Research Tip: Categorize your Question

I’m going to publish a series of research strategies within the blog within the next few days, and here is my first tip.  When you have a specific piece of business information that you need, place that into a broader category.  Here are some examples of Broad categories: Industry, Company, Advertising, Marketing, Statistics, Consumer Behavior, Demographics

Example #1: If my research question is that I am trying to find the number of residential swimming pools in Texas, I could place this into a broader category by deciding that this is a form of industry information that is statistical in nature.  An intermediate category might be the specific industry: Pool & Building Cleaning Services.

Example #2:  I am specifically looking for supply chain information on Pepsico.  I could put this into the broader category of Company information.

Example #3: I specifically want information on the number of people in Dallas that dine out, where they dine out, and how often.  I would put this into the broader category of Consumer Behavior and/or Demographics.

Why Categorize?  Sometimes being aware of the Category my question falls within, helps me to choose a better or the best starting place for my research.  For instance, if I were looking for industry information (within the United States), I would probably start with the TCU database, IBISWorld.   If I were looking for demographics, I might start with the U.S. Census Bureau.

In other words, quickly determining a broad category may save you research time.

My next few posts will be expounding further upon this concept, so check back for more!  In the meantime, feel free to IM me or post a comment.

Tags: research, Research Tips