Finding Your Sources
So far, we have explored the steps of the marketing research process. Now, we will discuss gathering research and how data can help us meet our research objectives. First, we will look at primary sources of information. These contain new, original information that has not been published previously. Secondary sources are materials that have been published previously and are readily available. No matter what sources you use, the source must be reliable, applicable, and scholarly. If you use secondary research, there are several questions you should ask. Is it current enough to meet your needs? Does it answer the important questions related to your issue? If not, then primary research might be necessary. This section explores the criteria for determining if a source is applicable to your needs.
Choosing Search Terms for Sources
Conducting searches related to the keywords or subheadings of your topic will help systematize your research.
Learning Objectives
Identify useful search terms given a research topic
Key Takeaways
Key Points
- In the course of your research, your initial keywords may reveal other avenues that could help further your research, especially in situations where the keywords are still vague.
- You can search both online databases and actual library catalogs for sources. Catalogs and databases allow you to organize searches by subject headings and/or key terms.
- The two options for narrowing your search are to use key terms or subject headings. Key terms are words that will appear frequently in the article. Subject headings are categories of articles grouped by theme.
Key Terms
- database: A collection of (typically) organized information in a regular structure, usually but not necessarily in a machine-readable format accessible by a computer.
- library catalog: A register of all bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations.
Before you start conducting your research, you should have created a research plan with a specific research question. In addition to this plan, you should begin your search with an objective in mind. What exactly are you looking for? Do you want facts, opinions, statistics, quotations? Is the purpose of your research to find a new idea, find factual information to support a position, or something else? Once you decide what you are looking for, it is much easier to look for sources in the correct places and with the correct words and phrases.
Once you have your research topic and you know which databases you want to search for articles, you need to determine the best way to go about searching. For starters, you can't just type in a question like, "What were medical practices like during the Battle of Gettysburg?" Instead, you should search one of two ways. The first option is to use key terms, or words that will appear frequently in the article. The second is to use subject headings - categories of articles grouped by theme.
To search key terms, think about important words that will occur in sources you could use. Then, type one or two of those terms into the search bar. Most search engines will generate results based on how frequently those words appear in articles and their abstracts.
Let's use our topic from the previous section, medical practices at the Battle of Gettysburg, as an example. You might choose keywords like "amputation," "field medicine," and "Gettysburg". This should yield articles that discuss amputations on the field during the Battle of Gettysburg. You could also search something like "anesthesia" and "Civil War," which would lead you to articles about anesthetics during the war.
While searching with key terms, you may need to get creative. Some articles will use different language than you might expect, so try a variety of related terms to make sure you're getting back all the possible results.
