Conducting Effective Desk Research

Secondary (desk) research is the identification and analysis of information.

This information is either available in the public domain, or that already exists within your or your client’s organisation. 

An increasingly important part of this research method is the monitoring and analysis of social media content.

Desk research also involves integrating and cross-checking different sources of intelligence and working out the story behind the data. It’s valuable both as a cost-effective alternative to primary research and also to supplement and enhance primary research. It can be used for market monitoring, competitor analysis, sector profiling, PR and background information.

This course will help you to get the most out of desk research by introducing a range of useful market intelligence sources, explaining how to go about conducting desk research and how to analyse and validate findings. It will also cover social media monitoring and an expert in this area will explain techniques for mining brand conversations and competitor intelligence.

The course combines theory with practical exercises.

Who would benefit

The courses offer an introduction to researchers new to desk research or can act as a refresher for more experienced researchers looking to fine tune their skills.

Objectives

• Identify useful market intelligence sources
• Understand how to conduct desk research
• Understand how to analyse and validate findings

Learning outcomes

• Know how to mine brand conversations and competitor intelligence
• Be able to combine primary and secondary research effectively
• Be able to identify the story in the data

Level

Introductory