Market Research Basics: Definitions of Source Types

These are common types of information sources for market research:

• Industry Associations
  • every industry has an association who cares about collecting information and data about that industry.
• Government Data
  • the U.S. government is the single largest collector of data about the U.S. economy and industries
  • Some agencies you will probably use data from:
    • U.S. Census Bureau
    • Bureau of Labor Statistics
    • Bureau of Economic Analysis
    • Small Business Administration
• Newspapers and News/Opinion Magazines
  • tend to contain investigative journalism as well as commentary/editorials. They often explore current events or ongoing debates in society. Some showcase a variety of perspectives, while others tilt in an ideological direction. Others are intensely ideological or partisan, but they still fall into this general category.
  • reputable & specialist publications (like The Economist and The Wall Street Journal) will report on market conditions, policies and regulations affecting industries, and more.
  • Learn about Evaluating News Sources
• Industry Reports
  • comprehensive accounts of a particular industry, containing a depth of information, facts and statistics (source).
  • emerging trends, financials, major companies, market share, and supply/demand chain are examples of information that can be found in industry reports.
• Trade Publications
  • these keep professionals up to speed on a given industry’s trends, debates, news, professional development opportunities, and best practices. Under-utilized source type.
• Scholarly or journal articles
  • articles about research written by scholars that are reviewed by other scholars before they're published in academic journals
  • You can learn about recent research in your field and develop a broader understanding of your product/service space (source).
  • Learn the best way to read a scholarly article: Anatomy of a Scholarly Article