© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Finding, Evaluating, and Processing Information

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter The Research Process 1.Make a Research Plan 2.Find Data/Information 3.Process Data/Information 4.Apply Your Findings 5.Manage the Information

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Plan Your Research Learn About the Subject Target Information Gaps Prioritize Research Needs

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Ethics and Etiquette in Business Research Don’t force a specific outcome Respect privacy of participants Document and credit your sources Respect intellectual property rights Don’t misquote your sources Don’t misrepresent your intentions

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Learn About the Subject Industry Publications Competitors’ Websites Interviews with Experts

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Learn About the Subject Online Resources Books and Indexes Problem Statement

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Identify Information Gaps 1.Clarify the decision or conclusion 2.Identify subquestions 3.Clarify information requirements 4.Locate existing information 5.Assess the information gap

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Prioritize Research Needs ConstraintsInformation Limited Time Limited Resources “Need to Know” “Nice to Know”

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Data and Information PrimaryResearchPrimaryResearch SecondaryResearchSecondaryResearch

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Purpose of the Material IndependentVerification Logic and Good Sense Honesty and Reliability The Author’s Credibility Timeliness PotentialBias Data Collection Methods Completeness Evaluating Sources

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Secondary Research Inside the Company Inside Outside Outside Company Documents Knowledge Management Systems Systems Hardcopy Resources Online Resources

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Finding Information at the Library BusinessBooksBusinessBooksElectronicDatabasesElectronicDatabasesNewspapersNewspapersPeriodicalsPeriodicalsDirectoriesDirectoriesAlmanacsAlmanacsStatisticalResourcesStatisticalResourcesGovernmentPublicationsGovernmentPublications

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Finding Information Online Search Engines WebDirectoriesWebDirectoriesMeta-SearchEnginesMeta-SearchEnginesOnlineDatabasesOnlineDatabases

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Search Techniques Keyword Searches Boolean Operators Natural Language Forms-Based Searches

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Fine Tune Search Methods Read instructions Observe details Review options Vary search terms Adjust search scope

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Innovative Research Technologies Desktop Search Engines Enterprise Search Engines Research Managers Content Managers Social Bookmarking Sites Newsfeeds

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Documenting Sources Direct Quotes Paraphrased Material Common Knowledge Copyright Law Specialized Knowledge Fair Use Doctrine Credit Your Sources Help Your Readers Support Your Message

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Primary Information Surveys Interviews Experiments Observations

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Conducting Surveys EffectiveQuestionsEffectiveQuestions RepresentativeSampleRepresentativeSample

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Adapt the Survey Survey No Compound Questions QuestionsUnambiguousQuestionsUnambiguousQuestions No Leading Questions Questions Easy-to-AnalyzeQuestionsEasy-to-AnalyzeQuestionsShort-AnswerQuestionsShort-AnswerQuestionsClearInstructionsClearInstructions Effective Questionnaires

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Effective Interviews ComposeQuestionsComposeQuestionsUnderstand the Audience Understand Consider Ethical Implications Implications Analyze Your Purpose Purpose Set Interview Structure Structure

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Types of Questions Open-Ended Direct Open-Ended Direct Open-Ended Restatement Close-Ended Information Quality Interviewer Control More Less

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Preparing Questions Consider sequence Rate the questions Ask smart questions Limit the number Edit the questions

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Processing Data and Information ParaphrasingParaphrasing SummarizingSummarizing QuotingQuoting

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Analyzing the Data Mean, Median, and Mode Overall Trends Cause and Correlation Cross-Tabulation

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Minimizing Mistakes and Misinterpretations Avoid Faulty Comparisons Don’t Push Research Results Avoid Misleading Presentations

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Applying Your Findings Unbiased Summary RecommendationsRecommendations Logical Conclusion

© Prentice Hall, 2008 Business Communication Today, 9eChapter Managing Information Knowledge Management System SystemTechnologiesTechnologiesProceduresProceduresPoliciesPolicies