BUSINESS INFORMATION SOURCES FOREWORD MODULE 1 INTRODUCTION TO

BUSINESS INFORMATION SOURCES FOREWORD. MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS INFORMATION En. IL International School on „Business Information Literacy”, 13 -17 October 2008, Rome, Italy Dr. Sabina Cisek Associate Professor Institute of Information and Library Science, Jagiellonian University Krakow, Poland sabina. cisek@uj. edu. pl 1

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

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 to use business information sources (mainly – international in scope, in English) and provide opportunity for hands-on training 3

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 4

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

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 http: //www. loc. gov/rr/business/BERA/index. html – Intute: Virtual Training Suite http: //www. vts. intute. ac. uk/ • Journals and weblogs – „Business Information Review”. Quarterly by Sage [paid] – Resource. Shelf http: //www. resourceshelf. com/ [free] 6

MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS INFORMATION (BI) 7

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 8

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 9

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) 10

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

Business information features • Business information should be reliable, trustworthy, authenticated, current, up-todate; 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 12

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 13

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 14

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 15

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) http: //ec. europa. eu/youreurope/nav/en/business/index. html • Enterprise Europe Network (by EU European Commission) http: //www. enterprise-europenetwork. ec. europa. eu/index_en. htm – Governments’ bodies, administration, local authorities 16

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 http: //www. buffalolib. org/refdesk/index. asp • Harvard Business School Baker Library http: //www. library. hbs. edu/guides/ – NGOs – Professional associations, chambers of commerce – Universities, other educational/research institutions, scholars, students – Volunteers, enthusiasts 17

The Business Information Industry: Producers and Providers of BI (III) • Commercial: – Commercial publishers and providers of BI resources, for example – • Dun & Bradstreet http: //www. dnb. com/us/ • Internet Securities, Inc. (trading as ISI Emerging Markets), http: //www. securities. com/ – Corporate intelligence centers • see The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) http: //www. scip. org/ – Information brokers = independent information professionals • see the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) http: //www. aiip. org/ – Journals, for example • „The Economist” http: //www 4. economist. com/countries/ 18

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? 19

The business information sources: categorization (I) • By financial barriers / availability of information – Free information, for example: • CIA World Factbook https: //www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/index. html • Intute: social sciences: business http: //www. intute. ac. uk/socialsciences/business/ – Commercial information – sold to the public, for example: Business Source Complete (EBSCOhost) – Proprietary information – not available, trade secrets 20

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: • http: //www. corporateinformation. com/ • http: //www. kompass. com/en/ 21

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 22

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 –… 23