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1.
Introduction
If you're campaigning
against a company, the success or failure of your campaign will crucially
depend on the information at your disposal. Whether you want to visit
the company's office, target its directors or shareholders, or produce
hard-hitting leaflets or reports, you will need to know your way around
a few basic resources.
This is actually
easier than most people think. For example, people often phone Corporate
Watch asking for the addresses of a company's sites in their area, but
they hadn't thought of looking in their phone book! So this basic guide
on how to research a company is an attempt to break down the mystique
surrounding research. Anyone can find out about a company, with just
a little time and imagination. And it's extremely satisfying to feel
you've stitched up a company just by getting to know it better.
This guide relates to researching UK companies. The directories, media
and libraries are all British. However, some of the techniques may be
transferable to other countries, and of course the web is international.
We assume the reader has access to the world-wide web. Many of the sources
here are available by traditional means (and we give those too), but
in this age of technological apartheid, the web makes research both
easier and more comprehensive. Even if you don't have a terminal, you
probably know someone who does, or can use one in a library or cyber-café.
We also assume that the reader knows basically how to use the web (if
not, there are countless people, companies and books who'd love to tell
you!), so we only explain how to apply this to research.
Obviously, it's easier to find out about a large company than a small
one, and a local company than a distant one. The smaller and further
away they get, the more you will have to use your imagination!
How
to use this guide
Finding out some of the more common types of information needed is explained
on pages 11-14 - such as where a company's sites are, details of directors,
shareholders, public relations etc. These explanations refer back to
some of the earlier sections of this guide.
The guide begins with some basic tips on how to research, then details
some of the different types of information sources available (NGOs,
the web, the media, industry sources, government sources, interviews).
There's no need to read the whole thing - dip in and out of the bits
that are relevant to you.
If you want to look into a company's wrongdoings, see the 'Digging the
Dirt' section on pages 15.
Golden
rules of research
There are 4 things we suggest you keep in mind while doing your research.
They will all save you time and frustration in the long run:
1) know what
you want
- before you start, be very clear about what kind of information
you need for your campaign. Beware of information addiction - if you
don't know exactly what you want, you can spend hours picking up reams
of 'information', which is all very interesting, but in the end no
real use.
2) ask someone
else
- at the start of your research, you should scope what other researchers
and campaigners have already done that could be helpful, to avoid
duplication of work. Always ask your contacts whether they can produce
or suggest written sources, or other people to speak to.
3) look for
leads
- throughout your research, look not just for information itself
but also for potential further sources, whether publications, websites,
contacts etc. So ask interviewees for any contacts they've got; follow
all links from useful websites; always look through bibliographies
and reference lists in publications. Look at the source of all your
information and follow it (e.g. if the source was a newspaper or magazine
article, talk to the journalists, find out where they got their information.)
A lot of good stories begin with a rumour - 'Have you heard that ____
plc does this?'. Always follow these rumours - 'Where did you hear
that?'.
4) note all
references
- this really is essential, however much of a drag it may seem.
This means that if later in your investigations you come to doubt
some of your information (e.g. if you get conflicting facts), you
can check out its reliability. Also, being able to go back to your
sources may give you new leads. Many good researchers go so far as
to log everything they do during a research project, including all
names, phone numbers, and details of where they get each piece of
information. This diligence generally pays off. It is also a good
idea to keep photocopies of all useful paper sources and printouts
or saved versions of web pages.
Structuring
your research
It is
good to get as far as you can with research before letting your target
company know that you're looking into it - that way you know you're
asking the most effective questions, you have a good idea of how to
extract information, and you can tell when your subject is lying. In
other words, aim to interview the company last.
Start by setting
out exactly what you want to know. List all the possible sources you
can think of. At this stage, search library catalogues and the web,
and ask any contacts you've got. Brainstorm research approaches with
your colleagues. When you've got a good list of sources, then prioritise,
and decide how much time you're prepared to spend on each. Throughout
your research, you must evaluate how effective you're being, and be
prepared to be flexible.
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