Original Research Highlights Industry Trends
One of the most exciting parts of my job is collecting and analysing data that points to industry trends. I'm currently working on an update of ongoing research FreePint has conducted on purchasing patterns and requirements in UK-based law firms, and the current data enables us to see a market shift in:
- Budgets: after several years of declines, budgets to acquire or license content are on the rise in the largest UK law firms
- Digital Preferences: the legal industry was slow to move from paper-based to digital content; the tide has finally shifted, and decision-makers now emphasise digital content over hard copy
- Strategic Position: with increases in budgets and closer focus on digital content, law librarians in the largest UK firms seem to have strengthened their strategic position as advisers and experts on content and its practical deployment through the firm.
The data reflects survey inputs from over 60 respondents recruited from the top 200 firms by revenue, enhanced by interviews with more than a dozen librarians to better understand the quantitative results.
Sharing and discussing research results with professionals in ways they can use also makes my grey matter hum with pleasure. Following publication of these results in early September, we'll be offering a FreePint Webinar: UK Legal Purchasing Trends and Needs.
Although this particular project focuses on a single industry in a specific geographic region, the results highlight areas of concern common to other industries and regions. Anyone with a FreePint Subscription is welcome to register (as are all librarians who participated in the survey and/or interviews).
The tricky part with ongoing research projects is that they tend to grow each time we revisit them. This is certainly the case with the Eighth Annual FreePint Survey on News Needs and Preferences, which I'm currently developing for launch in early September.
The project started as a way to gather purchaser feedback about several of the key premium products most organisations rely on for news content. It quickly grew to cover such subjects as free versus fee-based content, copyright concerns, user preferences, redefining what "news" is, and value perceptions around paying for it.
The results of this year's research will be a centrepiece for the FreePint Topic Series: News, and Beyond. If you haven't yet done so, register your interest to be amongst the first to know about series-related updates, such as the launch of the survey.
Meanwhile, the FreePint Topic Series: What You Need to Know Your Customer (KYC) is currently underway. Confirm your organisation's approach - or learn about new ways to address this critical area of regulatory compliance - with the expert-written tips, reports and resources developed for that series.
Registering for any FreePint Topic Series is free and is just one of the ways we work to keep you informed about what's happening at FreePint. You can also rely on the twice-monthly Subscription Update on the FreePint Blog - read the most recent here.
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My Favourite Tipples from a Freelance Business Researcher
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