The AccountingWEB guide to online research

The advent and growing diversity of the Web has given rise to a multitude of myths about information retrieval. Among these is the idea that information is now free, quick and easy to find. The reality is not quite as rosy, explains Liz Loxton in this exclusive AccountingWEB guide.

The guide is segmented into different parts to meet the needs of different readers. If you would like some general tips and pointers, this introductory article will help get you started. If you are looking for sources of information and targeted research covering different areas such as credit control and corporate finance, follow the links below to the specialist research strategy guides.

General Tips [1]

Jumping off points [2]

Free versus fee [3]

Specialist research Strategies

Credit Control [4]

Raising Finance [5]

Business Valuation [6]

Benchmarking performance [7]

Market Research [8]

Intellectual Property and Copyright [9]

Due diligence for M&As, HR and anti-fraud purposes [10]

Human Resources [11]

General Tips
There are some excellent resources to be found on the Web: research organisations that want to publicise headline findings while reserving more in-depth findings for paying clients, for instance. Professional service firms who want to promote themselves as brimful of intellectual capital, are another good place to look.

If you need to carry out research projects on a regular basis, however, you will need to hone your skills and above all have a clear idea what it is you want to learn and how long you are prepared to spend. Bear in mind that for complex research tasks such as comparative or quantative market research, you may need the services of an expert business researcher.

If you are going to undertake research yourself ' either alone or in a team ' bear in mind that the key to good research practice is planning: define as closely as possible what it is you want to find out; decide on a time-frame for internet research and other information retrieval and allow to time to digest, analyse and write up or present your results. Remember that research and analysis can be a lonely and time consuming activity, so allow time to confer with colleagues at each stage.

Assuming that the Internet will be your main source of data, the key is to keep in mind realistic outcomes. If you want a rough and ready assessment of a listed company, then the Web will give you some headline facts and figures ' about the people running the company and about its financial performance. More detailed material will not necessarily be easy to find or free.

Here are some key steps to help get you started:

Teach yourself internet search. It may look obvious what to do from the opening page of Google or Yahoo, but there are plenty of pitfalls and ways to avoid them. There are a host of useful Web search tutorials at Leiden University's [12] guide to specialist search engines.

Preparation is the key. Prepare some key words and be ready to try synonyms if your early attempts don't deliver.

Think about terms to exclude in your search using "NOT". It will save time in the end.

Use search engines if you think the information you are after is likely to be widely available. Be as specific as you can and give three or more keywords. Remember that search engines will only return sites with all of your keywords if you include a + between each word.

Use directories ' Yahoo, or Open Directory, for example, if your subject area is likely to have been catalogued well, or when you want to browse a general subject area.

Speciality search engines and directories will dramatically cut down your search time. Find a list at of specialist search engines at www.searchengineguide.com [13]. Clicking through to business and investment, for instance reveals 19 specialist search engines.

Remember that the web has a strong US bias. If appropriate, use UK as one of your search terms. Using UK-based search engines is another time saver. Try the UK versions of Google, Excite and AltaVista.

Some search engines allow you specify file types. Asking Google or AllTheWeb for pdf files is a good approach, as it gives access to white papers or research not picked up in a general search. You can also look for academic research papers by forcing the search engine to confine its search to URLs containing .edu or .ac.uk as appropriate.

Internet search is a learning curve because the web is a dynamic environment. Sites come and go so take time to establish favourites (and bookmark them on your internet browser) and to look out for new sites. Even if you consider yourself to be an experienced internet researcher, take the trouble to look at the hints, tips or help pages on search engine and other sites. Revising and refreshing your strategy in these ways will make you more productive in the long run.

Don't forget also that complex research tasks, including quantitive market research or reporting on niche areas of business, are almost always better off handled by the experts. If you are in doubt as to whether you are the best person for the task, or even if you find it difficult to estimate how long the task will take, consider calling in the experts.

Jumping off points
The bedrock for any research project involving incorporated UK companies should start with the accounts filed at Companies House. These are available online, for example from AccountingWEB's ICC gateway [14], which provides:

Detailed financial analysis of 1.9m live companies

Database of 9m directorships and directors

Document images for 30m Company House forms

Data on 1.9m unincorporated businesses
Searches are free for companies and directors. Reports can cost from as little as £2 and document images can be downloaded for £7.50.

For a general-purpose business information portal, try Corporateinformation.com [15], compiled by Wright Investors Service. This US site provides tools to research the financial indicators and profiles of over 350,000 companies worldwide. You can research companies by country and industry sector. Also useful is the Resource Directory Network [16], which provides links to business sites all recommended by specialist business librarians.

More in-depth analysis or white papers on business procedures or management issues, can be found at Biz/ed [17]

Best for Business was created by the Business Insight Central Library [18] in Birmingham. It provides a wealth of free information including business advice and 'how to' guides and over 500 fact sheets. The research section gives links to a raft of other sites.

And if you want to look at more recommended business information sources, try business information specialists RBA Associates [19] help lists.

Free versus fee
As the web matures, more and more sites are charging for all but the most elementary information sources. If it's business news you want, of the UK newspaper sites, only The Guardian [20] and The Telegraph [21] remain as free archives.

Another useful free service can be found by clicking of the finance link at Yahoo [22]. You will find free share price information, historical as well as current, along with news on listed companies.

There are some specialist search engines that just trawl for news. Try moreover.com, Newsbooster or Tracerlock.

On the basis that you get what you pay for, Factiva.com has a pay-as-you-go option for news coverage and draws from the best of the world's business media.

Specialist research strategies
Credit Control [23]
Raising Finance [24]
Business Valuation [25]
Benchmarking performance [26]
Market Research [27]
Intellectual Property and Copyright [28]
Due diligence for M&As, corporate governance and anti-fraud purposes [29]
Human Resources [30]

Liz Loxton is a freelance writer and former editor of 'Information World Review'. She can be contacted via editor@accountingweb.co.uk [31]