How Mature is Your Relationship with the IT Department?
24th March 2016

The work of information service professionals often depends on a smooth collaboration with colleagues from the information technology department. In many organisations these two areas of expertise have often very different ways of thinking and very different objectives. Irene Koren shares insights from a recent webinar, "Shifting the Worldview around IS/IT Relationships: A First Step to Alignment" and introduces a model that helps information service professionals to better cooperate with the information technology department.

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Model - How Mature is Your IS/IT Relationship?
24th March 2016

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Product Review of Zotero (Technology - Search & User Interface; Outputs & Alerts; Administration)
24th March 2016

Zotero is an open source research management and citation tool that allows users to bring order to their research content. In the third part of our review, Constance Ard looks at the technology. She describes installation, interface, advanced search features and outputs. She discusses the ease of use of its various features and, due to its open source nature, the rich documentation available on the website and discussion forums.

Note: Full review (PDF) at /go/sub/report/2645

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Product Review of Euromonitor Competitor Analytics
23rd March 2016

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Product Review of Zotero (Sources - Content & Coverage)
22nd March 2016

The second part of our review looks at content and sources in Zotero, an open source research management and citation tool. Reviewer Constance Ard describes the design and functionality of Zotero's methodology for collection and storage of citation information. She explains how the free-to-use open-source system means it is community-based and has a range of active forums, and it is using these forums that allows users to get maximum value from the product.

Note: Full review (PDF) at /go/sub/report/2645

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Product Review of Euromonitor Competitor Analytics (Value - Help & Training; Competitors; Development; Pricing)
21st March 2016

Competitor Analytics from Euromonitor presents FMCG data with a strong focus on interrelated industry data. In the final part of our review we examine upcoming developments, and pricing and overall value offered. Other companies such as Nielsen, IRI and Canadean offer industry data - but can they be considered competitors?

Note: Full review (PDF) at /go/sub/report/2639

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Product Review of Zotero (Introduction; Key Advantages; Contact Details)
21st March 2016

Zotero is an open source research management and citation tool. In the first part of the review, researcher Constance Ard introduces Zotero's main functions, the formats it handles, and the operating systems it is available for. She outlines the audiences that would get most value from the product, explains why it would be a valuable resource for individual users and small groups, and its limits as far as collaboration and enterprise installations go.

Note: Full review (PDF) at /go/sub/report/2645

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Is Your Copyright Content Sufficiently Protected?
18th March 2016

Keeping track of who owns content copyright and whether someone is breaching that copyright is increasingly tricky in an era where new content is created and uploaded online in the blink of an eye. Copyright expert Clare Painter provides practical guidance to make sure you have the right policies in place - and explains what to do if things go wrong.

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Product Review of Euromonitor Competitor Analytics (Technology - Search & User Interface; Outputs & Alerts; Administration)
18th March 2016

Euromonitor's Competitor Analytics uses data from Passport to allow users to understand the category and country presence of multinational consumer goods companies, their competitive landscape, country/category entries and to gain insight on future strategic direction. In the third part of our review, Sophie Alexander puts the search options to the test, along with functions to identify strategic information such as market attractiveness, competitive environment, gaps in a company's market presence. She includes case studies to illustrate these features in action and discusses the strength of the visualisations and charts.

Note: Full review (PDF) at /go/sub/report/2639

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Managing Your Intranet, with the IT Department and Others
17th March 2016

Intranets have become the subject of much speculation in recent years, but what is clear is that when it comes to their management, no two companies manage them in exactly the same way. The reason behind this is simple: when it comes to intranets, there are just too many potential owners and managers. So this begs the question, if you currently manage an intranet, how you can manage it effectively with other interested stakeholders including the IT department? James Mullan provides some examples and advice.

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