Problem statement: the problem and its impact
Target customer: who, key issues, their problem (identify & confirm), how to solve their problem, value & benefit of solving the problem
Testing assumptions: what key information do you need, where would you find that information (ex, an article, a book, a database, a website, a nonprofit or educational organization, a conference), and how would you acquire the information?
Key trends in your industry - stakeholders, competition, potential partners
Key political, regulatory, economic, environmental, social, cultural, and tech trends that affect the space you are in
Thought/ action leaders in the field – analysts, analyst firms, journalists, bloggers, conference presenters and conferences, media outlets for this industry and/or technology (try generative AI tool for this, and confirm factuality of its generated answer)
Reflect: Who is producing the information that meets my information needs, and where can I find that information?
"Everything" Search - the search box on Gutman's home page
When you need to find research to inform your thinking and to challenge or support your thesis, an excellent first step is to check our catalog. Searching "Everything" means searching for any source type (articles, books, ebooks, videos, conference proceedings, and more) across many of our 225+ subscription databases at once. You cannot ask our catalog a question, so brainstorm for keywords first and consider trying a Boolean logic search with AND, OR, or NOT.
| Boolean Operator | Search Example | How does it work? |
|---|---|---|
| AND | waste and "fast fashion" |
AND narrows a search by retrieving sources with all your terms Putting terms in quotation marks retrieves sources with those keywords next to each other |
| OR | oceans OR rivers | OR broadens a search by finding sources with either term |
| NOT | food NOT nutrition | NOT narrows a search by excluding sources with an unwanted term |
Business and Industry Research: What is the business environment for my product's industry? Who is the competition? What are the industry's key trends?
Business Source Premier provides full text for nearly 8,350 scholarly business journals and other sources, some dating back to 1922. Also includes company and industry reports.
Explore over 420,000 company profiles with expert analysis such as SWOT reports, financial statements, Refinitiv statistical data, market share, business rankings, case studies, company histories, and articles from academic journals, trade magazines, news outlets and more. Also includes insight into major markets with profiles of the world's countries and territories, and analysis of over 1,000 industries with MarketLine and Plunkett reports, competitive landscapes, and articles.
Provides industry insights & analyses, risk assessments, industry intelligence, market research. Topics include: business, economics, engineering, entrepreneurship, management, tourism, supply chain, marketing, trade
Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage is a comprehensive, professional source of proprietary analysis on industry trends, corporate activities, and investments. Includes S&P Industry Surveys, Stock Reports (S&P Equity Research), and now with Markets tab for drill downs to key ratios, benchmarks, constituents, etc. by sub-industry. Company data covers a global universe of over 3 million private and public companies.
What are key social, political, regulatory/ legal, environmental, technology, and cultural trends affecting my customers and influencing my value proposition? Where can I find that information?
Nexis Uni replaced LexisNexis Academic. It features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790.
Statista.com is a statistics portal with data on over 80,000 topics from over 18,000 sources onto a single professional platform. Categorized into 21 market sectors, Statista.com provides companies, business customers, research institutions, and the academic community with direct access to quantitative data on a wide variety of industries including media, business, finance, politics, health and pharmaceuticals.
Design Research
Contents include: Advertising, packaging and product design, Architecture, Crafts, Ceramics, glass and jewelry, Industrial design, Graphic design, Fashion and textiles, Sustainable design, Furniture and interior design, Fiber arts
Explore over 420,000 company profiles with expert analysis such as SWOT reports, financial statements, Refinitiv statistical data, market share, business rankings, case studies, company histories, and articles from academic journals, trade magazines, news outlets and more. Also includes insight into major markets with profiles of the world's countries and territories, and analysis of over 1,000 industries with MarketLine and Plunkett reports, competitive landscapes, and articles.
Market Share Reports show company rankings within their industry and their market share.
Provides industry insights & analyses, risk assessments, industry intelligence, market research. Topics include: business, economics, engineering, entrepreneurship, management, tourism, supply chain, marketing, trade
Industry reports include market share information in sections on "Competitive Forces" and "Companies."
Statista.com is a statistics portal with data on over 80,000 topics from over 18,000 sources onto a single professional platform. Categorized into 21 market sectors, Statista.com provides companies, business customers, research institutions, and the academic community with direct access to quantitative data on a wide variety of industries including media, business, finance, politics, health and pharmaceuticals.
Includes Media & Advertising Statistics, Consumer & Brand Reports, Consumer Market Outlook, Advertising & Media Outlook, and more.
