While some may be disappointed if this is their area of expertise, I've seen a lot of these guides and this one is just fine as starting point If you can afford to buy two books for the “mechanics”, buy this one and “Finding It Online.” At the strategic level, and for the professional researcher, see my really short list of the top five business intelligence books in the world, IMHO.
The third book in this basic reading set is Sankey & Weber's Public Records Online, 6th Edition: The Master Guide to Private & Goverment Online Sources of Public Records (Public Records Online) (buy only if you have do work in this area or want to protect yourself by monitoring your divorced spouse's assets, etc.)
I would like to see the publisher make the leap toward online distance learning. All of these books (and those published by Information Today) should be part of a consolidated online library that integrates online tutorials with reference readings, case study practice searches, and a dynamic living constantly updated library of live links with expert forums and calendars of relevant conferences. That's what I thought the Association of Independent Information Professionals and/or the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals were going to do for their members, but I have been disappointed. Absent such an online service of common concern, this book and Find It Online, Fourth Edition: The Complete Guide to Online Research (Find It Online: The Complete Guide to Online Research) are essential and useful references for both the beginning and the journeyman level professional.
See also:
The New Craft of Intelligence: Personal, Public, & Political–Citizen's Action Handbook for Fighting Terrorism, Genocide, Disease, Toxic Bombs, & Corruption
Information Operations: All Information, All Languages, All the Time
