New Guide
Directs Researchers to Free, High-Quality Company and
Industry Data on the Web
Written by a foremost expert
in the field of online business research, The Skeptical
Business Searcher also demonstrates critical evaluation
strategies
December 13, 2004, Medford, NJ—Information
Today, Inc. (ITI) announced the publication
of Robert Berkman’s The Skeptical Business
Searcher: The Information Advisor’s Guide
to Evaluating Web Data, Sites, and Sources.
In the new book, Berkman—editor
of The Information Advisor newsletter and a leading expert on online business
research—offers business Internet users effective strategies for identifying
and evaluating no-cost Web information sources, emphasizing easy-to-use techniques
for recognizing bias and misinformation.
“Free information from the Web isn’t
always valid or from qualified sources,
and this can be a problem for today’s
business searcher,” according to author
Berkman, who said he wrote The Skeptical
Business Searcher as the antidote
for this dilemma. He added that “the
problem has been compounded by the exploding
number and popularity of Weblogs. The
credibility and affiliations of the bloggers
who create these online commentaries
are often impossible to determine.”
The book directs readers to trusted
sources of company histories and overviews,
corporate sales and earnings data, SEC
filings and stockholder reports, public
records, market research studies, competitive
intelligence, industry analyses, staff
directories, executive biographies, survey/poll
data, press releases, news stories, and
hard-to-find information about small
businesses and niche markets. Leading
investigative reporters interviewed by
the author share their expertise in uncovering
bias and misinformation at even the most
slickly produced Web sites. In addition,
a unique ten-point checklist provides
a systematic method for evaluating Web
site reliability.
As a reader bonus, the book is supported
by “The Skeptical Business Searcher’s Web
Page,” featuring links to sites and sources
recommended in the book. Intended as
a useful starting point for business
searchers, the page is being periodically
updated and expanded by the author.
About the Author
Robert Berkman has been a writer, editor,
teacher, and speaker in the information
industry for more than 20 years. In addition
to serving as an editor at McGraw-Hill
Inc., Ziff-Davis, and What to Buy for
Business, he is the founder and editor
of The Information Advisor, an
international newsletter for business
researchers published by Information
Today, Inc. His previous books include Choosing
and Using a News Alert Service (ITI,
2004); Find It Fast: How to Uncover
Expert Information on Any Subject (5th
ed., HarperCollins, 2000); The Art
of Being Well Informed: What You Need
to Know to Gain the Winning Edge in Business (with
Andrew P. Garvin; 2nd ed., Avery Press,
1996); and Rethinking the Corporate
Information Center (FIND/SVP, 1996).
Berkman is on the faculty of the M.A.,
Media Studies program at New School University,
and has an M.A. in Journalism from the
University of Montana. He is a resident
of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The Skeptical Business Searcher (312
pp/softbound/$29.95/ISBN: 0-910965-66-8)
is a CyberAge Book from Information Today,
Inc. It is available in better bookstores
everywhere through Chicago-based trade
distributor Independent Publishers Group
(IPG) or by calling the publisher at
(800) 300-9868 [outside the U.S. call
(609) 654-6266]; faxing (609) 654-4309;
e-mailing custserv@infotoday.com;
or logging on to the ITI Web site at www.infotoday.com.
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