Information Analysis Centers (IACs) -- US government sponsored
http://iac.dtic.mil/
Use for: Covers 13 technical areas of interest to US government agencies such as the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. Topics include Advanced Materials, Modeling & Simulation, and Carbon Dioxide. Good level of detail for US R&D activities
MarketResearch.com
MarketResearch.com
http://www.marketresearch.com/
Use for: Table of contents of thousands of market research reports
Electronic Engineer Master
http://www2.eem.com
Use for: Tables of contents of market research reports. With a subscription you can combine this with a news service
Thomas Net
http://www.thomasnet.com/
Use for: Tables of contents and summary descriptions of market research reports. The descriptions include a few quotable statistics for the industry or sector
Online Yellow Pages
http://www.yellowpages.com
Use for: Simple search engine for finding businesses by category and location
Google Advanced Search
Google Advanced Search
http://www.google.com
Use for: Locating similar products. Limit to the .com domain to find company sites. Use search terms for the problem as well as the product. Also search “buyers guide” and your product sector
Thomas Register Online
http://www.thomasregister.com
Use for: Finding similar products and prices. Search by category; look for product specs and catalogs. Excellent for looking at a list of many companies in a sector and seeing which ones have online product catalogs. Site sign-up is required the first time you access the site
US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
http://www.uspto.gov/patft/
Use for: Alternate solutions to the same problem. Use the advanced search to specify fields within the patent. (spec/”material handling” finds the term in the description/specification field)
