I mentioned in my last blog post that part of my project involved trying to obtain good quality market data.  This has proved to be an interesting mission, so I though I'd share some of the routes to data I have found or am working on, just in case anyone is in the same boat and might fnd them useful supplements to the delights of Google and other search engines.

Frost and Sullivan publish a lot of market reports which are searchable on their website.  You normally have to buy these reports to view them, however, the National Library of Scotland subscribes to the database.  A visit to the premises at George IV Bridge in Edinburgh (you will need photo ID with your address to register as a General Reader) will enable you to view the reports, and if you have a laptop and use their free wifi (ask for a password at the enquiries desk in the reading room) you can even download them.  You can also get remote access by filling in a couple of forms.  If you're not Edinburgh based then I think you can do this all by post (details on the website) but it could also be a nice excuse for a visit to Edinburgh as I think it's muh more efficient to do it in person.  The National Library also have access to many other databases which may prove useful, including the Dunn and Bradstreet Global Reference Solution company database.  I haven't fully explored the others, but the SCOTBIS Scottish Business Information System looks pretty useful too, and I can see the potential of some of the newspaper archives for more consumer/issues related research.  Thanks to James for bringing my attention to the NLS as a resource!

Another major source of market data is Gartner, although at the moment I haven't found any way to access their reports other than paying cash.

I have also been using the Institute of Directors who have access to UK company data (I reckon for small UK companies it's better than GRS above) and databases of press clippings which are seachable by company name (Factiva).  They also have access to the Key Note market reports for UK consumer markets.

Other professional bodies often offer similar services - I have found the Institution of Engineering and Technology library is a useful resource, with many full text books and articles online (list here), and the INSPEC database (which you can get a free trial of) links to articles from a vast range of professional journals - although not all are available free of charge.  IEEE Explore also has great search capability and free trials are available.

For looking at UK companie you can get some data quickly and for free on the Companies House website using webcheck and you can get more detailed information at very reasonable prices there too, although there are many ways to get more detailed information including the IoD (see above).

Industry press and magazines have also been very helpful to me, often with articles that give some of the key data points from reports that I don't have full access to.  Specifically  I have been using EE Times and Electronics Weekly.  Company annual reports (especially for publicly listed companies) often include sections on "market conditions" too - so I have found it worthwhile looking at the reports of companies in related markets.  Obviously these must be treated with some caution as any market information is placed there with a specific purpose in mind, but the information will often be quoted from other sources and regulatory control of these documents should prevent the inclusion of misleading information.

Maybe you could share some of our own favourite data sources with us?  Or perhaps you can point out some of the equivalents for your own industry or area of expertise? 

Ian

Disclaimer:

Please note many of the data sources mentioned above are covered by licensing agreements covering the purposes for which they are made available and the uses that can be made of the data supplied.  If you intend to make use of any of the services described above (or those I hope people will add in comments!) then you must ensure that you have read and understood the applicable licenses or terms of use, and that you comply wth them (as I have in my studies).