Requirements

• Use credible/reliable sources to support the research findings. Avoid sources that are biased, unsubstantiated, significantly out-of-date, or "open source" i.e., editable by anyone (e.g., Wikipedia, Medium, and Quora).
• If possible, cite the original source of information (e.g., instead of referencing a Forbes article with the Bureau of Labor Statistics figure, directly cite the Bureau of Labor Statistics source). If the original source (e.g., a journal article or a market research report) is paywalled, cite the source and add a note that the full report/article is paywalled.

<aside> 🔍 Many analysts swear by locating the original source since, many times, the original source is a wealth of information and helps to answer other parts of the research question!

</aside>

• Use more than one source to back up your main findings where necessary (e.g., to identify a trend, or a market driver, or to demonstrate that a market is indeed growing). If you are unsure whether a project needs more than one source, please refer to the Common Project Types job sheet for the type of job you are working on.

• Use sources from the last 12-24 months, unless otherwise stated in the Research Criteria or necessary due to the nature of the topic (e.g., historical overview).

  • If using a dated source is necessary given the availability of data, make sure to briefly explain this in the Research Strategy. Here are a couple of templates you can use:

    ---

    • Dated Source Explanation Templates

    ---

• If the client requests certain types of sources (e.g., journal articles) take care to use the requested sources, or explain why the requested sources could not be used.

• If the client requests information from a specific timeframe (e.g., press releases from the last 6 months or post-COVID data) take care to use sources from the requested timeframe.

• If information is obtained from resources that require a free trial (e.g., email finders like Voila Norbert) or have limited visibility (e.g., Statista), include a screenshot of this information. Learn more about how to add a screenshot here.

• If information is obtained from a downloadable document (e.g., PDF or excel), cite the directly downloadable link instead of a link to the download page. Learn how to get the direct download link in the GIF below.

  ---

  • 🔗 Direct Download Link (click the arrow to expand)

  ---

• Include at least one in-line citation per finding/bullet point. Cite all statistics, quotes, and findings pulled from an external source.

• Use in-line citations instead of writing out the full URL of the source unless otherwise instructed by the client/ Interpreter. Avoid citing full sentences i.e. limit citations to 1-5 words.

• Cite a direct link to quotes, text, and statistics obtained from the source (i.e., cite a link that goes directly to specific highlighted text on the source website). Here’s how to do this:

  • Step 1: On the source page, select the text you want to highlight for the client.
  • Step 2: Right-click on the selected text and choose “Copy link to highlight” from the menu.
  • Step 3: Cite the link copied in step 2 in your findings within the Wonder editor.

  👀 Take a look at the video below to understand how to do this.

  ---

  • 📽️ Direct Link to Text/Statistics/Quotes (click the arrow to expand)

  ---

  • FAQs on Direct Link to Text/Statistics/Quotes (click the arrow to expand)

  ---

Why do we use direct links? Clients love direct links. This not only lets them easily verify the information, but it also enables them to share our work in a meeting or presentation.

• Make sure any shared documents (e.g., Google docs, presentations, and spreadsheets) are set to shareable and editable.
  • To do that, click the "Share" button in the top right, select “Change to anyone with the link” and from the drop-down, choose “Editor” instead of “Viewer”. Click “Done”. Next, copy the spreadsheet link and add it into the Research editor.
• When working in spreadsheets, use citations in the form of hyperlinks unless otherwise instructed by the client/research criteria. Check out this YouTube video on how to add multiple hyperlinks in a single cell in spreadsheets.