1 BUSINESS INFORMATION SOURCES FOREWORD. MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS INFORMATION EnIL International School on „Business Information Literacy”, October 2008, Rome, Italy Dr. Sabina Cisek Associate Professor Institute of Information and Library Science, Jagiellonian University Krakow, Poland

2 FOREWORD: THE COURSE OBJECTIVES, STRUCTURE, CONTENT AND TRAINING METHODS

3 Business Information Sources: the course objectives Familiarize participants with the concept and domain of business information Give an overall presentation of the business information industry, services, sources and uses Introduce selected business information resources – focusing on free-of-charge and Open Access Web-based services and sources Show how to use business information sources (mainly – international in scope, in English) and provide opportunity for hands-on training

4 Business Information Sources: the course structure and content Module 1: Introduction to business information Module 2: Seeking for business information – selected Web-based information resources Module 3: Web 2.0 for business information

5 Business Information Sources: the course teaching-learning approach and training methods Demonstration, discussion, elements of lecture, group-work, hands-on practice

6 Business Information Sources: very selected additional readings Research guides and tutorials –BERA: Business and Economics Research Advisor. A Series of Guides to Business and Economics Topics by Library of Congress –Intute: Virtual Training Suite Journals and weblogs –„Business Information Review”. Quarterly by Sage [paid] –ResourceShelf [free]

7 MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS INFORMATION (BI)

8 The Module 1 structure and content Meaning, definitions, terminology, characteristics and importance of business information Business information needs and users The business information industry: producers and providers of BI General description and categorization of BI resources

9 Meanings of the term „business information” Business Information is a domain of activity that: –involves – preparing/producing information sources; collecting, managing and giving access to them; finding, evaluating and using information, etc.; –includes – products (i.e. business information resources), services, systems, professionals, organizations, needs, users and uses, etc. Business information is a type of information

10 Definitions of business information (1) Information FOR (doing) business –to make informed decisions – short-term, long-term, strategic –to enhance business, products, technology with current information –to gain profit, recognition and success (2) Information ABOUT business (and economics, and related issues)

11 Terminology Business information Business and economics information Business intelligence Competitive intelligence nearly synonyms

12 Business information features Business information should be reliable, trustworthy, authenticated, current, up-to- date; but – historical data and controversial issues may also be needed Business information is based on resources that are already published and made available –Note a: that does not mean – these sources are always easily available –Note b: of course there are exceptions

13 Business information areas General business information resources = „starting points” Company information Financial information = investment information Product and service information Markets, marketing and trade information Other

14 Business information needs, users and uses Who needs business information? What for? Why business information makes a difference? Why business information literacy is an advantage – for organizations and for everybody? Discussion with the course participants

15 Business information needs, users and uses – who needs business information? In professional life business enterprises associations, not-for-profit organizations, NGOs central and local governments, authorities journalists, writers researchers, scientists, students advisers, brokers, lawyers In private life: everybody anybody who wants to set up a business buyers credit takers complaining clients investors job seekers tax payers

16 The Business Information Industry: producers and providers of BI (I) Non-commercial: –International organizations, like European Union, OECD, United Nations, for example Your Europe – Business (by EU European Commission) html html Enterprise Europe Network (by EU European Commission) network.ec.europa.eu/index_en.htmhttp:// network.ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm –Governments’ bodies, administration, local authorities

17 The Business Information Industry: producers and providers of BI (II) –Libraries (academic, government, public), librarians, for example Buffalo & Erie County Public Library – Reference Desk – Business and Finance Harvard Business School Baker Library –NGOs –Professional associations, chambers of commerce –Universities, other educational/research institutions, scholars, students –Volunteers, enthusiasts

18 The Business Information Industry: Producers and Providers of BI (III) Commercial: –Commercial publishers and providers of BI resources, for example – Dun & Bradstreet Internet Securities, Inc. (trading as ISI Emerging Markets), –Corporate intelligence centers see The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) –Information brokers = independent information professionals see the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) –Journals, for example „The Economist”

19 The business information sources There exists a great amount of business information sources Where and how to find them? How to read and understand them? How to evaluate them? How to use them?

20 The business information sources: categorization (I) By financial barriers / availability of information –Free information, for example: CIA World Factbook factbook/index.html factbook/index.html Intute: social sciences: business –Commercial information – sold to the public, for example: Business Source Complete (EBSCOhost) –Proprietary information – not available, trade secrets

21 The business information sources: categorization (II) Note –There are numerous commercial sources – databases, directories, etc. that are available online: partly free – basic information partly free – but you have to register or subscribe partly as paid services, for fee –Examples:

22 The business information sources: categorization (III) By producer/provider status (formality) –official (by government) –non-official (by commercial provider) By format –electronic (online and offline), print, people By level of processing –primary sources –secondary sources –tertiary sources

23 The business information sources: categorization (IV) Online electronic sources – by type of website –General-purpose (global and local) search engines, meta-search services, catalogs, portals –Specialized search tools (for example – „harvesting” services, Deep Web directories) –Quality-controlled subject/information gateways, vertical portals –Full-text resources – archives, e-journals, digital libraries, repositories –Web 2.0 forms – blogs, wikis, etc. –Databases online –Institutions’ and organizations’ Websites –…