Support : eNewsletters : Training Updates : Issue 2, March 2010

From the Editor

More training classes, new self-paced learning tools, search tips and techniques—all in this issue of Training Updates. In addition, Dialog is publishing Training Updates bi-monthly to make it easier for you to address your search needs.

This issue highlights Market: Essential Tools for business intelligence, market research and news. You’ll learn about classes, free files of the month, documentation, learning materials and more. Read the article illustrating how to make the most of self-paced instruction and the search tip to gain expertise in navigating industry databases.

Watch for information about Dialog’s new product including insight and tips about this easy-to-use interface. Read your Training Updates and the Chronolog to keep up to date on the latest at Dialog.

Discover essential tools for business and market research

With the addition of more business databases like D&B’s WorldBase® files and marketresearch.com, the focus for this issue is on essential tools for business intelligence, market research and news. Whether you need to learn the basics of business searching or compile corporate families, review comprehensive financials on specific companies, obtain market research reports or see trends in an industry, Dialog has the variety of databases you need for your business research. As part of our business curriculum, you can learn the basics, refresh your skills, delve into particular topics or practice what you’ve learned. Moreover, you can expand your knowledge of business intelligence in your field of subject expertise, as well as in areas that complement your subject.

Locating critical resources for successful business intelligence on Dialog and DataStar is easy. Market: the Essential Tools pages for Business Intelligence & Market Research lets you access the most useful search aids and guides for these subjects all in one place.

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Focus on Curriculum: Business, Market and News Topics

Once discovery and validation for any new potential product has occurred, bringing it to market becomes a huge investment of resources. To capitalize on industry trends, develop effective market strategies and maximize your research investments, Dialog offers a huge collection of expert analysis, facts, figures, writings and insights to provide immediate, online access to the critical knowledge you need to support your efforts. Featured in this issue is the market information on Dialog. We’ll focus on market topics: content, training, search techniques and documentation so you can develop your searching expertise.

Use the Essential Tools for Business and Market Research to jump-start your research. Here are some examples of what you'll find:

Learning resources provide training offerings for all users

Check the Learning Resources section to select among Dialog’s numerous training offerings for users at all levels of expertise. Live Web-based instructor-led training courses, self-paced short modules and comprehensive workbooks with selected applications and search examples will fit your own learning style and comfort level.

Several instructor-led courses in March and April provide new offerings for business intelligence, market research and news research and strategies to improve your search expertise. In addition, an introductory, self-paced course on the Web site will help you learn the basics of business searching using either DialogWeb—Command Search or DialogClassic. This course reinforces the instructor-led courses and contains exercises to test your knowledge of business and news searching.

Instructional aids reinforce your learning

Quick reference cards, quick guides, two-page content sheets and more reinforce what you’ve learned in classes and self-paced modules. These concise instructional aids let you keep the information right at your fingertips.

• The How Do I…? series with step-by-step instructions and sample searches covers the most-requested searches in various subject areas with 25 business and industry solutions. Examples are given for DialogClassic Web™ and DialogLink® 5.

• Focus on Content will help you improve your knowledge of databases in your subject. Try some of the following:

• Five-minute overviews of databases such as Corporate Affiliations (File 513), the free file for March, and World News Connection (WNC®) (File 985), the free file for April, and past free files ABI/I/NFORM (File 15), Cengage/Gale PROMT® (File 16) and Cengage/GaleTrade & Industry Database™ (File 148)

• Dialog NewsRoom Plus, the largest global news source available in the industry today, covers 12,000 leading newspapers, business magazines and newswires from all regions of the globe — including emerging markets. Dialog's precision search capability and access to 35 million hours of video and 20 billion Web documents in the same search makes it easy to get exactly the results you want. Review Quick Guide to NewsRoom Plus and NewsRoom Plus 120 and the NewsRoom Plus Overview.

• Business search aids, such as guides to accessing D&B preformatted reports and indexing and codes to search Kompass product databases and Cengage/Gale files, let you pinpoint exactly the information you need for your search.

Practice makes perfect

Nothing reinforces training like hands-on practice—creating search strategies and displaying results in a variety of databases.

Free ONTAP® ( ONline Training And Practice) databases let you practice your searches and hone your skills without incurring online charges. Databases and sample exercises are available in ONTAP® business intelligence, market research and news databases including ABI/INFORM® (File 215), ONTAP ® Cengage/Gale PROMT® (File 216) and a number of ONTAP ® D&B files such as D&B – Duns Financial Records Plus® (File 219). Take advantage of the ONTAP files to practice and improve your search skills without cost.

Regularly explore the Essential Tools Web pages for all your training needs. Dialog will continue to provide a variety of training and materials to facilitate the learning process for all users.

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Scheduled Training Courses

Mark your calendar: Instructor-led Web-based courses

Dialog’s live Web-based training, offered worldwide and in different languages, is designed to expand your search skills and knowledge of Dialog and DataStar, whatever your skill level — novice to power searcher.

Redesigned English-language training Web page

It’s now easier than ever to see all of your subject-specific classes at a glance. A new English-language training Web page includes all Web-based classes in English on the same page with times listed for North America and Europe. Just scroll down the list, and click to register for the free classes of your choice in intellectual property, pharmaceuticals, biomedical, business and market research and engineering.

Free files for March and April

Each month Dialog offers an opportunity to try out new or unfamiliar sources by offering $100 of free searching (either DialUnits or connect time). Output and Alerts charges are not included. Learn more about the featured file for April (World News Connection (WNC) (File 985) by:

• Reviewing the pre-recorded database overview.
• Registering for one of our live Webinars scheduled for April 7 and 14 designed to provide additional details on this featured file's coverage and value-added indexing and features.

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Featured business courses

With our focus on Business Intelligence, Market and News Research in this issue, register now for new courses:

• Essential Tools for Business and Market Research (April 7) – highlights the core business files available on Dialog
• Finding International Business Intelligence and News on Dialog (April 27) – focuses on techniques for identifying and searching the business and news files on Dialog with significant international coverage
• Techniques for Film and Television Script Clearance Research on Dialog (March 23* (a three-hour session) and April 21 (one-hour)) – focuses on the key databases including business, trademark and copyright files, and research techniques for identifying all items that represent possible legal conflicts if used "as is" in scripts written for the film and television industries.
• Using SIC, NAICS and Other Codes in the Business Files on Dialog (April 21) – focuses on techniques for locating industry information in the directory, trade and news content utilizing the industry code indexing for specialized and precision searching.

Developing Dialog searching expertise. Learn more to get the most from your Dialog experience:

• Customizing Output on Dialog – Creating Reports (April 13)
• What’s New on Dialog (April 14)
• DialogClassic Web Advanced Tips & Tricks (April 15)
• Using the RANK Command for Statistics Analysis on Dialog (April 20)
• Demystifying the MAP Command – Applications of MAP in Patent, Business and Chemistry Files (April 27)

These are only some of the courses we are offering. Read detailed descriptions of all course content and register now.

Training in French and German

Check the training sites for France and Germany to see courses and email the instructors to register. For example, register for a Webinar in German to get an overview of Company Financials and Broker Reports. Or, take 15 minutes out of your day and attend a quick session to Find Company Information Quickly or Find the Top 10 Companies. You can also register for any of the WebEx courses worldwide.

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Self-paced learning: how to use it to your best advantage

Some of us are so busy with our daily work tasks we can’t seem to find that hour to take a training course—either onsite or online. Self-paced learning provides that alternative to fit into our busy days. Dialog offers numerous self-paced training alternatives from workbooks to self-paced courses to short modules. Important in using self-paced learning is to make the most of the training in the time you have allotted for it. Take a look at some suggestions on how to pick up just the information you need or to explore a whole topic on your own schedule.

In most group-based courses, the trainer attempts to present the information to the typical learner. The more experienced learners may become bored or frustrated, while the less knowledgeable learners may feel lost or overwhelmed. By contrast, a self-paced approach lets you make many of the decisions about when, where, what and how quickly to learn.

Here are some tips on how to approach one of Dialog’s self-paced training options: workbooks.

Workbooks can work for you!

Each workbook in the new workbook series discusses a specific subject such as Company Intelligence, Developing Patent Research Expertise, Part 2: Patent Families & Legal Status and Market Intelligence to name some. Take a few minutes to read the preface, which describes the content covered, objectives and learning reinforcement options. Then try some of these hints as you explore the new Dialog workbooks.

• Review the bookmarked Table of Contents to identify chapters and topics important to searches you must conduct in your daily work. Except for Introductory level courses, each workbook provides applications useful to your subject area. Therefore, you do not have to proceed sequentially through the book.
• Click a section title in the bookmarks to peruse tables containing databases for the chapter topic. If some catch your attention, review the Bluesheets to learn more about them.
• Select applications of interest among the bookmarks: study the sample searches—command summary, search techniques and results. Note: If you need a quick refresher on basic search commands, review Appendix A.
• Think of types of information you need and substitute those examples into the Command Summary.
• Put in your own keywords so that the demonstration becomes a real-work example.
• If there are some searches you do regularly, review the Alerts application so you can set up search strategies Dialog will automatically conduct.
• As you complete each section, complete the Learning Check. Don’t skip this part as it reinforces what you learned in this section.
• Check the answers in Appendixes.
• Review parts of the section if you get answers wrong.
• Review What’s Next and Other Dialog Training Tools to set up your own learning plan and to get further help, if needed.

The next time you have a few minutes and feel you need training, think how this "just-in-time" approach to learning fits with your needs as an adult learner:

• You learn information and skills when you need them.
• You are not as dependent on the structure and pace established by a trainer.
• Assuming control of the learning process can be highly motivating.
• Each learner has the same level of participation in the learning process.
• You are active rather than passive and assume greater responsibility for your own learning.
• Because most self-paced learning courses allow you to begin and end a segment of the instruction at any time, it is an efficient use of your time and resources.

Read more tips on how to approach learning from other self-paced training tools on Dialog in our next Training Updates.

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