Mining Rich Databases
In ye olde days, entrepreneurs had no choice but to rely on mystery visits, friendly spies and written reports to find out what competitors, customers and potential partners were doing in the industry. These days, it is easy – too easy – to forage for this information through online search. Ready results will tend, however, to be more surface and narrow in their scope.
Libraries, meanwhile, have well-organized, proprietary directories with targeted, actionable data. Many of these are fully open access online, once you are on the library site. Certain subscription links can be accessed online by students/members and by the broader public in person.
Here is a link to UBC library guide developed particularly for the e101 site by Aleha McCauley – an entrepreneurship expert and Community Engagement Librarian at Irving K. Barber Learning Centre Program Services. Start by looking at the e101 slide deck Aleha has prepared, then browse through some of the different directories.
http://guides.library.ubc.ca/content.php?pid=613727&sid=5072682