© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Finding, Evaluating, and Processing Information

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Research Process Understand topic and assignment Find and access information Evaluate and finalize sources Process information Analyze data Interpret findings

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Understand the Topic and Assignment Preliminary information Problem statement Questions and subquestions

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Using Secondary Sources of Information Business books Electronic databases Newspapers Periodicals Directories Government publications Almanacs Statistical resources

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Business Information in Cyberspace Internet public library Company Websites News release sites

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Searching the Internet Search engines Directories Portals

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Searching Databases Select appropriate databases Use short phrases and single terms Use multiple search engines Avoid stopwords Replace concepts with key words Avoid words in the database’s name

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Searching Databases Use variations of search terms Use proximity operators Specify logical relationships Use wildcards Use Boolean operators Refine searches as needed

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Gathering Information Pull technology Push technology Personal agents

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Tracking Progress Take notes Copy search results Bookmark Websites Record comments Download or print files Prepare a bibliography

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Preliminary Observations Documents Observations Experiments

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Effective Surveys Provide clear instructions Use short questionnaires Get easy-to-analyze questions Avoid leading questions Ask one question at a time Pretest all questionnaires

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Effective Interviews Purpose –Collect information –Make decisions –Clarify issues Structure –Overall length –Stylistic issues –Organization

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Types of Questions Close-ended Restatement Direct open-ended Open-ended

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Preparing Questions Think about sequence Rate the questions Ask smart questions Mix types of questions Limit the number Edit questions

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Processing Interview Information Write down your ideas Review notes Organize the material Transcribe recordings

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Evaluating and Selecting Sources Honesty and reliability Logic and good sense Data collection methods The author Purpose of the material Completeness Independent verification Potential bias Timeliness

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Process the Information Getting organized Reading the material Taking notes

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Presenting Information Direct quotes –Enhance the argument –Preserve the original text Paraphrasing –Enhance your understanding –Condense original text

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Documenting Sources Quotations Paraphrased material General knowledge Fair use doctrine

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Analyzing the Data Mean Median Mode Trend Correlation

© Prentice Hall, 2003 Business Communication TodayChapter Interpreting Your Findings Conclusions Recommendations