Internet-Based Market Research

	What is Good Quality Information?
		Created by a known and trusted resource or an individual or organization held in high esteem
		Can be corroborated using other kinds of information (such as survey data)
		Is well-documented, so original sources can be found and checked
		Intelligent, thoughtful interpretation Combines your industry expertise and our expertise in interpreting results
	What is Poor Quality Information?
		Created by an individual or organization with a poor, suspect, or unknown reputation
		Created by a source that would not normally be considered "expert" on the topic in question
		Cannot be corroborated, or is poorly documented
		Data is marketed aggressively using vague or sweeping generalizations, or is one-sided
		Does not make sense given what is already known about the topic
		Conflict of interest or the website owner has a stake in the "facts" being presented
		Old date on information that is known to change rapidly over time

The Internet is a vast source of information of varying degrees of quality and accuracy that is constantly changing. Internet information is created by many different groups-individuals, academic institutions, newspapers, activists, government departments and agencies, politicians, businesses, associations, non-profits, church groups, schools, and so on-and is used for all kinds of purposes.

Some people create websites to inform or educate, others use the Internet to sell products or services, and still others want to present viewpoints, store data they have collected about a topic, or even to annoy or harass. The quality of information on the Internet ranges from excellent to extremely poor, as do the "search engines" used to locate this information (well-known examples include Yahoo, Google, Lexus/Nexus, Forrester, Jupiter Media Matrix, to name a few).

MSR uses the Internet extensively as a tool for:

• Accessing important data bases, such as the U.S. Census
  
• Tracking general industry trends
  
• Identifying competitors
  
• Generating statistics about a geographic area or market
  
• Surveying populations that can be reached via the Internet

Our goal is to use the Internet to find information that can be corroborated, is accurate, credible, and reasonable, and is useful given our clients' needs. We often use the Internet to check facts about a geographic area or to compare our survey results with those conducted by others (such as the government or media organizations).

We have access to a broad range of both public and commercial data bases, and we maintain close ties to libraries and colleges located in the Pioneer Valley region of Western Massachusetts that subscribe to or maintain data bases that are not available to the general public.

For a sensible and thoughtful overview of how the Internet can be used to generate good quality market information, we recommend the State University of New York at Albany's library reference located at:

http://library.albany.edu/internet/research.html

Please contact us to discuss how Market Street Research can help you achieve your goals.

Learn more about:

• MSR's Market Research Solutions
• MSR's Marketing Research Methodologies
• The Markets MSR Serves
• The Results of MSR's Marketing Research

Learn more about why you should use Market Street Research.