These proliferating servers sharing information have eventually led to the logical mushrooming of diverse categories and modes of business. Online business models have flourished and almost every industry has shifted gears to catch the internet wave. Traditional businesses have transformed themselves into e-businesses, effectively leveraging this information bounty to achieve their own strategic ends while achieving significant economies of scale. The business research sector has also had to adapt and welcome online interfaces and tools that automate analysis and crunch customer response times, engagement times, evaluation times and delivery times.

State of the Internet:

The Internet is a lot of things to a lot of people. It is a repository, a place of business, a commercial transaction medium, a place to communicate, a trading zone and a lot more. For purposes of research, the Internet is a rich source for study and analysis owing to its immense flexibility and sheer size and thus, becomes an invaluable business tool to fully realize its own potential.

The content on the Internet has progressively evolved, from maps, addresses and informational, content-only 'static' websites to dynamic, activity-oriented hubs, portals, businesses and communities today. A good example of such thriving entities today are auction sites that have effectively integrated content, real-time bidding systems, billing systems, community forums and recommendation engines.

The Internet for research:

The Internet, with its varied content and abundance of available information, can be effectively harnessed for purposes of research. Some obvious questions that come to mind are along the lines of what is the best way to find desired information and when is it optimal to use the Internet?

The Internet is not a cure-all and is not the obvious solution in some cases. More specifically, it is not an effective tool when trying to gain access to copyrighted research, or articles in old journals, or textbooks and reference books. Local university or law libraries or some public libraries are good repositories for such a purpose.

The Internet is best leveraged to gain access to electronic gems like online press and trade publications, directories and virtual libraries that contain a wealth of information and can be used to excellent value.

Tiers of Research: The Web as a tool for online research

The key to effective research is focus. The challenge is to cull through the volume of information obtained through various browsing and directory searches. Asking or looking up trusted sources for research recommendations is a valuable first step.

Level One: Asking the questions

Determining the 'thrust' and 'scope' of required research is the biggest challenge when embarking on a research mission on the Web.

'Thrust' can be defined as the direction of research. The question to ask: What information is desired?

The prerogative is to determine the desired form and outcome of the research effort. This objective can be effectively achieved by framing key, targeted questions to determine the thrust of research. Some examples of questions to ask are: Is information desired in the form of business strategy or business shopping advice, or websites to help make a buying decision, or company profiles and public records, or in-depth analysis of a market with sizing information, trends and forecasts, or product and market ideas, or a competitive analysis and so on.

If looking for a lot of custom data and analysis, the best solution would be a market research firm that specializes in studying the industry and area of interest. Such firms can be easily found from directory searches on the Internet.

'Scope' is the granularity of research information desired. The question to ask: How much information is enough?

Depending on scope, there are different ways to approach online research.

Initial preliminary research:

Some detailed online research:

Level Two: Digging deeper

If a more substantial budget is available for research purposes, then buying subscriptions to well organized industry databases is a great asset. For example, The Dow Jones Interactive Edition has the Wall Street Journal and newswires as well as business publications by geography. Another good information source is the LEXIS-NEXIS database with thorough trade press coverage as well as the New York Times, smaller papers and numerous newswires. For smaller trade journals and newswires, OneSource is a useful tool.

Almost every industry has its own information databases that can provide detailed information that can be pertinent. For example, the private equity industry has databases like VentureOne, Dun & Bradstreet and VentureXpert, while the biotechnology industry has Recombinant Capital's expensive and extensive database on alliances in the Biotechnology-Pharmaceutical and Information Technology spaces. These industry-specific databases provide very granular information and are a great resource in understanding the industry and major players.

Level Three: Online and Offline combinations

The final source of information and research is the most specialized (and the most expensive). As a company testing the market or researching market numbers and trends, it may be important to establish relationships with market research firms that specialize in certain areas and can carry out custom research projects. Prominent firms like IDC, Gartner, Forrester and other smaller market research firms cater to the high-tech industry and are focused on studying market sizes and trends and making recommendations in most cases. These firms can be contracted to carry out online surveys and also generate online reports, in tandem with offline surveys, focus groups and other qualitative research. In addition, they also have numerous research studies on their websites. A paid subscription with such firms ensures online access to the firm's thought leadership on current trends and emerging opportunities.

The future: Online research tomorrow

Effective online research requires informed, targeted searches that will eventually uncover pure information nuggets. The Internet has had a fascinating journey, from a medium for document exchange between various government bodies less than a scant decade ago to an entire business model of today, having morphed to an entity far greater than initially developed or even foreseen. Several online business models have flourished and floundered, the Internet economy is fading from our memories and actual money making entities on the web are few and far between. Yet, the prospect of doing research on the Internet has never been more exciting. The researcher is in a fortunate position, obtaining access to newer and greater information for mining and more tools and techniques to ease the considerable burden of online research.

My 'tiers of research' approach is just another way to bring some semblance of method to mining the ocean of information on the Internet. The tools that we currently possess are far from definitive; they serve as our tools to segue into the next information age. But the fact remains: we have made tremendous progress, thanks in large part to the technologists and eager researchers who have exploited the Internet to great potential. Newer technologies and newer businesses continue to develop at a brisk pace. Can newer online research tools and techniques be far behind?

Very soon, real-time buying profiles will be easily accessed. Shopping sites will record user click patterns to develop profiles and track buying behavior through automated research tools.This data will then serve as input for companies in formulating product and service plans and strategy. This will result in cost savings and tremendous time savings for the company. Opinion and research sites will host online surveys and generate real-time data analyses and custom online recommendations, significantly doing away with traditional modes of research. The Internet will continue to send companies and institutions scrambling to rethink their strategies and opportunities.

Is all this new flexibility and advancement good? Public opinion is divided.

One opinion argues for relinquishing the juggernaut of ever newer technological progress. As 'futurist' Bill Joy warns, "The progress to newer and more powerful technologies can take on a life of its own." The fear is that, in the future, we will become slavishly dependent upon computers for making even fundamental decisions.

A contrary view is taken by Ray Kurzweil, author of The Age of Spiritual Machines, who argues that "Relinquishing technological advancement would be economic suicide for individuals, companies and nations."

The debate continues unabated.

In the meantime, we will continue to accept the research windfall that is a natural by-product of innovation and ingenuity. Today, there is certainly no dearth of information, indeed there is an abundance of it, with most of it easily accessed and requested. There will frequently be bigger, newer and often, better information sources and technologies. This is just the beginning. (Preeta Raman is a writer based in Silicon Valley.)