science site, has a fine arrangement of the RFC and FYI[10] documents. Archie Archie is one of the oldest search engines constructed. Essentially it is a database of ftp addresses to files found in ftp archives. As unix allows for long file names, you may locate information about a topic without necessarily knowing a specific file name. Ask Archie for a list of sites with files (or directories) matching your search word. A few words of advice: keep the words small, think of alternative spelling, and try to have the name of an existing program first. New Simple Query[11] New Advanced Query[12] Also consider the emailing your request to archie@plaza.aarnet.edu.au Archie records are also slightly different depending on which archie service you visit. Consider visiting this archive server[13] at the University College Cork. This WWPing Form Page[14] holds a script for dns or http pings ---------- Commercial Resources ---------- Commercial Databases Newsbytes[15] is a newswire solely on computer topics, computer, telecom and online world. Their websites includes a trial search[16] engine and a description[17]. Computer Select - commercial database of text from computer magazines. Computer Database Plus, by Ziff-Davis is another large computer database. MicroComputer Abstracts, by Learned Information, includes abstracts from 75+ computer publications. Further descriptions are available from FirstSearch[18] and Dialog[19]. There are a small collection of full text databases available too. Consider CMP Computer Fulltext, by CMP Media, for about 2 dozen periodicals (see further descriptions by Dialog[20]), or Computer News Fulltext (further description on Dialog[21]). Information Access Company produces the IAC Computer Database, a mixed fulltext & abstract database to 75+ periodicals. Further description can be found on Dialog[22] or Datastar[23]. Further commercial databases focus on software programs, including MicroComputer Software Guide Online (further description on Dialog[24]) and Softbase (further description by Dialog[25] or Datastar[26]). ---------- Conclusions ---------- For the longest time, the computer industry has led the way in effective use of the Internet. It is perhaps the one true way to predict the changes the Internet will have on the rest of our society. Many of these online resources are more current, authoritative and useful than alternative formats. Also consider, Computer newsgroups, Guidebooks, Link to FAQ archive, Computer Books, and CD-rom directories like "CD-roms in print". This article comes from The Spire Project, a site devoted to information research. Advice welcome : email david@cn.net.au (c)Copyright Community Networking. (http://cn.net.au) --- footnotes for the above article --- [1] http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/CPAN [2] http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net [3] http://www.winsite.com/about/mirrors.html [4] http://www.winsite.com/search [5] http://www.tucows.com [6] http://shareware.com/code/engine/Power [7] http://www.asp-shareware.org [8] http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net/mirrors.html [9] ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/info [10] http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/information/rfc.html [11] http://archie.au/archie.html [12] http://archie.au/archie-adv.html [13] http://www.ucc.ie/cgi-bin/archie [14] http://js.stir.ac.uk/jsbin/jsii [15] http://www.newsbytes.com [16] http://www.newsbytes.com/search.html [17] http://www.newsbytes.com/about/index.html [18] http://www.oclc.org/oclc/man/6928fsdb/microcompabs.htm [19] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0233.html#AB [20] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0647.html#AB [21] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0674.html#AB [22] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0275.html#AB [23] http://ds.datastarweb.com/ds/products/datastar/sheets/cmpt.htm [24] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0278.html#AB [25] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0256.html#AB [26] http://ds.datastarweb.com/ds/products/datastar/sheets/soft.htm ___________________________________________________ 27. Information Research: Researching Research From the Spire Project (cn.net.au) http://cn.net.au/research.html Finding the research of others can be difficult. Publicizing research work is not a primary focus of most researchers. Consequently searching for evidence is difficult, and may include searching for patents, newspaper clips, article, theses and other sources which may describe research. A collection of specialty government research databases have arisen to create a uniform portal to certain research information. Some are free online. There are also directories to research centers to consider. ---------- Internet Resources ---------- Governmental Research Databases CRIS, (Current Research Information System) is produced by the US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) and includes Canadian, USDA, and Czech agriculture, food and forestry research. Projects sponsored by these or affiliated agencies are included. Further descriptions can be found from Dialog[1] and from the USDA website[2]. Access is free on the net[3]. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) publishes The DOE Information Bridge[4], a database with full-text and bibliographic records ofDOE-sponsored research and development. Covers research projects in energy sciences and technology. Further description can be found on their website[5]. Cordis is a free online database of European Research Developments by the EC. Australia's CSIRO Research Programs and Project[6] on the web. The Community of Science Inc. (www.cos.org[7]) maintains the Funded Research Database. This is a free online database of US government funded research. Work by the Small Business, Medical, Science, Agriculture and more are bundled here. Start here[8]. Keep in mind COS is not the source of this information, but does present it online as a free searchable database. If you want to search the free patent databases, see our Patent Research[9] article. ---------- Library Resources ---------- Research Centers Instead of directly seeking evidence of specific research projects, an alternative is to seek a research center with an established reputation in researching a particular field. The Research Centers and Services Directory is a directory of 26,000+ Research Centres Internationally. Unfortunately, this directory is a self-assessment of research capability and not specific current research descriptions. Further descriptions courtesy of Dialog[10]. Large libraries may subscribe, so search for the specific titles: Research Centers Directory, Research Services Directory, Government Research Directory (all US & Canada) and the International Research Centers Directory (world but not US & Canada). An alternative is the Longman Research Centers directory. Further description courtesy of EINS[11]. Universities are frequent sites for research centers and while all universities publish some information on the Internet, the real information is presented in their annual report. (Archives of state annual reports are available at state libraries.) ---------- Commercial Resources ---------- Commercial Resources Many of the more important Commercial Databases are directly related to the Library Resources National Technical Information Service (NTIS). Further descriptions can be found from EINS[12], OVID[13], OVID FieldGuide[14], Dialog[15], Datastar[16], SilverPlatter[17]. Commercial Databases JICST is the Japanese technical and science. Further description from Dialog[18] and Datastar[19]. In Canada, there is the Canadian Research Index courtesy of SilverPlatter[20]. Additional national research databases do exist for other countries including Italy and Germany, but you will need the assistance of the Gale Directory of Databases (description[21]) for further directions. A varied collection of Australian databases follows: Australian Rural Research in Progress, a Commercial Database by CSIRO, Australia. CSIRO Index, 70,000+ citations to publications from CSIRO-sponsored projects - bibliographic and a long standing database. Available on Ozline. The Australian Energy Research in Progress(1986 - 92) is a database directory and fulltext description of R&D in energy and demo projects. 1986 to 1992 on Ozline. The Australian Education Index (1978+), cites with some abstracts, Australian work in education. ---------- Conclusions ---------- Once through these resources, you need to again consider the patent search, the news search, and the article search. These searches may often be easier and will illuminate research not found in the above resources. Try the very-large news databases in particular for their very wide coverage, and search the free patent databases if only because they are quick and free. This article comes from The Spire Project, a site devoted to information research. Advice welcome : email david@cn.net.au (c)Copyright Community Networking. (http://cn.net.au) --- footnotes for the above article --- [1] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0060.html#AB [2] http://cristel.nal.usda.gov:8080/star/guide/cris-00.htm [3] http://cristel.nal.usda.gov:8080 [4] http://www.doe.gov/bridge [5] http://www.doe.gov/bridge/home.html [6] http://www.csiro.au/csiro/csirores.htm [7] http://www.cos.org [8] http://fundedresearch.cos.com [9] http://cn.net.au/patents.htm [10] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0115.html#AB [11] http://www.eins.org/databases/102.html [12] http://www.eins.org/databases/6.html [13] http://www.ovid.com/db/databses/ntis.htm [14] http://www.ovid.com/dochome/fldguide/ntisdb.htm [15] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0006.html [16] http://ds.datastarweb.com/ds/products/datastar/sheets/ntis.htm [17] http://www.silverplatter.com/catalog/ntis.htm [18] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0094.html#AB [19] http://ds.datastarweb.com/ds/products/datastar/sheets/jist.htm [20] http://www.silverplatter.com/catalog/crin.htm [21] http://cn.net.au/database.htm#2 ___________________________________________________ 28. Information Research: Research as a Discipline From the Spire Project (cn.net.au) http://cn.net.au/disciple.html As we consolidate information for effective research, we venture here to sources primarily for information brokers. As a profession, researchers have diverse skills and needs, but constantly working with information, in a competitive market, professional information seekers are often starved for high quality information about new research techniques, skills and sources. This article covers resources too technical or time-intensive for occasional researchers. ---------- Internet Resources ---------- Special Interest Groups Researchers are particularly in need of contact with other researchers. Associations and discussion groups are important for this. Information Professionals Network[1] (IPN) hosts InfoPro-l, the mailing list for active information brokers to subscribe to. IT APPEARS TO BE DOWN! (Aug '99) The next best is Buslib-l (business librarians list), which has a bit too much traffic for most of us. See also the small developing Buslib archive: Best of Buslib-l[2] and searching instructions[3] (not downloadable in bulk). The Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP[4]), and associations like the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP[5]) also bring members together. Events and Functions Considerable contact and exchange of information occurs at the conferences. Certainly this is a fine time to see the commercial organizations display their wares. The Journal, Online & CDROM Review has a very good directory of up and coming events for this industry. ---------- Library Resources ---------- Research Education The Intelligence Cycle[6], courtesy of the CIA library. This is a single-page summary of the research process. The Information Broker's Handbook by Sue Rugge and Alfred Glossbrenner, McGraw-Hill. Third Edition (1997) This is a must-read for those interested in the business side of information research. Secrets of the Super Searchers by Reva Basch. Unfortunately a 1993 book, but unique as a look into the field of information brokers. Published by Eight Bit Books. (dewey 025.524 BAS) Online is a good bi-monthly magazine for information brokers. (dewey 025.04). Their website[7] includes samples. There are other interesting periodicals. This page[8] has a list and description of periodicals by Information Today Inc. including Information Today, Information World Review, and Searcher. The contents pages[9] for Information Today, a monthly, newsy, review of the information industry, are online. Information World Report is another impressive publication, but no longer has a website. BUBL[10] keeps a good collection of Library and Information Science Periodicals, though most of them are not linked to online periodicals, but rather to contents pages or abstracts. Library Sciences When you are searching on the Internet, the words Library Science, Information Research and Information Brokers are useful. Recently there have been a number of emerging websites, though still poor when compared to industry trade journals. LIBRES[11]: Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal is a bi-annual scholarly journal. Information Research[12] is a little more frequent. The Universities at Albany Libraries have a really good "Information and Library Science[13]" webpage. There are three reports you may find interesting: Preserving Digital Information[14]: Report of the Task force on Archiving of Digital Information, Librarians and Publishers in the Scholarly Information Process[15]: Transformation in the Electronic Age, and the far more recent The Emerging Digital Economy [16]by the US Department of Commerce. A long list of similar reports can be found listed in Digital Libraries: Resources and Projects[17] by the International Federation of Library Associationsand Institutions (IFLA). ---------- Commercial Resources ---------- Commercial Databases LISA, the Library and Information Science Abstracts, is a useful commercial database to Library sources. For a description, see Dialog[18], SilverPlatter[19]. Library and Research topics are also covered by other databases like Information Science Abstracts (for a description, see SilverPlatter[20] or Dialog[21]), or Library Literature (see Dialog[22], SilverPlatter[23] or FirstSearch[24]. Research Directories This site keeps a fine World List of Departments and Schools of Information Studies. The spire project has an average list to firms in the Information Industry. See the Information Industry Directory[25]. 1995/96 Burwell World Directory of Information Brokers, provides contact details and descriptions to 1700+ organizations worldwide. Edited by Helen P. Burwell and Carolyn N. Hill and available for about US$100. See their promotional webpage[26]. The Information Professionals Network[1] (IPN) membership list is searchable once you are a member. Their mailing list[27] is dominated by requests for help in certain regions, leads and current events. There are also large directories like the Information Industry Directory (Gale Research) which attempt to list every information business in the world. These directories are useful if you have a name, but difficult if you are looking for products. ECHO has a database called I'M Guide which is really a directory of the European Information Industry. Yes, this is a telnet session, and can be painfully slow. Connect, type 'ECHO' as the password at the first prompt, then 1 for English, the 2 for the I'M GUIDE (database). Search with their Common Command Language (CCL). Start with 'Find ' then 'Show' to retrieve your results. For more, read the pdf manual on CCL[28]. ---------- Strategy ---------- Professional research demands a more effective, timely use of resources at hand. It is challenging, and it is an occupation. Unlike research for yourself, professional researchers often know little about the topic we 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. ---------- Conclusions ---------- Library work and the Internet should mix well. Like the computer field, there is opportunity and need for online communities and systems to exchange information. Two notable examples of this would be Buslib-l and InfoPro. Both mailing lists field numerous notices and calls for assistance. Expect this field to flourish as Libraries migrate further to the Internet. This article comes from The Spire Project, a site devoted to information research. Advice welcome : email david@cn.net.au (c)Copyright Community Networking. (http://cn.net.au) --- footnotes for the above article --- [1] http://www.ipn.net [2] http://www.montague.com/review/buslibbest.html [3] http://www.montague.com/review/howto.html [4] http://www.aiip.org [5] http://www.scip.org [6] http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/facttell/intcycle.htm [7] http://www.onlineinc.com/onlinemag [8] http://www.infotoday.com/catalog/period.htm [9] http://www.infotoday.com/it/itnew.htm [10] http://bubl.ac.uk [11] http://aztec.lib.utk.edu/libres [12] http://www.shef.ac.uk/~is/publications/infres/ircont.html [13] http://www.albany.edu/library/virtual/subject/infosci.htm [14] http://www.rlg.org/ArchTF [15] http://arl.cni.org/clr/Frontmatter.html [16] http://www.ecommerce.gov/emerging.htm [17] http://www.ifla.org/II/diglib.htm [18] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0061.html [19] http://www.silverplatter.com/catalog/lisa.htm [20] http://www.silverplatter.com/catalog/isab.htm [21] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0202.html [22] http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0438.html [23] http://www.silverplatter.com/catalog/will.htm [24] http://www.oclc.org/oclc/man/6928fsdb/librarylit.htm [25] http://cn.net.au/iid.htm [26] http://www.infotoday.com/catalog/direct.htm [27] http://www.ipn.net/infopro.htm [28] http://www2.echo.lu/echo/ccl/en/ccl.html ___________________________________________________ 30. Information Research: Research Tools and Software From the Spire Project (cn.net.au) http://cn.net.au/tools.html Research can be expedited if you have the right tools. Our tool list includes a script to present webpages with footnoted links, a multi-document search program, free offline & online dictionaries and thesaurus, citation guides for electronic sources, the freeware .zip program, and services which alert you to changes in webpages. Footnote.pl This footnote perl script retrieves a file off the Internet, then re-displays links as footnotes on the bottom of the page. I expect you will use this to print webpages in a way to retain the linking information. [1] Please organize webpage http:// as text with footnotes, as html with footnotes. I have not, as yet, perfected the printing of non-ascii text elements (when requested as a text document), and have only estimated the arrangement of centered text in the text format. WinGrep - Search Multiple Documents WinGrep is a very simple and effective windows shareware program. It assists you to search a range of documents for the occurrence of certain text. This works really well for searching a directory of past documents kept in a directory. Works like a brute force archive. Opera - the superior web browser Just because Netscape and Microsoft want to give you a web-browser does not make them particularly research friendly. Opera is a better web-browser: leaner, faster, better organized. For example, we can turn on and off pictures easily. It also crashes less and handles multiple windows better. Released as Trialware, download Opera from your nearest Tucows Internet software archive or from operasoftware.com[2]. Freeware Thesaurus/Dictionary wordweb.zip, freeware[3], is a 4 Mbyte Thesaurus and Dictionary File. I have not used it, but Matthew indicates it certainly has a few features (antonyms, holonyms, hypernyms, hyponyms, and synonyms, along with a dictionary). Alternatively, thanks to the ARTFL Project, we have Roget's Thesaurus[4], Webster's Revised[5] Unabridged Dictionary, and the Websters 1913 Edition as a file[6] from the Gutenburg project. Lastly, Robert Beard from Bucknell University, has a definitive site for dictionaries[7] in many languages. Citation Guides REFERENCING GUIDE[8], thank to the Office of Research & Development - Edith Cowan Uni. Australia. Electronic Sources: APA Style of Citation[9] thanks to the University of Vermont. MLA-Style Citations of Electronic Sources[10] thanks to the University of South Florida For further citation guides, see this site[11] thanks to the University of Memphis, or this site[12] by Nancy Crane & Li Xiu. Zip - Freeware zip software Zip and UnZip[13] are freeware - very handy. Zip archiving comes from many programs, but I did not expect a freeware solution. Also available via ftp[14], and mirrored elsewhere[15]. Url_Minder The Url_Minder is a free service to inform you of changes to a website, but at the cost of occasional email advertising. Read more[16] about this service. This article comes from The Spire Project, a site devoted to information research. Advice welcome : email david@cn.net.au (c)Copyright Community Networking. (http://cn.net.au) --- footnotes for the above article --- [1] http://cn.net.au/note02.htm [2] http://operasoftware.com [3] http://www.netword.demon.co.uk/wweb/index.html [4] http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/ROGET.html [5] http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/webster.form.html [6] http://www-cgi.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/book/search?title=webster%27s+diction ary&tmode=words [7] http://www.bucknell.edu/~rbeard/diction.html [8] http://www.cowan.edu.au/ecuwis/docs/admin/refguide/refguide.html [9] http://www.uvm.edu/~xli/reference/apa.html [10] http://www.cas.usf.edu/english/walker/mla.html [11] http://www.lib.memphis.edu/gpo/citeweb.htm [12] http://www.uvm.edu/~ncrane/estyles [13] http://www.cdrom.com/pub/infozip [14] ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/infozip [15] http://quest.jpl.nasa.gov/Info-ZIP [16] http://minder.netmind.com ___________________________________________________ 31. Information Research: The Information Market From the Spire Project (cn.net.au) http://cn.net.au/i_market.html Beyond the large commercial database retail giants, there are vast arrays of businesses seeking to help you accomplish world-class research. Little information about these businesses leak beyond the industry. For clarity, I have divided these organizations into two streams... Products and Services of primary interest to information brokers and libraries, in the Research as a Discipline[1] article. Products and Services intended for consumers appear here. Commercial Database Retailers These organizations devote their effort at bringing commercial database information to individuals. Dialog, Datastar, Infomart, Lexis-Nexis and others will assist you to access information only available through commercial databases. Our article, Commercial Databases[2] will link you to the information you need. Current News and Current Awareness If you want to know of new articles and news important to you as it is reported, then there are a selection of services available: news by email, news by newsgroup, news by periodic automated database search, and other novel approaches. Costs for this service have fallen dramatically: effective solutions start at about US$10/month and are not strictly dependent on range & quality of information. See the article, Newswires & News Databases[3] for descriptions, samples and costs. Information Brokers There is a whole industry of specialized researchers who will try to locate and compile research to your specifications. The backbone of this industry is payment for access to commercial databases, but different information brokers will gladly enter into any effort required to locate information. Information brokers, business librarians, legal researchers and others all use the tools described in this website, as a service for their clientele. See the article, Research as a Discipline[1] Patent Assistance Patent searching is one of the more difficult branches of serious research. Some of the resources are free on the Internet, and commercial patent databases are readily available through the database retailers. If there is serious money at stake, you should consider legal assistance. Certainly use lawyers for patent applications (beyond the scope of this website). But patents can also be a research tool. Patent research can provide you with what is often the first appearance of costly commercial research. This is both a source of cutting edge solutions and competitive intelligence. See the website for the Comp.Patents Newsgroup, another spire project. Media Monitoring Certain firms solely focus on monitoring TV, radio & newspapers. These firms typically run teams who page through newspapers looking for matching articles, then post or fax to the client. New technologies are also advancing into this field. Document Delivery Most local bookstores will gladly help you locate a book from their directories, but if you want a book from abroad, or an article from a journal or magazine, you will need the assistance of another set of information workers. Many of the document delivery firms are closely tied to information organizations. Little information is available about these organizations. Closing Note Commercial information organizations are many and varied. I trust there is enough here to determine if one of these types of organizations can provide the solution you are looking for. This article comes from The Spire Project, a site devoted to information research. Advice welcome : email david@cn.net.au (c)Copyright Community Networking. (http://cn.net.au) --- footnotes for the above article --- [1] http://cn.net.au/disciple.htm [2] http://cn.net.au/database.htm [3] http://cn.net.au/newswire.htm ___________________________________________________ This document continues as Part 9/9. __________________________________________________ Copyright (c) 1999 by David Novak, all rights reserved. This FAQ may be posted to any USENET newsgroup, on-line service, website, or BBS as long as it is posted unaltered in its entirety including this copyright statement. This FAQ may not be included in commercial collections or compilations without express permission from the author. Further permission requests please to david@cn.net.au ----------------------------------- David Novak - david@cn.net.au