Indirect research refers to the collection of secondary information on the Internet. There are many sources of secondary information, such as government publications, public libraries, university libraries, trade associations, market research companies, advertising agencies and media, professional groups, corporate intelligence rooms, etc. Many units and institutions have established their own websites on the Internet, and all kinds of information can be obtained by visiting their websites. Coupled with many comprehensive ICPs (Internet Content Providers), professional ICPs and thousands of websites, it has become very simple to collect secondary information on the Internet.
Although there is a huge amount of secondary information on the Internet, you still need to master some skills to find the information you need: first, you must be familiar with the use of search engines, and secondly, you must master the distribution of thematic network information resources. In summary, there are three main ways to find information on the Internet: using search engines; visiting related websites, such as various thematic or comprehensive websites; using relevant online databases.
(1) Use search engines to find information
Search engines use automatic indexing software to discover, collect and index web pages, build databases, and provide users with a search interface in the form of a Web, so that users can use search terms such as keywords, phrases or short phrases to search for records that match their questions. This has become one of the most prominent applications on the Internet. Commonly used online market research search engine tools include Google [US], Yahoo! [US], Yandex [Russia], Bing [US], Naver [Korea], Goo [Japan], Ciao [Spain], etc.
(2) Visit relevant websites to collect information
If you know which websites are mainly used for information on a certain topic, you can directly visit these websites to obtain the information you need. The following provides several relevant websites.
Global Sources. Global Sources was formerly known as “Asian Sources”. It is a B2B service provider that provides value-added services to buyers and sellers. The services and products it provides are primarily based on the needs of buyers. Its powerful search engine is divided into three categories: product search, supplier search and global search.
Alibaba. Alibaba is a pioneer in China’s Internet business. It is a world-renowned B2B series of websites founded in March 1999, including international sites, domestic sites, global Chinese business sites and Korean sites, etc. It provides a large amount of business opportunities, company information and product information for small and medium-sized enterprises, and has established an international marketing network. The business market information retrieval service provided by Alibaba website is divided into three aspects: business opportunities, company database and sample database. Registered members can also subscribe to “Business Express” to obtain various free information.
Professional survey websites. Such as Broad Survey Engine and China Business Online’s “Market Research and Analysis”.
(3) Use relevant online databases to search for information
Online data is divided into free and paid types.