Business Research Tips
Brief free monthly newsletter with practical ideas for managing business information & research.
Articles
Awarded AIIP Connections Writer's Award (2009) and FUMSI Citation for most useful article (2007).
Speaking engagements
"Eloquent and engaging"
"Excellent presentation"
"Added value to my knowledge"
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Insight.
Business Research Tips
Business Research Tips is a brief free monthly newsletter with practical ideas for managing business information and research.
Gaining support for your ideas (Jan 2010)
This year, try the following simple approach to gain support for your ideas: A clear goal; Know your audience; Build on your reputation; Look for opportunities to influence; Is the timing right?; Talk about the benefits; Be persistent;
Managing research deadlines (Dec 2009)
A few tips for managing research project deadlines in 2010
When is a Google search enough? (Nov 2009)
Like having only one knife in the kitchen, many people turn to one tool when they are looking for information – Google.
Finding answers to narrow questions (Oct 2009)
We are overwhelmed by information, yet finding the precise answer for many business questions can still be difficult.
One more question (Sept 2009)
Good researchers know the old adage “don’t assume, you make an ass-u-me” is true. Assumptions can quickly lead you to the wrong path, the wrong information and the wrong answer.
Preparing for the pitch (Aug 09)
Businesses that are constantly scanning for information to understand their market place are better placed to prepare a pitch that closely corresponds to their client’s needs when it comes to pitching for business.
Extending the life of a presentation (July 2009)
Good presentations take time and effort, so it’s worth the effort to extend the life of the message delivered in your presentation.
Finding competitive business information in six steps (June 2009)
There are six key steps to keep in mind for finding competitive information for business. The steps bring together elements of the searcher’s professional interest as a specialist in their field, research know-how, knowledge management and networking.
Your online presence (May 2009)
How well does your online presence represent your organisation and your experienced staff?
The first place most people check to get to know your organisation, your reputation or, maybe, who you are connected to is your online presence. Increasingly, you are what you write for an online audience.
Heather wins AIIP Connections Writer's Award (April 2009)
The Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) has announced the winner of the 2009 AIIP Connections Writer’s award at their annual conference in
Heather
Preparing for speaking engagements (March 2009)
Delivering a good talk on behalf of your business or community group is a wonderful opportunity to enhance the reputation of your organisation.
The researcher’s toolkit (Feb 2009)
We all have our favourite tools for the job. If you want to find reliable information quickly and easily, your research toolkit needs to include alerting tools, a range of search engines, value added information providers and some desktop tools for storing and finding your favourite sites.
Crystal ball research (Nov 2008)
It is said that economic forecasting is like driving a car by looking through the rear view mirror.
Competitive intelligence research (Oct 2008)
Heather recently ran a workshop in
Finding public policy information (Sept 2008)
Many business and industry groups are interested in the development of public policy. Heather recently spoke to
Finding people (July 2008)
Finding reliable background details on people is more than a Google search. Heather recently spoke to Deborah Brown, Research Manager at FairfaxMedia, on strategies for finding information on Australians that make the news.
Researching Australian industries and markets covers a wide range of research briefs, from compiling industry profiles on the main players, market demographics, industry trends through to queries on market strategies.
Converge and connect in
Heather recently had the pleasure of presenting at the annual conference of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) in
Web 2.0 in two minutes (April 2008)
This month’s tip summarises an article written for the Australian Marketing Institute. (Marketing Update, April 2008, http://www.ami.org.au/bwWebsite/followon.aspx?PageID=6229)
Web 2.0 is the umbrella term used to describe some new collaborative web tools that are proving to be extremely popular. It's the web that fits perfectly with our desire to share our creative output in words, pictures, video or sounds to a connected world.
Web 2.0 and knowledge management (March 2008)
Heather recently presented at the Gurteen Knowledge Café in
Nourishing your business (February 2008)
Your business is like a body – to survive it needs to feed and grow on new market information.
The overlapping disciplines of market research, competitive intelligence and knowledge management are the food, brain and connective tissue that contribute to nourishing your business.
Day trippers, harvesters and miners (January 2008)
Are you a day tripper, harvester or a miner when searching for information? Day trippers are looking for a snapshot or overview of a topic. Harvesters gather and store good quality, relevant material. Miners go well beyond the surface and are prepared to search for hard to find gems of information.
Heather wins Freepint FUMSI Citation (December 2007)
Heather's article on "Mentors and Mentees" was awarded the Freepint FUMSI (Find, Use, Manage and Share Information) Award for Most Useful Article. The award was announced at the recent Online Information 2007 exhibition in London.
Teaching web search skills (November 2007)
Teaching the skills to effectively search the web is a challenging task. It can be difficult to pitch the training to suit the variety of skills and experience of the audience.
Networks and connections (October 2007)
When looking for the reliable information quickly, a good network of connections is invaluable. They share the burden of keeping up to date with developments in your field, and they can point you in the right direction when the need arises.
Presenting research findings (September 2007)
A well written research findings summary is an opportunity for library services to go beyond providing an information retrieval service to providing an answer to a research query.
Developing insight (August 2007)
Specialists are driven by many things – they want to build their reputation, grow their client base, develop their expertise, work on interesting projects, and be rewarded.
Beyond bookmarking (July 2007)
There are a number of online shared bookmarking sites for storing and sharing your favourite links to web sites, podcasts and blog articles, such as Furl, Del.icio.us, and Digg. These types of sites are free, fun and useful for uncovering and sharing the weird and wonderful from the web.
Local and global mentoring (June 2007)
Mentoring brings together an experienced practitioner, and importantly, a mentee who is ready
and willing to benefit from this exchange to enrich their professional development.
Web search tips (May 2007)
There are a few basic tips to keep in mind for web searching. The following are the shared thoughts of leading web search skills trainer, Mary Ellen Bates and the expert web search trainers interviewed by Greg Notess in his recent book, Teaching web search skills: techniques and strategies of top trainers.
Are you Linkedin? (April 2007)
Linkedin < http://www.linkedin.com/ > is a cross between biographical information and a social networking site. Users post their career profile information to Linkedin, and can then make contact with a network of Linkedin users.
Online information trends (February 2007)
At the recent Information Online conference held in Sydney, keynote speaker Dr Diana Oblinger talked about today’s internet savvy students. One of her observations of the widely dubbed google generation is their “lack of fear ≠ knowledge”.
Finding what you need in the information supermarket (January 2007)
There is ongoing problem for today’s employees – they are overwhelmed by too much information, coming from too many sources; yet they still can’t find what they want, when they need it. It’s not the information highway – it’s the information supermarket!
Always on the lookout (November 2006)
Always being on the lookout for useful, current and reliable information, helps to keep your outlook fresh and up to date. There are a few tricks and some tools to help you manage the information you need to scan, and store for later use.
Researching with limited resources (October 2006)
How specialists from small organisations undertake business research with a limited range of research resources.
Heather is a regular contributor as a freelance writer to business magazines, industry journals and online publications on practical ideas for finding and managing business information.
She has been awarded the AIIP Connections Writer's award (2009) for best original article published in AIIP Connections and the FUMSI Citation (Find, Use, Manage and Share Information) in 2007 for the most useful article written for freepint.com, as voted by the readership of over 80,000 subscribers to freepint.com.
Finding competitve business information in six steps
FUMSI April 2009
There are six key steps to keep in mind for finding competitive information for business. The steps bring together elements of the searcher’s professional interest as a specialist in their field, research knowhow, knowledge management and networking.
Opportunities in a changing world
AIIP Connections, Nov-Dec 2008
Selling independent research services can be a difficult task in a buoyant economy, let alone in an economy that has has temporarily lost its confidence.
Searching for Australian content: Industries, companies, people and Government
Searcher, May 2008
Find out what sites leading business researchers use and recommend for finding reliable information on Australian companies, industries, people and Government policy.
Web 2.0 in 2 minutes
Australian Marketing Institute, Marketing Update, April 2008
Web 2.0 is the umbrella term used to describe some new collaborative web tools that are proving to be extremely popular. It's the web that fits perfectly with our desire to share our creative output in words, pictures, video or sounds to a connected world.
Book Review : Teaching Web Search Skills - Techniques and Strategies for Top Trainers
Connections, September 2007, p. 16 (AIIP newsletter)
Web search training is a key service offering for many independent information professionals. It’s a valuable skill set to master: it helps to lift your profile, provides an alternative revenue source, and is an enjoyable way to share your knowledge on advanced web searching.
The Information Supermarket
in-Business, (2007) June -July issue, p 74
Do you feel that the information highway has become the information supermarket? You are spoiled for choice, but you can't find the information you want, when you need it.
Mentors and Mentees: Structuring a Professional Relationship
Freepint, (2007) Issue No 230, 24 May 2007
In the past year, I have been both a mentee and have become a mentor. My long-distance mentor helped me to make the change from being a full-time information services manager to becoming a freelance researcher. In turn, I am using my corporate library experience to a help a colleague from a public library work towards some of her professional goals.
RefWorks online – reference and citation management
Online Currents, (2007) Volume 21, No 8, May 2007
A review of LinkedIn
Online Currents, (2007) Volume 21, No 6, March 2007
There is an art and science to networking, whether it’s online or in the physical world. Linkedin (http://www.linkedin.com/) is an online social networking site for professionals that can assist in the science of making connections, but there’s still the art to master.
Stay ahead of the pack: Specialists from small firms work with restricted resources,
Freepint, (2006) Issue No. 211, 10 August 2006.
Knowledge Management
Australian Law Firm Management, (2005) Loose-leaf service chapter, LexisNexis
Book review: Knowledge management and the Smarter Lawyer
Australian Law Librarian, (2004) Vol 12, No. 2, pp. 69
Applying knowledge management in law firm alliances
Australian Law Librarian, (2003) Vol 11, No. 4, pp. 354-366
“Eloquent and engaging” “Excellent presentation” "Well thought out, and useful interaction"
“
Heather is an insightful and well regarded speaker. She enjoys presenting to occasional researchers through to experienced information specialists on practical tips for finding what you need, when you need it.
Heather is President of the Adelaide City Group of the Penguin Club, a public speaking group for women.
Business Intelligence for librarians (Half day workshop)
Australian Law Librarians Association satellite event,
Building an independent information professional business
22nd Annual Association of Independent Information Professionals Conference
Pittsburgh,
Promoting your research expertise workshop
Management Strategies for Library and Information Service Centres conference, Ark Group,
Knowledge Management tips for building the profile and reputation of your team
Gurteen Knowledge Café,
Tips for building your profile & reputation
Co-presentation with
The mentor and mentee experience,
Australian Law Librarians’ Association (SA),
Business research skills for business development
Hunt & Hunt Professional Development Seminar,
Finding a balance between technology and people
Demonstrating the Value of Knowledge Management Conference, Ark Group
Topping up your knowledge with blogs, RSS feeds
Hunt & Hunt Professional Development Seminar,
Finding the best the web has to offer– expanding and evaluating sources
Hunt & Hunt Professional Development and Marketing Seminar,
Knowledge management in a legal environment: looking back and looking forward
Australian Law Librarians’ Group (SA),
Applying knowledge management in law firm alliances
Asia Pacific Special, Health & Law Librarians' Conference,
Heather Carine presents practical workshops and seminars on a range of topics suited to casual researchers through to information specialists, such as:
- Preparing for the pitch
Preparing and writing persuasive business proposals to win work. - Tips for finding reliable busines and industry information
Covers a combination of online tools and offline skills for finding reliable information for your business. - Tips for managing complex and tricky research
Ideal for experienced researchers and information specialists.