1. Collection of information

.1 Collection of information

For a long time, people have understood the need for constant collection of information. In order to somehow streamline and facilitate this collection, it was invented:

reference books;

directories;

· specialized publications;

abstract journals;

· reviews and thematic monographs;

transcripts and minutes of meetings;

summaries.

For people who lived until the second half of the 20th century, information from these sources was quite enough. The situation began to change since the 1960s. Thanks to the globalization of society and the emergence of new means of information delivery, it turned out that both traditional and new means of information delivery provide incomplete (in the worst case, biased) information or outdated information, any message will contain unnecessary (sometimes even contradictory) information, so the technique is being improved. selection, sorting, analysis and presentation of information.

1.2 Collection of information and data mining

Information collection technology traditional methods developed by the beginning of the 19th century, and was closely connected with education. It included a collective and an individual component.

The collective component of information collection is as follows:

· Attending lectures, master classes, symposiums and conferences;

· Work at seminars, trainings, business communication (both in the classroom and personal communication).

· Correspondence (postal and electronic, by E-mail), telephone conversations, communication in chat rooms, video conferences, etc.

· Visits (personal or via courier) to experts, specialized firms, agencies - carriers of important information.

The importance of the collective exchange of information cannot be overestimated. It is in this communication that the participants increase their professional level(even from scratch), acquire the necessary work skills, create a social circle, make friends and like-minded people. But this method of information exchange has disadvantages:

· Limited circle of contacts;

· Difficulties (financial, temporary, organizational) to gather people in one place;

· Psychological features of personalities.

· As a result, much attention has been and is being paid to individual, self-collection of information.

These methods of collecting information include:

· Reading specialized literature in the library (with notes).

Browse traditional media, television and radio programs on the relevance of topics and issues raised.

· Reading articles, monographs, and other primary sources.

· Search for articles on a given topic in refereed journals, in the list of primary sources, etc.

· Search for literature in catalogs (library, online, etc.).

· Collection of information on the Internet.

Exactly individual approach to the collection of information, as well as personal visits and correspondence, and constitutes what is currently called data mining (from the words Data - data and Mining - ore mining in a mine). The principle of Data Mining is to collect as much information as possible on a given topic in order to subsequently, as a result of the analysis, obtain useful information and prepare the necessary material.

1.3 Offline collection rules new information

Before proceeding with the collection of information, it is necessary to determine the objectives of this collection. The rule: “go there, I don’t know where, bring it, I don’t know what” - does not work both in life and in data mining. Usually, information is sought for some purpose related to either professional or personal interests of a person. Therefore, the first step for collection is to define goals.

The second, no less important stage for collecting information is the preparation of an approximate work plan. The big mistakes of all those who approach planning in an amateurish way are:

deep detailing of the plan in the early stages;

Too busy plan

Exaggerated expectations from the plan.

As follows from the above, such a plan fails. And then a person is tempted: “Come on, these plans. I will do what I can,” and as a result comes to defeat. Therefore, in case of failure of one plan, it should be replaced by another, taking into account the mistakes already made.

To write a speech, speech, work, a plan is also needed. You must always imagine what you want to say, and it is for this “what” that you will collect material.

1.4. Information collection and storage technologies

The collection of information involves obtaining the most verified initial information and is one of the most important stages in working with information, since the final result of the entire information system depends entirely on the purpose of the collection and methods of subsequent processing.

Collection technology involves the use of certain methods of collecting information and technical means selected depending on the type of information and the methods used to collect it. At the final stage of collection, when the information is converted into data, i.e. information presented in a formalized form suitable for computer processing is entered into the system.

When the collection of information is completed, the collected data is brought together in a system to create, store and keep up to date the information fund necessary to perform various tasks in the activities of the control object. It should be noted that the stored data must be sufficiently available for retrieval from the storage location, display, transmission or processing at the request of the user. And data collection should provide the necessary completeness and minimum redundancy of stored information, which can be achieved by selecting data, assessing their need, as well as analyzing existing data and separating them into input, intermediate and output.

Input data is data obtained from primary information that creates the initial description of the subject area and is subject to storage.

Intermediate data is formed from other data in the process of transformation and processing, and, as a rule, is not subject to long-term storage.

The output data is the result of processing the input data according to the corresponding algorithm; they serve as the basis for making management decisions and are subject to storage for a certain period.

In order to collect data, it is first necessary to identify the technical means that allow collection to be carried out quickly and with high quality, and that support data entry and data submission in electronic form. As a means of collection information systems usually there are aggregates, which are a set of devices and software for them, which serve to convert information presented in non-electronic form into electronic form for its subsequent use in the system.

With the development of computer technology, various technical means began to appear that allow manual or automated collection of information directly from its source or through intermediate links. It should be noted that in each separate case technical means are selected depending on the type of information collected and its purpose.

So, for various stages of collecting text and graphic information, as well as for choosing from the options offered by the system, tools such as a keyboard, various manipulators (“mouse”, ball joystick, light pen, etc.), a scanner, a tablet, touch screen monitor. To collect sound information, a voice recorder and a microphone are most often used; in some cases, sound sensors and speech recognition equipment are used, as well as means of recording the air of radio stations.

The collection of video information is carried out with the help of video cameras and cameras; in addition, there are facilities that allow you to record television broadcast video signals.

1.5 Technical means of collecting information

Figure 1. Technical means of collecting information

AT industrial systems depending on the application, barcode scanning, image capturing, automatic sensors for volume, pressure, temperature, humidity, signal and code recognition systems, etc. are also often used.

In general, the use of such industrial means of collecting information is called automatic identification technology, i.e. identification and / or direct data collection into a microprocessor device (computer or programmable controller) without using a keyboard. This technology is used to eliminate errors associated with data collection and speed up the collection process; it allows not only to identify objects, but also to keep track of them, to encode a large amount of information.

Automatic identification combines five groups of technologies that provide a solution to the problem of collecting a variety of data:

Bar coding technologies (Bar Code Technologies).

2. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies (RFID - Radio Frequency Identification Technologies).

3. Card technologies (Card Technologies).

Data collection technologies (Data Communications Technologies).

New technologies such as voice recognition, optical and magnetic text recognition, biometric technologies and some others.

During the initial development of data collection technology, after the choice of technical means, it is necessary to consider a data collection plan, which usually includes several stages, especially characteristic of research projects:

Definition of the problem situation and formulation of the purpose of data collection;

Detailed study of the subject area with the help of a survey of experts, literature review and group discussions and clarification of data collection objectives;

Development of the concept of data collection based on the development of hypotheses, their practical verification, identification of cause-and-effect relationships;

Detailed data collection planning, identification of sources of information (secondary data already collected by someone before the project, or primary, new data);

Selection of information sources and collection of secondary data;

Evaluation of the obtained secondary data (relevance, accuracy, completeness, suitability for further processing);

Planning the collection of primary data, choosing the method of collection;

Carrying out the collection and input of primary information;

Analysis of the received data;

Presentation of the results of data collection, their transfer to storage and processing.

Depending on the goals, field of activity and available technical means, a whole range of data collection methods can be distinguished:

) in economic information systems (for example, marketing):

Survey and interview - group, individual or telephone survey, survey in the form of a questionnaire, formalized and non-formalized interviews;

Registration (observation) - a systematic, systematic study of the behavior of an object or subject;

Panel - repeated collection of data from one group of respondents at regular intervals;

Expert assessment - assessment of the processes under study by qualified experts;

) in geoinformation systems:

Collection of information from regulatory and methodological documentation;

Collection of spatial (coordinate and attribute) data;

Monitoring of data streams coming from research air and sea ​​vessels, coast stations and buoys in operational and delayed mode;

Collection of data coming through remote data access channels;

) in statistical information systems:

Data collection from primary documents;

Filling in your own forms and templates when collecting data;

Collection of data from reporting entities by completing prescribed reporting forms;

) in information systems for managing production processes, data collection methods based on automatic identification technology are widely used.

The collected information, converted into electronic form, is one of the main values ​​of any modern organization, therefore, ensuring reliable storage and prompt access to information for further processing is a priority. The information storage procedure consists in the formation and maintenance of the data storage structure in the computer memory.

Despite the high level of development of modern information technologies, at the moment there is no universal methodology for building a data storage system that would be acceptable for most organizations. In each individual case, such a problem is solved individually, but it seems possible to formulate the main requirements for modern storage structures:

Independence from programs that use stored data;

Ensuring the completeness and minimum redundancy of data;

Ability to update data (i.e. replenish or change data values ​​recorded in the database);

The ability to extract data, as well as sort and search by specified criteria. Most often, databases or data banks act as data storage structures.

A database (DB) is a specially organized set of interrelated data that reflects the state of a selected subject area in reality and is intended for joint use in solving problems by many users.

The database is a complex of information, technical, software, linguistic and organizational tools that provide the collection, storage, retrieval and processing of data.

The data bank is a universal database that serves any requests of application programs together with the corresponding software.

Database management systems (DBMS) are used to provide access to the database, compiling generalized and detailed reports, and performing data analysis using queries. Among the most striking are: Lotus Approach, Microsoft Access, Borland dBase, Borland Paradox, Microsoft Visual FoxPro, as well as Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle databases used in applications built using client-server technology.

In addition to databases and data banks, a modern information storage structure is provided by data warehouses, which include the following functional blocks:

Tools for setting up an information model that reflects all types of information necessary to solve enterprise problems;

Metadata repository, i.e. a description of the structure of the data warehouse, available to both internal programs of the warehouse and external systems, providing the flexibility of the warehouse;

Technology for collecting data from external sources, as well as from remote departments using two methods:

the use of ETL tools (Extract, Transformation, Loadin - extraction, transformation, loading), inherent in special systems, to extract data from other databases, transform in accordance with the rules described in the system, and load into the data warehouse;

application of a standard data collection format and development of procedures for their upload at the source, which ensures the homogeneity of data extracted from different systems, and decentralization of development by transferring it to specialists who know the source system;

Mechanisms for calculating aggregates and indicators based on detailed storage data, using technologies for hierarchical adjustment of the data structure or indicators, as well as a built-in programming language;

User interfaces that allow a team of employees to share functions and perform various tasks, including administration, application design, storage technology support, data analysis on demand, etc.;

Mechanisms for executing arbitrary queries, including tools for generating queries and necessary indexes;

It should be noted that an important requirement for any data storage system is to provide backup, archiving, structured storage and data recovery in the required time frame.

1.6 Operations for fast data recovery in storage systems

Figure 2. Operations for fast data recovery in storage systems.

Tools for setting up and issuing reports as end products of the data warehouse, including reports of a regulated form, analytical and user-customized.

These operations can be organized using a file-by-file analysis of the data to be stored, taking into account the dates of creation, modification and last access to files, their extension, location in file system directories, etc. Let's consider these operations in more detail.

Backup is the creation of copies of files to quickly restore system performance in the event of an emergency. Copies of files are kept on backup media for a certain amount of time and then overwritten. There are full, incremental and differential backups.

Full backup involves the creation of copies of all data to be backed up, which allows you to quickly restore information in case of an emergency; however, such copying takes quite a long time.

A differential backup only backs up files that have been created or modified since the previous full backup session. In the event of a disaster, data recovery will require the latest full and differential backups.

An incremental backup only backs up files that have been created or changed since the last full, differential, or incremental backup. Such copying is carried out quite quickly, however, if emergency data recovery will require the last full and all subsequent incremental backups, and the recovery procedure will be very long.

Taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of existing backup methods, in practice, full backup (for example, once a week) and incremental (for example, once a day) are used in parallel.

Archiving is the process of copying files for indefinite or long-term storage on archival media. Backups can also be full, incremental, and differential, but they are less common than backups.

To reduce the cost of storing rarely used data, a structured storage system is used, i.e. organization of the hierarchical structure of information storage devices, when top level there are hard drives, and at the lower levels - removable drives that are combined into a single logical drive to store rarely used information. Moving files across levels is organized in such a way that the amount of free space on the server disks is kept within the specified limits.

1.7 Types and methods of collecting information for marketing research. Strategic marketing, marketing research

The necessary information is often missing in the right form. It should be found, processed and correctly interpreted. In marketing research, the result is a priority. The winner is not the one who got the most accurate result, but the one who was the first to find and implement the right solution, even if with a greater degree of acceptability. Searching for information in marketing research comes down to answering five basic questions.

Marketing research and the development of marketing strategies on their basis are inextricably linked with the collection, processing and analysis of information. The necessary information is often missing in the right form. It should be found, processed and correctly interpreted. The problem is that, in relation to each specific case, a marketer must not only determine the sources of information, but also independently develop a methodology for its analysis.

Searching for information in marketing research comes down to answering five basic questions:

What information is needed to solve the tasks?

Where and when can you get the information you need?

In what form and volume can information be obtained?

How valuable is the information obtained for solving the tasks?

What are the financial and time costs of obtaining information?

According to the method of obtaining information marketing research is divided into two main types: secondary research (desk research) and primary research (field research).

I. Secondary (desk) research is based on already available information from two types (internal and external) sources.

Internal sources are sources of information located within the enterprise. They are the main type of information sources in marketing, do not require large expenditures, are always at hand and include at least three types. marketing information:

Marketing statistics (commodity turnover characteristics, sales structure, complaints, etc.). This is information about the market, about who, what, when, where, with what regularity, under what conditions, in what quantity, etc. buys. There is no “clean data” either in the accounting department, or in the financial service, or in other departments. The marketing division independently develops an internal system of indicators for its enterprise.

Marketing spend data (by product, sales and communications). Marketing events very costly. They should not only pay off, but also bring tangible profits. Therefore, it is better to stop in time if something “suddenly does not work” than to waste time, money and market opportunities;

Intra-company data (equipment performance, capacity utilization, storage system characteristics, etc.) This is auxiliary information already available in the enterprise. It reflects the internal potential of the enterprise, which must be taken into account when planning marketing activities. For example, it makes no sense to collect more orders than the company can fulfill.

External sources of information consist of publicly available materials from third parties that are valuable for planning marketing activities. This is not quite what is needed for work, but some useful information can be gleaned from them. For example:

Materials of state and municipal bodies of authority and management. From them, you can find out, for example, the conditions for providing support to small businesses, territorial development priorities, the provision on the formation of polling stations (to analyze the effectiveness of distribution of retail outlets), etc.

This information is available in legal information systems.

Materials of commercial and industrial chambers. Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCI) are non-profit organizations engaged in the coordination of business activities and exist at the expense of the contributions of their members and the provision related services(expert, analytical, etc.). In addition, regional chambers of commerce have the opportunity to contact chambers of other regions and even countries to develop trade relations, organize business visits, support transactions, etc. Members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry have the opportunity to receive relevant information upon request.

Collections of statistical information. Statistics are focused primarily on the needs of the state and do not always adequately reflect the real situation. However, in many cases, its data is indispensable for analyzing market trends. The main sources of information here are summarized data tax reporting, materials of the population census and surveys of economic entities, as well as data from other federal agencies (Customs Service, Rospotrebnadzor, etc.). In addition, all regional departments of the State Statistics Committee provide, at the request of enterprises, paid information within their competence.

Specialized literature, reports in magazines and newspapers. This is something that can be gleaned from the content analysis of printed publications. Even the world's professional intelligence agencies get most of their information from open sources. Here we can talk, for example, about finding promising areas for business development or new technologies. Most likely, you will not be able to find a solution to the problem in this way, but you can determine where to look for it.

Price lists, exhibition catalogues, brochures and other company publications. All these materials are usually available in sufficient quantities in any commercial organization. Usually, to obtain them, "spoilers" are used, appointed from among new employees, whose tasks include visiting competitors under the guise of buyers.

In addition, such sources are freely distributed at exhibitions and presentations.

Materials of consulting organizations. Typically, these materials include market and competition analysis, consulting firms conduct external audits, and develop competitive strategies. It should be borne in mind that consulting firms often imitate analytical activities, presenting results for the effective use of which the client is responsible.

Studies based on secondary information are usually preliminary and descriptive or staging. With the help of such studies, for example, market trends, competitive strategies, local infrastructural features, etc. can be determined.

The advantages of secondary (desk) research are less time and money spent than for primary research, and the possibility of using the results to determine the objectives of the primary research if the goal is not achieved. The significance of internal or external information in each case is determined by the objectives of the study. The main problem in their use is related to the interpretation of available data (they are always not adapted) and the development of the analysis methodology (it is always new).

II. Primary (field) research is based on market information collected for the first time for specific purpose. These studies almost always cost much more than desk studies. They are carried out in cases where high costs are offset by the importance of the tasks being solved. There are two types of primary research in marketing.

A full (continuous) study covers all respondents. It is usually used to study a small number of them, for example, large consumers or counterparties. Continuous studies are distinguished by accuracy, as well as low resource and time costs for conducting.

There are three types of sampling:

Random implies a random selection of respondents, regardless of their personal characteristics. For example, polling passers-by when choosing the location of a new outlet;

Normalized (quota) implies the selection of respondents in accordance with the structure of the population. For example, in Russia, on average, 51% of women live, 49% of men, and further - by age, income, national characteristics, education, consumer preferences, etc. depending on the objectives of the study;

Concentrated involves the selection of not all respondents, but only representatives of a certain segment of the consumer market or counterparties. For example, to study the sales of baby diapers, it is not at all necessary to interview men, schoolchildren, or retirees.

The main methods of field (primary) research in marketing can be conditionally divided into three groups.

Group I. Surveys of consumers and contractors. Conducting surveys implies two possible approaches to their organization: questionnaires and interviews. There is no big difference between them. The only difference is who completes the questionnaire. When conducting a survey, this is done by the respondent, and when conducting an interview, by the interviewer.

The survey is written form a survey carried out outside of direct contact with the respondent. Surveys are cheaper, faster and easier. However, it gives a very high percentage of marriage due to the respondents' misunderstanding of the questions, inattention when filling out, frivolous attitude to questions, etc. The best result in terms of accuracy can be obtained when using the most simplified questionnaires with a small number of short questions.

Interviewing is a written form of a survey carried out in the process of direct contact with the respondent. The interview is more accurate, labor-intensive, time-consuming and requires special training for interviewers. Sometimes it is necessary to draw up special memos for conducting interviews. At the same time, the interview allows the use of long, complex questionnaires with a large number of questions during the study.

The technology of conducting surveys provides for many options.

Personal conversation through direct contact with the respondent is divided into three types:

Standardized survey - based on the use of standard response options (for example: 1. You smoke. 2. You do not smoke). This method is often used in self-completion surveys;

non-standardized survey - based on the use in surveys, in addition to standard response options, of the so-called open-ended answers to questions (for example: 1. Do you smoke. 2. Do you not smoke. 3. Quit smoking. 4. Other (please name)). This method is used both in questionnaires and in interviewing respondents. Its disadvantage is the high complexity of processing questionnaires with a large number of open answers;

expert survey - does not imply the use of questionnaires at all. Usually the conversation is being recorded on a dictaphone with subsequent transcription and analysis. For example, a representative of a supplier finds out from the sales representatives of the counterparty the regional characteristics of demand and competition in the market.

A telephone survey is cheaper, faster and less labor intensive. However, its use is limited by problems with compliance with the sample population (the one who is at home, and not the one who is needed, picks up the phone). Therefore, telephone surveys are used only in relation to the study of the market for goods and services of mass demand, where the sample is not fundamental.

A computer survey includes three options: direct mailing, interactive survey on websites and mailing questionnaires to contractors and potential partners by e-mail. In the first case, the number of responses is less than 1%. In the second case, it is not known who is responsible (a Russian or an immigrant from Canada, a competitor or just a computer hooligan). And only the third option gives a significant effect due to saving time and high information content.

Postal survey reduces the complexity of the study, especially when covering large areas. Its disadvantages are: increased time consumption, low efficiency of calls (usually 3-5%) and problems with sample control. Email surveys are most effective when combined with gifts, discount coupons, sweepstakes, promotions, and more.

Group interviews are a very effective form of market research, limited only by the potential of the interviewees. For example, representatives of the manufacturer interview employees of sales departments, wholesalers, who, by brainstorming, formulate answers to the questions asked. A variety of group interviews are consumer conferences, where new products are presented and features of consumer demand are revealed.

The focus group consists of 12-15 people, with whom the host (moderator) talks to a tape recorder for 1.5-2 hours in a relaxed atmosphere (over a cup of tea). Focus group is very effective in planning advertising campaigns and in resolving any issues that require a quick response with a high degree of acceptability. But there is always a possibility that the invited grandmother does not represent the interests of all such grandmothers. Therefore, to clarify the results of the study, several focus groups are usually conducted, the results of which are compared.

Panel. Panel research involves the formation of a group of respondents in accordance with the sample set for a long period (a year or more), which on an ongoing basis provide data on the state of the market.

In general, two types of panel studies can be distinguished:

Trading panel - provides for the formation of a selection by the supplier of the most typical counterparties. For example, a manufacturer provides certain benefits to selected wholesalers in exchange for regular provision of marketing information about the state of demand, competitor activity, etc.;

Panel of households - provides for the formation of a sample of the most typical consumers of goods (services). In Russia, this method is actively used by the Gallup Institute, which specializes in analyzing the effectiveness of television advertising. In large settlements, there is a selective set of households with which agreements on participation in research are concluded. Then equipment is installed in the apartments, which fixes which of the family members, when, how much and what is watching on TV. The information obtained is then analyzed and the results are sold to broadcasters and large advertisers to evaluate the viewership of television programs.

Group II. Observation of respondents. It is a study that does not imply personal contacts between the marketer and the respondents.

Supervision with the participation of a researcher - when a marketer is present at the point of sale and independently captures information about the behavior of buyers. This can be, for example, the study of the size of purchases, the effectiveness of the display of goods, the level of professional training of staff, etc.

Researcher's indifference - when a marketer entrusts the collection of information to employees of other departments of the company or uses technical means (video cameras, computer technology, etc.). Then the received materials are summarized and used for further analysis of the marketing situation.

One of the most effective methods here is the use of barcodes when making purchases. The information received is compared with the information from the questionnaires filled out when issuing discount cards, and based on the data obtained, a sample is formed for the study. This method allows you to quickly form a sample of buyers and analyze sales without asking the consent of the respondents.

This also includes the method of momentary observations, when the object is studied not in dynamics (over a period of time), but in statics (at a specific moment). For example, in the most typical of the firm's many outlets, the size of the purchase and the number of visitors during "rush hour" and "dead time", on a weekday and on weekends, are recorded.

Group III. Trial marketing. It involves studying how changing the parameters of a sales offer affects sales performance. There are two types of this kind of research in marketing.

An experiment is a local change in product parameters (price, quality, design, advertising, etc.) before a final decision is made on them. For example, at the most typical of many retail outlets, product parameters (price, appearance, assortment, etc.) to identify consumer reaction to planned innovations.

If the experiment gives financial results(additional profit), the innovation applies to all outlets.

Market testing involves selling test runs of a new product on the market to study consumer reaction. This method is equally suitable for both manufacturers and retailers. It is not uncommon for manufacturers to provide trial lots to wholesalers free of charge to study consumer demand in the market. If the goods are not sold, they are returned to the supplier, and if they are sold, the seller makes full or partial payment and concludes a contract with the supplier for the sale of goods.

Specific decisions on the choice of types, methods and technologies for conducting marketing research are made based on the specifics of the problems facing the enterprise. It is almost impossible to conduct an effective study on a ready-made template to order. Each time it will be a completely new, individual approach, the personal responsibility for the effectiveness of which is borne by the marketing specialist working there before the management of the enterprise.

2. Information processing technology

2.1 Ways of processing information

Modern information technologies make it possible to process information in a centralized and decentralized (i.e. distributed) ways.

The centralized method involves the concentration of data in the information and computing center, which performs all the main actions of the technological process of information processing. The main advantage of the centralized method is the comparative cheapness of processing large amounts of information by increasing the load on computing facilities.

The decentralized method is characterized by the dispersal of information and computing resources and the distribution of the technological process of information processing according to the places of origin and consumption of information. The advantage of a decentralized method is to increase the efficiency of information processing and solving tasks by automating activities at specific workplaces, using reliable means of transmitting information, organizing the collection of primary documents and entering initial data at their places of origin.

The decentralized method of information processing can be implemented by an autonomous or network method. With offline information processing, the transfer of documents and data on electronic media is carried out by mail or by courier, and with network processing, through modern communication channels.

Often, in practice, a mixed method of information processing is used, which is characterized by signs of two methods at the same time (centralized with partial decentralization or decentralized with partial centralization).

In this case, one of the methods is taken as a basis, while using the advantages of the other, due to this, high efficiency of the information and computing facilities is achieved, saving material and labor resources.

2.2 Technological process of information processing

With the advent of computers, specialists employed in a wide variety of subject areas (banking, insurance, accounting, statistics, etc.) have the opportunity to use information technology. In this regard, it became necessary to define the concept of traditional technology that existed up to this point, designed to convert the initial information in a particular subject area into the required result information. Thus, the concept of subject technology appeared.

Subject technology is a sequence of technological stages of transformation of primary information of a certain subject area into the result, independent of the use of computer technology and information technology. The concept of information technology cannot be considered separately from the technical (computer) environment, i.e. from basic information technology.

Basic information technology is a set of hardware designed to organize the process of data transformation (information, knowledge), their communication and transmission. Due to the fact that information technologies can differ significantly in various subject areas and computer environments, such concepts as providing and functional information technologies are distinguished.

Providing information technologies - information processing technologies that can be used as tools in various subject areas for solving various problems.

Since a fairly large number of computing and technological environments have been developed and are currently in use, enabling technologies can be based on different platforms, often incompatible with each other. Therefore, when they are combined on the basis of subject technology, it becomes necessary to bring various IT to a standard single interface.

Functional information technologies - such a modification of the supporting information technologies, in which any of the subject technologies is implemented. Functional information technology forms a ready-made software or part of it, designed to automate tasks in a specific subject area and a given technical environment.

The transformation of providing information technology into a functional one can be performed not only by a system developer, but also by the user himself. It depends on the skill of the user and on the complexity of the required modification. The correct implementation of subject technology depends on the rational organization of the technological process of information processing.

The technological process of information processing is a strictly defined sequence of interrelated procedures performed to transform primary information from the moment it occurs to the desired result.

The technological process is designed to automate the processing of initial information by involving technical means of basic information technology, reduce financial and labor costs, and ensure a high degree of reliability of the resulting information.

For a specific task of a particular subject area, the technological process of information processing is developed individually. The set of procedures depends on the following factors:

The nature and complexity of the problem being solved;

Information transformation algorithm;

Used technical means;

Terms of data processing;

Control systems used;

Number of users, etc.

AT general case the technological process of information processing includes the procedures shown in Figure 3.

2.3 Information processing procedures

Figure 3. Information processing procedures

In any subject area in the technological process of information processing, three main stages can be distinguished.

The first stage begins with the collection of primary documents from various sources and preparing them for automated processing. At this stage, the analysis of the documents submitted for processing, the systematization of the available information, the compilation and refinement of control information, which will later be used to verify the correctness of the entered data, are carried out.

The second stage is the main one and includes the input, processing of information according to a given algorithm, as well as the output of the resulting documents. At this stage, manual or automated input of information from primary documents, control of the correctness and completeness of the input results is carried out. Information from primary documents is transferred to information base or into an electronic form of a document and thus converted into data. This is followed by data processing based on the algorithm for solving the problem, their transformation into output data, the formation and printing of result documents.

At the final third stage of the technological process of information processing, the quality and completeness of the resulting documents are controlled, they are replicated and transferred to interested parties via various communication channels in electronic form or on paper.

2.4 Information processing modes on a computer

Computing tools are involved in the process of information processing in two main modes: batch or dialog.

In the case when the information processing technology on a computer is a predetermined sequence of operations that does not require human intervention, and there is no dialogue with the user, the information is processed in the so-called batch mode. Its essence lies in the fact that data processing programs are sequentially executed under the control of the operating system as a set (package) of tasks. The operating system provides data entry, calling the required programs, turning on the necessary external devices, coordinating and managing the technological process of information processing.

Information collection methods

marketing information collection purchasing

Marketing research- the process of collecting data that characterizes any market process or phenomenon and is intended to meet the information and analytical needs of marketing. The search and collection of information on the problem under study is one of the most time-consuming and costly stages of any marketing research. Depending on the sources of information used, studies are divided into:

office;

field.

Desk research - search, collection and analysis of already existing secondary information ("desk research"). Secondary information is data collected previously for purposes other than those currently being addressed.

The study of inside information should be the starting point in the search and collection of secondary data. Most companies have a significant amount of accumulated internal information, some of which is readily available and ready for immediate use, such as sales and pricing data that is regularly recorded in accounting records. Information of another type is not systematized and needs to be improved, but it can be quickly and easily collected and prepared for use.

Sources for obtaining current external information can be of a very different nature; formal and informal procedures are used to collect it. Similar information is obtained by studying books, newspapers, trade publications; as a result of conversations with customers, suppliers, distributors and other persons external to the organization, who should be effectively motivated to collect the necessary information; based on conversations with other managers and employees, such as employees of the sales services of this organization; by conducting industrial and commercial espionage (although foreign books write a lot about the ethical problems of marketing research).

In the case of secondary marketing, methods of searching the Internet for the necessary information are also used. The main tools for its search today are search engines and directories. In some cases, when their use does not give a sufficient effect, a "manual" search is used on thematic sites, "yellow pages" and a number of other resources. One of the main aspects of conducting secondary market research using the Internet is the search for sources of information. Hundreds of millions of sites on the Web today make the task quite difficult. .

The main advantages of working with secondary information are: low cost of work, since there is no need to collect new data; speed of information collection; the presence of several sources of information; relative reliability of information from independent sources; possibility of preliminary analysis of the problem. The obvious disadvantages of working with secondary information are: frequent inconsistency of secondary data with the objectives of the study, due to the general nature of the latter; information is often outdated; the methodology and tools used to collect the data may not be appropriate for the purposes of this study. In this regard, desk research is often supplemented by several parallel expert interviews to increase the validity of information.

Field research - search, collection and processing of data specifically for a specific marketing analysis. Any field research is based on primary information, in other words, on newly obtained data to solve a specific problem under study. The main advantages of primary information: data are collected in strict accordance with the exact objectives of the research task; the data collection methodology is strictly controlled. The main disadvantage of collecting field information is the significant cost of material and labor resources.

Depending on the tools (methods) used for collecting field (primary) information, research can be divided into:

· quantitative;

· quality .

Quantitative research consists of conducting various surveys using closed-type questions, which are answered by a large number of respondents. Qualitative research involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data by observing what people do and say. Observations and inferences are qualitative and non-standard.

Qualitative research involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data by observing what people do and say. Qualitative data is collected to learn more about things that cannot be directly measured or observed. Feelings, thoughts, intentions, past actions are just a few examples of information that can be obtained through qualitative information gathering methods. These methods are also used to identify possible methodological shortcomings of the research project, to clarify those points that remained unclear when formulating the problem. In some cases, obtaining information from respondents using fully structured or formal methods may not be desirable or possible. In such situations, qualitative data collection methods come into play. Often, the practical implementation of marketing research requires integrated approach- joint use of quantitative and qualitative methods.

In order to collect qualitative data, exploratory marketing research is used, which involves the use of qualitative research methods. Qualitative research methods are divided into direct and indirect, depending on whether the respondent knows the true purpose of the research. The direct approach is not masked by the researcher. Respondents are told about the purpose of the study or it becomes obvious from the questions asked. This method finds its application in focus groups and in-depth interviews. In contrast, the indirect approach hides the true purpose of the study from the respondents. .

A focus group is an unstructured interview that a specially trained facilitator takes casually from a small group of respondents. The facilitator directs the discussion. The main purpose of conducting focus groups is to get an idea of ​​what a group of people representing a specific target market thinks about the problems of interest to the researcher. The value of this method lies in the fact that the free nature of the conversation often allows you to get unexpected information. Usually the number of its participants ranges from 8 to 12 people. The focus group should be homogeneous in terms of the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of its participants, which reduces the conflict between them. In addition, it is necessary that all participants meet certain criteria. People who took part in such focus groups, the so-called "professional respondents", are not involved in the discussion. The course of the interview is recorded throughout the discussion, often on videotape for later review, re-recording and analysis.

Focus groups are used in almost all cases when it is necessary to obtain a preliminary conclusion about a situation. Focus groups allow you to address the following questions:

Determination of customer preferences and their attitudes towards this product.

Obtaining opinions on new product ideas.

Presentation of new ideas for existing products.

opinions about the price.

Obtaining a preliminary consumer reaction to certain marketing programs.

Depth interview - An unstructured, direct, personal interview in which a single respondent is interviewed by a highly qualified interviewer to determine their underlying motivations, emotions, attitudes, and beliefs about a particular topic. An in-depth interview can last from 30 minutes to over an hour.

The following three methods of conducting in-depth interviews are popular with researchers: the ladder method, the method of clarifying hidden problems, and symbolic analysis.

Laddering method is characterized by consistent questioning. First, they ask about the characteristics of the product, and then move on to the characteristics of the user himself. This method allows the researcher to determine the meanings that consumers associate with any item or issue.

When clarifying hidden issues (hidden issue questioning), the main thing is not social values, but rather personal "sore points"; not a way of life in general, but deep personal experiences and anxiety of a person.

Symbolic analysis attempts to analyze the symbolic meaning of objects by comparing them with their opposites. In order to understand what is actually hidden behind this or that phenomenon, the researcher tries to determine what is not characteristic of this phenomenon. The logical opposites of the researched product are the non-use of this product, the signs of an imaginary "anti-product" and the types of products that are opposite in properties.

Benefits of in-depth interviews:

1) allow you to better understand the inner experiences of people. In addition, with their help, the author of the answer is clearly visible.

2) involves the free exchange of information.

Disadvantages of in-depth interviews

1) Qualified facilitators and interviewers are expensive and hard to find.

2) Due to the lack of a specific structure for conducting a survey, the interviewer can influence the results of the survey, and the quality and reliability of the data obtained depend entirely on the skills of the interviewer. It is difficult to analyze these data and draw appropriate conclusions from them without using the services of qualified psychologists.

3) Taking into account the duration of the interview and the costs associated with it, it can be said that the number of in-depth interviews in the project will be small. Despite these inconveniences, in-depth interviews somehow find their use.

Basically, in-depth interviews are used to conduct exploratory research, seeking to gain understanding of the problem. However, in-depth interviews in marketing research are not used as often. However, this method can be effectively applied in special problematic situations.

The projective technique is an unstructured, indirect form of questioning that encourages respondents to express (to the interviewer) their ulterior motives, beliefs, attitudes, or feelings about the issue being discussed, i.e. how to extract them from the depths of consciousness, demonstrating (projecting) to the researcher. Projection methods are divided into:

· Associative methods. When using them, a person is shown an object, and then he is asked to say about it what first comes to mind. The most famous of them is the method of word associations, when the respondent is shown one word from the list, and he must choose the word that comes to mind first.

· Ways to complete the situation. In the methods of completing the situation, the respondent is asked to come up with an end to the invented situation. Usually in marketing research methods are used where the respondent is required to complete sentences or come up with an ending to a story.

· Situation construction methods. This group of methods is closely related to the situation completion methods. Situation construction methods require the respondent to come up with a story, dialogue, or description of the situation. There are two main methods for constructing a situation: answer by drawings and animation tests. The picture response method is somewhat similar to the thematic conscious perception test, which consists of a series of pictures depicting ordinary and not-so-ordinary things. The respondent is asked to come up with stories about what is shown in the pictures. By the way the respondent perceives the material depicted in the figures, his individuality is determined. In the animation tests, the drawings depict cartoon characters who find themselves in different situations related to the problem under study. Respondents are asked to come up with a character's response to another character's comments. In the answers of the respondents, you can find out their emotions, beliefs and attitude to the situation.

· Expressive methods. Within the framework of expressive methods, a specific situation is presented to the respondent in oral or visual form. He is required to express the feelings and emotions that others experience in this situation. The two main expressive methods are the role play and the third person method.

At role play(role playing) respondents are asked to be in the role of another person and imagine how he will behave in a given situation. third party method. For the third-person technique, it is typical that the respondent is verbally or visually presented with a situation for consideration. He, in turn, must determine what the third person is thinking about in this situation.

Projection methods have one major advantage over the unstructured direct method of qualitative research (focus groups and in-depth interviews): they provide answers that respondents would not give if they knew the purpose of the research. Projective unstructured direct research methods have a number of weaknesses. Thus, well-trained interviewers are needed to use them. The answers are analyzed by qualified analysts, whose services cost a lot. In addition, they should not be prejudiced. With the exception of the word association method, all other methods provide for an incomplete ending, which complicates the analysis and processing of the received data.

Projective methods are used less frequently than unstructured direct methods. An exception, perhaps, is the method of word associations, which is used to check the names of brands, and sometimes to find out the attitude of the consumer towards certain products, trademarks, service packages and advertisements. .

descriptive research. Quantitative research is usually identified with the conduct of various surveys based on the use of structured closed questions, which are answered by a large number of respondents. Characteristic features such studies are: a clearly defined format of the collected data and sources of their receipt, the processing of the collected data is carried out using ordered procedures, mostly quantitative in nature.

The survey method is based on obtaining information from respondents who answer the questions they are asked. As a rule, questions are structured, i.e. some standardization of the process of collecting information is expected. In a structured data collection, a formalized questionnaire is developed and questions are asked in a predetermined order. This method of questioning is also called direct.

The survey method has a number of advantages. First, it is easy to carry out. Secondly, the answers received are reliable, since the number of given answer options is limited.

The disadvantages include that sometimes respondents are unwilling or unable to provide the required information. Respondents will not want to answer if the requested information is personal or touches their feelings. In addition, responses to standardized and multiple-choice questions may be unreliable for certain data, such as those related to emotions and beliefs.

The survey can be conducted: by phone, in person, by mail, with using the Internet. Telephone interviews can be divided into traditional telephone interviews and Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI). Personal surveys can be conducted at home, in a department store, or computer-assisted surveys.

Observation methods are the second group of methods used in descriptive research. Observation (observation) is the process of registering patterns of behavior of people and objects, options for the development of events on a systematic basis to obtain information of interest. The observer does not question or make contact with the people whose behavior he observes. Information may be recorded directly in the course of events, or it may be obtained from records of past events. Observation can be structured or unstructured, direct or indirect. In addition, it can be carried out in a natural or artificially created setting.

In structured observation, the observer predetermines in detail the object of observation and methods for evaluating the results of observation, for example, an auditor conducting an inventory of stocks in a store.

In unstructured observation, the observer records all aspects of the object that, from his point of view, may be relevant to the subject of study, for example, observing children playing with new toys. In unstructured observation, the possibility of distorting the results of observation is high. For this reason, the results of the observation are treated as a hypothesis and are subject to subsequent verification, in contrast to the results of the final study.

In covert surveillance, respondents do not know that they have become the object of surveillance. Covert surveillance allows respondents to behave naturally; people tend to change their behavior if they know they are being watched. In open observation, respondents know that they are being observed.

Observation in natural conditions (natural observation) is carried out in a familiar environment for the object of observation. In contrieved observation, the respondent may be observed in an artificial setting, such as the kitchen at a testing center. The advantage of observation in natural conditions is that the behavior of the observed object is closer to the behavior of real consumers. The disadvantage is the expectation of the situation necessary for observation and the complexity of measuring and assessing the behavior of the object of observation in natural conditions.

Causal marketing research. Under the experiment (experiment) refers to the implementation by the researcher of a controlled process of changing one or more independent variables to measure their impact on one or more dependent variables while excluding the influence of extraneous factors. The purpose of research conducted with the help of an experiment is, as a rule, to establish cause-and-effect relationships between marketing factors and the behavior of the objects under study.

When conducting an experiment, the researcher sets himself two goals: to obtain correct conclusions about the influence of the independent variable on the analyzed set of observation units and, on this basis, to draw reliable conclusions about the entire general population. The first goal is associated with the concept of internal reliability, the second - with the concept of external reliability.

1) Internal validity is determined by whether a change in the independent variable actually caused the observed change in the dependent variable. Thus, internal validity is determined by whether the observed change in the dependent factors could have been caused by factors other than the independent ones. If the observed changes are caused or distorted by extraneous factors, then it is difficult to make a reliable conclusion about the existence of a causal relationship between independent and dependent ones.

2) External validity (external validity) is associated with the possibility of generalizing the cause-and-effect relationship identified during the experiment. In other words, can the conclusions drawn from the experiment be extended to a wider range of elements, and, if so, to which population groups, populations, periods, independent and dependent variables. The danger of violating the external reliability of the experiment arises when the conditions for conducting the experiment do not cover any significant factors that take place in reality.

It is highly desirable to have an experimental design that provides for the requirements of both internal and external validity, but in practical marketing research, as a rule, one has to deviate from the requirements of one of them in order to achieve the other. To ensure control over extraneous factors, the researcher is forced to conduct an experiment in artificial (laboratory) conditions. This allows for internal validity, but limits the ability to generalize the results, thereby violating external validity. Factors that violate internal validity may also violate external validity; the most significant of them are extraneous factors.

The advantages of this method include, first of all, its objective nature and the possibility of establishing causal relationships between marketing factors and the behavior of the objects under study. The disadvantages of this method are the difficulty to control all marketing factors in natural conditions, on the one hand, and the difficulty of reproducing the normal behavior of a socio-economic object in laboratory conditions, on the other hand. In addition, the experiment is associated, as a rule, with much greater costs than observation, and especially when it is necessary to study several marketing factors. Therefore, in practice, this method is used relatively rarely and, above all, in cases where it is required to a high degree reliability to establish the nature of cause-and-effect relationships between marketing factors and the behavior of the object under study.

Information collection methods

Despite a huge variety of research methods and techniques, general scheme activities implemented as part of market research is quite simple and understandable. The main sources of marketing information are:

l Interviews and surveys;

b Registration (observation);

b Experiment;

b Panel;

b Expert judgment.

Interview (survey) - finding out the position of people or getting information from them on any issue. A survey is the most common and essential form of data collection in marketing. Approximately 90% of studies use this method. The survey can be oral (personal) or written.

During a written survey, participants receive questionnaires (questionnaires), which they must fill out and return to the destination. Usually, in written surveys, closed questions are used, the answers to which are to choose one of the given ones. Usually, in written surveys, the questionnaire is sent to representatives of the target audience, by means of e-mail, mailing list or facsimile. The main disadvantage that limits the use of this method is the long period and low percentage (on average 3%) of the return of completed questionnaires.

Personal (Face-to-face) and telephone surveys are called interviews.

Telephone interviews are a relatively cheap method of conducting surveys of any level of accuracy in terms of sample design (the geographic location of the respondents is not critical in terms of the cost of conducting an interview). This method is applicable only in quantitative studies. However, there are objective disadvantages of using this method:

l not quite complete control of the understanding and sincerity of the respondent;

l there is no possibility to present visual materials (samples, cards with answer options);

unfeasibility of lengthy interviews (on the phone it is difficult to keep the attention of the interlocutor for more than 15 minutes);

l In cities with an insufficient level of telephony, it is impossible to obtain a representative sample.

Face-to-face interviews can be formalized and non-formalized.

With a formalized interview, there is a specific survey scheme (usually a questionnaire containing pre-prepared clear wording of questions and well-thought-out models of answers to them). A formalized interview loses much of its meaning if the respondents' answers are not analyzed in terms of their social and demographic (industry and geographical) characteristics. Therefore, it assumes that the "passport" must be filled in, where the data about each respondent is entered, the need for which is again dictated by the research program. Such interviews are conducted on the street, in shops, at public events, at the place of residence of the respondents (door-to-door surveys), etc. Formalized surveys have received the greatest use in the implementation of quantitative research. The main disadvantages of this method are: relatively high cost and insignificant geographical coverage.

Non-formalized interviews are a specific method of collecting information in which there is only a topic and purpose. There is no specific method for conducting the survey. This makes it possible to identify the deep motives of the consumer's actions, to study both rational and irrational reasons for his purchasing behavior. In practice, informal interviews are used in qualitative research. Non-formalized interviews are individual and group.

Individual non-formalized interviews are conducted with the respondent one on one in the form of a dialogue, while the respondent has the opportunity to express detailed judgments on the problem under study. It is possible to single out such forms of conducting individual non-formalized interviews as in-depth interviews and hall tests.

In-depth interviews are a series of individual interviews on a given topic, conducted according to a discussion guide. The interview is conducted by a specially trained highly qualified interviewer who is well versed in the topic, owns the technique and psychological methods of conducting a conversation. Each interview lasts 15-30 minutes and is accompanied by the active participation of the respondent - he lays out cards, draws, writes, etc. In-depth interviews, unlike structured ones used in quantitative surveys, allow you to penetrate deeper into the psychology of the respondent and better understand his point of view, behavior, attitudes, stereotypes, etc. In-depth interviews, although time consuming (compared to focus groups), are very useful in situations where the atmosphere of a group discussion is undesirable. This may be necessary when studying individual problems and situations that are not usually discussed in a wide circle, or when individual points of view may differ sharply from socially approved behavior - for example, when discussing issues of gender relations, sex, certain diseases, hidden political beliefs, etc. .P. In-depth interviews are used when testing and developing initial advertising developments (creative ideas) when it is required to get direct, individual associations, reactions and perceptions - without looking at the group. At the same time, the combination of the method of in-depth interviews and focus groups with the same respondents is optimal. And, finally, in-depth interviews are indispensable for conducting qualitative research, when features target group make it impossible to collect respondents for a focus group - i.e. at one time in one place for 2-3 hours. For example, when it comes to busy businessmen, wealthy citizens, narrow professional groups, etc.

Hall tests are personal semi-formalized interviews in a special room. As a rule, premises are used in libraries, shops, halls of administrative buildings, etc. The respondent and the interviewer sit down at a table, and the interview takes place in a structured conversation mode. The need for a hall test is usually due to one of several reasons:

l testing bulky samples that are inconvenient to carry around apartments or there is no certainty that there will be an opportunity to conduct an interview in normal conditions in the apartment;

l testing is limited to the number of samples;

l use of special equipment (for example, TV-video) for demonstration of the tested material;

The interview is conducted in crowded places of potential respondents, but it is complex and not suitable for a conversation “on your feet”.

Hall tests formally refer to quantitative methods for obtaining information. With qualitative methods, the hall test is related by the fact that information is obtained on a relatively small directed sample (from 100 to 400 people), as well as the fact that the respondent is asked to comment (explain) his behavior. To conduct a hall test, representatives of the target group ( potential consumers) are invited to a room (“hall”) equipped for tasting products and/or viewing advertisements, where they are given the opportunity to demonstrate their reaction to the tested material and explain the reason for their choice. In the course of answering the questions of the questionnaire, the selection criteria, frequency and volume of consumption of brands of the studied commodity group. The method is used to evaluate the consumer properties of a new product: taste, smell, appearance, etc. The method is also used when testing brand elements, packaging, audio and video clips, advertising messages (recognizability of an advertising message, memorability, reliability, persuasiveness, understanding of the primary and secondary ideas of advertising, slogan, etc.), etc.).

Group non-formalized interview (focused interview, focus - group) - is a group discussion of issues of interest to representatives of the target audience. The “focus” in such a group is on the subjective experience of people who give their understanding and explanation of a given topic, including all its nuances. The course of the conversation is controlled by the moderator according to a pre-developed plan and is recorded on videotape. As a rule, during the discussion, various projective techniques are used to find out the “real” attitude of consumers to the subject under study, obtaining a much deeper and detailed information than at the level of “normal” communication. Usually people do not think specifically about the issues that are discussed in the group, or do not have the opportunity to compare their opinions with the opinions of other people. During the focus group, respondents are asked not only to rate something according to the “like or dislike” principle, but also to explain their point of view. And the subsequent qualified analysis of the results obtained allows us to understand the psychological mechanisms of the formation of one or another opinion of the group members. The main disadvantage of this method is the biased nature of the results. In other words, the results of focused interviews cannot be expressed in numerical terms, for further extrapolation to the general population of research objects. Therefore, in practice, the focus is group technique used in conjunction with quantitative research methods.

Observation (registration) is a form of marketing research, with the help of which a systematic, systematic study of the behavior of an object or subject is carried out. Observation, unlike polling, does not depend on the readiness of the observed object to report information. Observation is the process of collecting and recording events or special moments associated with the behavior of the object being studied, open or hidden from the observed. The subject of observations can be the properties and behavior of individuals; movement of things, goods, etc. The disadvantage of observations is the impossibility of revealing the opinions, ideas, knowledge of people. Therefore, in practice, observations are usually used in conjunction with other research methods.

An experiment is a study of the influence of one factor on another while controlling for extraneous factors. Experiments are divided into laboratory, taking place in an artificial environment (product test), and field, taking place in real conditions (market test). The main disadvantages of this method are the significant cost and duration, which significantly limits the use of this method in practical research.

A panel is a repeated collection of data from one group of respondents at regular intervals. Thus, the panel is a kind of continuous sampling. It allows you to fix changes in the observed values, characteristics. A panel survey is used to study the opinions of consumers of a certain group over a certain period of time, when their needs, habits, tastes, complaints are determined. The disadvantages of using panels are: the “mortality” of the panel, which is manifested in the gradual refusal of participants to cooperate or the transition to another consumer category, and the “panel effect”, which consists in the conscious or unconscious change in the behavior of participants who are under long-term control.

An expert assessment is an assessment of the processes under study by qualified specialists - experts. Such an assessment is especially necessary when it is impossible to obtain unmediated information about any process or phenomenon. In practice, to conduct expert assessments, the delphi method, the brainstorming method and the synectics method are most often used.

The Delphi method is a form of polling experts, in which their anonymous answers are collected over several rounds and, through familiarization with the intermediate results, they receive a group assessment of the process under study.

The brainstorming method consists in the uncontrolled generation and spontaneous interweaving of ideas by participants in a group discussion of a problem. On this basis, chains of associations arise that can lead to an unexpected solution to the problem.

Synectics is considered a highly creative method. The idea of ​​the method lies in the gradual alienation of the original problem by building analogies with other areas of knowledge. After multistage analogies, a quick return to the original problem is made.

information strategic decision demand

"and today about the first stage - Search and collection of information.

If there is a task / problem / goal, but there is no solution to it, then the stage of searching for this solution inevitably begins.

And the more correctly the problem is formulated, the easier it is to find a solution.

If the problem is trivial, then one step in the search for information is enough - open Internet search engine , we make a request - and we have several sources of information.

The main skill required in these cases is make the right request. But this also needs to be done competently and this must also be learned.

I think that 90% of people are limited to this level of work with information. There was a problem - went to the search engine - got the answer.

If the tasks do not go beyond these limits, namely, to find an answer to a household question or to keep abreast of news events, then it is probably not worth bothering about building a personal system for working with information.

For those who work with information is the need to collect and process large arrays, expressed in 1,000 units of files or books, the creation of a system for working with information will be simply necessary.

The need for an information management system

Any high-level specialist has his own library of knowledge.

Knowledge has no boundaries and requires constant improvement and updating.

The collection of information in this case is systematic character. Those. Information is entered into the knowledge base constantly.

But the need for a system for working with information arises not only among professional specialists, it also arises at the everyday level, in the personal life of every person who strives for self-development, or at least to streamline his life.

Life can flow like a continuous stream of uninterrupted activity. In such a flow, it is difficult to single out and structure individual parts. A person lives and that's all, that's enough for him.

But our life can be diversified, our life goals can be structured, we can give meaning to existence and our whole life.

You probably already know such a tool for analyzing the current state as "Wheel of Life". It allows you to assess your current situation and determine in which areas you need development.

There can be several such areas/directions (as a rule, no more than 10): "Health", "Spiritual development", "Sport", "Career", "Family", "Finance", etc.
Excellence in any field requires knowledge. And this process begins with the collection of information, namely with the formation of a personal library on these topics.

So, the presence of a system for working with information is required both at work and in personal life. Between work and personal life, as you know, there must be a balance.

Why do we collect information?

To prevent the collection of information from becoming an end in itself, let's decide why we collect information.

«… we collect information not to accumulate knowledge, but to take the right action.”, said the management guru Peter F. Drucker.

It is important to remember that the collection of information is not for the sake of collecting and not only for the accumulation of knowledge, but in the end - for making the right decisions and achieving our goals, regardless of at work or at home.

When, where and how to collect information?

Let's answer these questions.

When?

If a knowledge base of a specialist is formed, then the information is constantly updated. New information appeared, the headline attracted attention - the information immediately enters this database.

You can create a folder "For consideration" and regularly process new information, deleting unnecessary, and distributing necessary information according to thematic directories your system (we will talk about the systematization of information in the following articles).

If a specific task is being solved that requires a decision, then the collection of information can be situational and one-time. Those. collected - solved the problem - received a report - a report for storage.

It's like managing a company: maybe regular management , maybe situational . Both, oddly enough, work.

But manageability, transparency, lack of fuss and stress, and in the end - the effectiveness of regular management is much higher.

Those. answering the question - when - it is possible according to the situation, but it is certainly better - regularly and using Technology.

Where to collect information?

To do this, remember that there is information primary and secondary.

Secondary- this is information that is already available in some source, for example, in books, journals, accounting data, in the statistics department, in reports, previous studies, etc.

Primary is information that is obtained directly for the purpose of solving a given problem. These are various surveys, interviews, observations.

Secondary information is collected, as a rule, in the process of desk research without the involvement of others. Place: workplace, library.

If already conducted studies are purchased, then we make an appropriate request and payment.

I think this is understandable. Secondary - this is information already available on some medium.

Basically, they work with this information, considering that information exists only in this form.

But, you can get better information by interviewing an expert on a given issue, or several experts, in order to compare points of view.

Or conduct a customer survey to get information about what they think about your company, product and service.
Or brainstorm among employees to get a non-trivial solution to a problem.

All this relates to the collection of primary information.

The leader can make decisions - after listening to the opinion of one or two of his specialists. In this case, he also collection of primary information .

Observation for human behavior, such as trading floor- it is also the collection of primary information, on the basis of which decisions are made on the placement of shop windows, for example.

So , primary information - this is information that is not yet on any medium and we have to collect it by communicating with other people.

I think that this will be more or less clear in general terms.

How to collect information?

Let's answer this question, i.e. determine which information collection methods exist.

As I said in the article "" - it is important to know the stages and methods of work at each stage.

Now we are considering The first stage is the search and collection of information. And we approached the methods of collecting information.

Information search methods:

1. Auditing your knowledge base.

You already have an accumulated database in the form of: files, books, audio and video materials. The first thing you can do is to search among the information you already have.

As a rule, if the information is properly systematized and codified, this is not difficult to do. It is enough to ask Search by file name or in another way, according to your encoding.

If the information is not systematized, then you can do a search - by keywords in the text of the document. These operations allow Microsoft Windows.

Thus, specifying the required query criteria ( keywords ) you can easily find suitable folders and files inside your database.

The second step is to search your library for printed books and magazines.

Expanding the book list can be done as follows:

Start by making a list.

In my book "" I cited the main sources of information for compiling a list:

3. Search for lists of references in specialized forums.

4. Various subscriptions to specialized mailing lists.

5. Participation in various electronic communities dedicated to your subject.

6. Visiting stores, including searching online stores.

7. Appeals to specialists with a request to recommend the necessary literature.

These are the main sources for getting a list of important books on the topic

2. Desk research.

Having received information from your existing Knowledge Base, you supplement it by:

Work with the library fund in central libraries, inquiries to statistical and archival services.

Work in search engines.

Watching TV shows, video and audio materials.

At this stage of work with secondary information, you can finish and, if necessary, start collecting primary information.

3. Communication with experts on a topic of interest.

Often, experts give "hooks" on which you can expand the scope of information search. Find out from an expert - what sources of information are the most important, what books to read first, etc.

The availability of experts is currently embracing the Internet. It is enough to dial YouTube your question - and there will be a lot of video materials, lectures, seminars. It remains only to choose really decent experts.

But it is better to use live communication, thereby expanding your connections and improving communication skills.

4. Direct observation.

This is one of the methods for collecting primary information. For example, in order to take a social portrait of visitors to a retail outlet, it is enough to single out one day with the most traffic and fill out a table - groups by age, gender and time. Very useful information for decisions.

5. Polls, questioning, testing.

There can be many methods: these are focus groups, brainstorming sessions, the use of the Ishikawa model, and so on.

At the stage of collecting information, it is better to create some redundancy in order to then select the important and useful.

I will limit myself to this, I think that for the first time on the stage, the search for information is enough.

If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer. Please write in the comments.

Sincerely, Nikolay Medvedev.

At the beginning of a specific sociological study, at its exploratory stage, when the sociologist begins to get acquainted with the object, he must obtain primary information about the activities of the group under study. The source of such information can be documentation, with the study of which, as a rule, a specific sociological study of the problem begins.

Document analysis is one of the widely used methods for collecting primary information. Documents in the sociology of labor include printed, handwritten and other materials created for the storage and transmission of sociological information that accumulates as a result of the activity of the object under study.

Sociologists use in their work a huge number of various kinds of documents: state and government acts, speeches of political leaders, statistical collections, and many others.

The range of sociological documents is very wide, and in order to be well versed in their diversity, it is necessary to know their classification.

So, according to the status, documents are classified into official and unofficial.

According to the form of recording information, documents are classified into written (handwritten, printed, typewritten), iconographic (cinema, photos, paintings), phonographic (tape recordings, gramophone records).

According to the intended purpose, documents are classified into special (questionnaires, tests, observation protocols, etc.) and indirect (reference and other literature).

According to the functions performed, the documents are classified into information-regulatory (service documentation), communicative and cultural-educational (materials of socio-political organizations).

According to the source of information, documents are classified into primary (reports of specific sociological studies) and secondary (monographs, textbooks).

There are many methods for document analysis. All of them can be divided into two main types: traditional (classical) and qualitative-quantitative (formalized) analysis.

Traditional analysis is based on the mechanism of deep understanding of the text, aimed at interpreting the essence of the information contained in the documents. It can be divided into external (checking the authenticity of a document, analyzing the "historical context" of the document and the circumstances that accompanied its appearance) and internal (reading the contents of the document, identifying social factors that caused it to appear).

Indirect quantitative analysis is used to overcome the subjectivity of traditional analysis, a deeper understanding of the content of the document, as well as when working on documents containing large amounts of information. It is based on the translation text information into quantitative indicators, which makes the qualitative content of the document measurable, and the results of the analysis become quite objective.

Information about the working situation and the behavior of employees in it can be obtained using the observation method. Observation is a purposeful visual perception and registration of social reality, its most important events, processes, phenomena.

Depending on the location of the researcher relative to the object under study, the observation is divided into two types: included (participating) and not included (non-participating). When observation is included, the researcher is directly involved in the social process under study, enters the social environment under study, performs the functions of the workers he studies and analyzes the events taking place in the observed group as if from the inside.

When observation is not included, the researcher is outside the object under study and events are recorded from the outside without the observer interfering in their course.

Depending on the degree of awareness of the study group about the fact of the study, there are open and hidden (incognito).

Depending on the degree of formalization of the procedure, that is, the rigidity of the prescriptions regarding what and how to observe, observations are divided into free (unstructured) and standardized (structural). Free observation is characterized by the absence of a rigidly established prescription from outside. Standardized observation differs from free observation in its strict regulation of the observation procedure, time and chosen object.

According to the principle of regularity in time, observations are divided into systematic and episodic.

Depending on the number of observed objects, observations are divided into continuous and partial.

According to the location and method of organization, observations are divided into field and laboratory. Field studies are carried out on real social groups and collectives in the natural conditions of their life.

In its pure form, the considered types of observations in a particular sociological research do not meet.

The advantage of the observation method is that it is carried out simultaneously with the development of the studied phenomena and processes. The disadvantage of the observation method is, first of all, the complexity of its implementation.

The survey is the most popular method of collecting primary information. It is based on direct (interview) or indirect (questionnaire) socio-psychological interaction between the researcher and the respondent. It allows the researcher to simulate any situation in order to obtain information directly from the person himself about his real actions in the present and past, about plans and intentions for the future, about the facts of a particular activity, its motives, results, subjective state, feelings, inclinations, judgments. .

Based on the survey, they find out the opinion of the team members on various issues of collective activity and, above all, those that are not reflected in official documents, the results of observations and other research methods. The reliability of the information obtained during the survey depends on the content and nature of the planned information, the survey technique, and the level of competence of the respondent.

In practice, three types of surveys are most common: questionnaires, interviews, and expert surveys.

Questioning is a written survey based on a questionnaire, which mediates the interaction between the researcher and the respondent. It is most often used to collect information about mass social phenomena.

Questioning can be used in the study of any social problem, if its solution requires information about the phenomena of public and individual consciousness: needs, interests, motives, attitudes, opinions, value orientations individuals or whole social groups, as well as objective social facts (organization of work and life, education and qualifications, material incentives, etc.).

The questionnaire is a set of questions and statements strictly ordered in content and form, which are aimed at revealing the content of the problem. It has a certain structure and, as a rule, consists of three parts: introductory, main and demographic ("passports").

The advantages of the questionnaire method are the possibility of obtaining a significant amount of empirical information in a relatively short period of time, as well as ensuring the anonymity of the answers; the disadvantage is the inability to control the situation of the formulation of the answer, its independence, completeness.

For a deeper study of the problem, clarification of inaccuracies, contradictions that are found when processing the results of the survey, an interview can be used as an addition to the questionnaire.

Interview - a method of collecting information about the object under study in the process of personal communication with the respondent according to a specially compiled questionnaire. The questionnaire may contain directly posed questions, the answers to which will provide direct information about the phenomenon of interest, as well as judgments about possible solutions to the problem situation.

In its form, the interview is free (a long conversation for several hours on general program) and standardized (carried out according to a detailed plan that specifies the content, sequence of questions, and even options for possible answers).

If it is necessary to quickly study the opinion on a particular issue, a telephone interview is used.

The interview allows you to get information that is inaccessible to other research methods. Its advantage is that due to direct contact with the respondent, it is possible to modify the questions in accordance with the answers received, to raise additional questions, clarifying the answers, and thereby provide more in-depth information.

Often in the practice of sociological work there are situations when it is necessary to assess such aspects of the object, according to which self-assessment may be distorted or even impossible. The source of such information can be competent persons - experts who have deep knowledge of the object of study. The identification, as a result of applying the method of questioning, of the judgments of competent persons on a particular problem under study is called an expert - a survey, and the judgments themselves - an expert assessment.

The main types of expert surveys include: questionnaires and interviews, brainstorming, discussions, advice, business games. The desired effect is achieved by using its various types.

In sociological research, the object of study is a certain social community - a group, a collective. Often information about social community have to be obtained by analyzing such characteristics as social orientations, opinions, stereotyped judgments. For this, methods developed in psychology are used. Testing is used most often in sociological research.

Test - a task of a standard form of a verbal character or in the form of drawings. Testing is a short-term test that measures the level of development or the degree of expression of individual or a combination of socio-psychological properties of a person. Testing is used to establish the presence or absence of already known socio-psychological characteristics in certain subjects.

In applied sociological research, three types of tests are used:

projective, allowing to identify the presence of certain socio-psychological properties of a given person;

assessments that allow relative measurements of ability, level of development, etc.;

professionalism, allowing to identify the degree of readiness for a particular activity.

According to the subject of research, general personality tests are distinguished, with the help of which they fix some integrity of the mental properties of a person, personality tests are special tests designed to diagnose a particular trait, characteristic, property of the subject (for example, mental development, professional and creative abilities, the level of general responsibility, self-control etc.), and group ones, designed to diagnose group mental processes - the level of cohesion of groups and teams, the characteristics of the group socio-psychological climate, interpersonal perception, etc.

Particularly widely used in sociological research are group tests, which include sociometry, which, as a kind of psychological test on the survey and is a kind of diagnostic method, quantitative measurement and analysis of the relationship of small, fully formed, social groups.

The study of the nature of the relationship between members of the labor collective is one of the most urgent tasks of the sociology of labor. Sociology allows you to measure the degree of cohesion (disunity) of the group; identify "sociometric positions", that is, the relative authority of group members on the basis of sympathy (antipathy); discover intra-group cohesive formations, leaders, etc.

The results of sociometric studies for each of the criteria are recorded in a special table - a checkerboard, which is called a sociomatrix. The results of sociometric research can be interpreted graphically and quantitatively (sociometric indices, statistical analysis).

Being easy to use, sociometry is widely used by practicing sociologists to diagnose group cohesion and identify leaders. At the same time, the limitations of this procedure were proved, because with its help superficial, not deep relationships are fixed. To develop measures to manage the development of relationships in the groups under study, one should also resort to other research methods that make it possible to identify the specifics of the groups, their value-normative unity, and the motivation for the sociometric choices made.

In the practice of sociological research, the method of studying the products of activity is often used - the collection of information in the analysis of the materialized results of labor activity. At the same time, the object of research is not people and not their relationships, but the products of their previous labor activity.

AT modern conditions management in applied sociological research to analyze the operation of the laws of functioning and development social systems in implementation labor process the increasing use of mathematical and statistical methods- correlation theory, cybernetic modeling, game theory, etc.