Research service what is it? including recent case studies
Technical and business information help for you or your company provided by our skilled information professionals. Includes examples of case studies showing the type of enquiries answered.
The research service: what is it?
- A small team of skilled information professionals at the IET can help with your technical and business enquiries;
- Charges may apply if more than a quick and easy enquiry or requires access to specialist sources;
- Preferential rates for IET members, student members and business partners;
- Contact us with your specific enquiries.
- or complete our Research enquiry form (see right-hand links).
Case studies illustrate recent examples:
Were any papers written about this before the patent was granted?
I need to find out typical salaries for engineers in the UK
I've been asked to find out what's written about renewable energy connections to specific equipment
Help....! I'm writing a presentation and need to know what guidelines cover a piece of equipment
My final year project is on power generation, what can I have for free?
Does this company still exist?
Where can I find market research reports on CCTV? - needed today!
Were any papers written about this before the patent was granted?
Who was the enquirier?
A patent lawyer and IET member working for a large multinational living outside the UK.
Why did they use the research service?
- Our turnaround time is quick - normally first results within 24 hours;
- We are independent and unbiased;
- They can be assured of our confidentiality;
- They have confidence that our expertise in creating effective search strategies and using highly reputable databases would cover their requirements;
- They have used us before for similar searches and been pleased with our results.
What we did?
- Identified papers using online databases and customised search strategies;
- 100% papers identified were requested as full text papers. 60% of these were sourced from the IET library;
- Searched the virtual library for relevant news items;
- Turnaround time including delivery of full text papers: 4 days.
I need to find out typical salaries for engineers in the UK
Who was the enquirier?
A member working as a manager in a small engineering company in the UK.
Why did they use the search service?
- They knew we could deliver within a short time timescale;
- We were likely to know if this was available as we specialise in resources in engineering;
- They knew we had a dedicated search service that handle queries from members.
What we did
- Accessed a list of resources on this which is updated when new information becomes available;
- Emailed the enquirer the same day who was pleased with the results.
I've been asked to find out what's written about renewable energy connections to specific equipment
Who was the enquirer?
An employee working at an IET business partner
Why did they use the search service?
- Wanted to try us out to see what we could offer;
- Didn’t have time or the resources to do the research themselves.
What we did
- Formulated a strategy on an online database
- Supplied summaries of up-to-date academic journal papers
- Supplied full text papers selected by the enquirer from the list of summaries
- Met the delivery time scale of up to 3 days
Help....! I'm writing a presentation and need to know what guidelines cover a piece of equipment
Who was the enquirer?
A member of the IET working as a consultant for a UK research establishment
Why did they use the search service?
- The question was very specific and needed time to research;
- We are information researchers with specialism in the field so would know where to look;
- We have access to specialist databases.
What we did
- Accessed databases targeting this information;
- Found a document which addressed the specific issues;
- Emailed the exact answer to his question the same day;
- Identified books in the IET library which added to their knowledge and sent these by courier.
My final year project is on power generation, what can I have for free?
Who was the enquirer?
An undergraduate student member studying electrical engineering at a university outside the UK
Why did they use the search service?
- Online information is less easy to access in some countries;
- The free postage book loan service is very attractive but needed to find out how it worked;
- They’d heard of the virtual library but weren’t sure how to use it;
- This is 100% within our field and we have a lot of resources which cover this.
What we did
- Identified specialist websites;
- Identified and sent books from the IET library;
- Found relevant electronic resources from the virtual library and advised on access;
- Offered to search using online databases which would target the issues and find relevant, current academic discussion papers – not a free service!
Does this company still exist?
Who was our enquirer?
An engineer from a small company trying to track the manufacturer of a component of a machine. He is a long-standing member of the IET
Why did they come to the search service?
- Didn’t have the time to research himself;
- Didn’t know where to look.
What we did
- Accessed databases;
- Researched using both online and hard copy directories;
- Found out what the company was now called and the contact details;
- All completed within an hour of the initial contact.
Where can I find market research on CCTV? – needed today!
Who was our enquirer?
A new member of the IET living in Shropshire working as a consultant who had just landed a new project.
Why did they use the search service?
- Stuck on where to look;
- Guessed we might have expertise in the field.
What we did
- Pointed him to a full text up-to-date report available through our virtual library;
- Supplied several abstracts of global reports;
- All competed within the hour.
SEE ALSO:
Research service links
From the IET
Library forms