Research and Development 

What is research and development? 

Research and development (R&D) refers to the activities that businesses engage in to: 

• Develop and introduce new products and services or
• Innovate and improve on existing products and services 

R&D can be an invaluable tool for building and enhancing your business. It involves conducting a thorough investigation into your industry, your competitors, and your customers and uncovering the data and insights that are most important to your company.  

Armed with this information, you can be more strategic and better informed for meeting the needs of both your customers and your organization. So, finding this type of accurate, complete information in a timely fashion is essential to making smarter, more impactful business decisions. 

Why are data and insights important for your R&D strategy  

Data and the insights you draw from that data are critical to any R&D strategy. They help you: 

• Paint a more complete picture of the industry landscape, of a competitor, or of a particular individual
• Identify existing or emerging trends
• Unlock new business opportunities
• Build successful strategies so you can confidently make the right decisions for your organization
• Mitigate market disruptions and be risk resilient 

What’s more, data provides crucial insights into the factors influencing your business not just today, but also well into the future. Equipped with this knowledge, you’re in a much stronger position to create long-term value for your customers, markets, and relationships.  

What kind of data do you need for your R&D strategy  

No one can dispute that the Internet is an amazing tool. With it, we have at our fingertips immediate access to seemingly immeasurable amounts of free data – facts, statistics, and insights. But the Internet also comes with its limitations and hazards, especially when it comes to important research. Some challenges of using only the open web to conduct research include: 

• Questionable sources
• Outdated information
• Fake news or misinformation
• Inconvenient paywalls or other research dead ends
• Information gaps or, conversely, content overload 

In today's information-on-demand age, traditional search engines and general online research just won’t suffice for a robust R&D strategy. You need a smarter, more efficient approach, one that: 

1. Avoids these internet obstacles
2. Takes your research beyond the one-dimensional and draws from wide-ranging, first-rate sources
3. Indexes and filters the research, so you’re getting only the data that’s most important to your organization
4. Turns that data into actionable insights that strengthen your decision-making and help you achieve your business objectives 

So, it’s not about just any data – it’s about the right data. Trusted, well-vetted, and comprehensive information is critical for robust R&D. That means knowing where to get such valuable data and having the research tools in place to deliver it are key to developing a successful R&D strategy. 

How LexisNexis supports research and development 

Nexis^®   supplies content from the world's leading publishers. It aggregates information from more than 40,000 international news and business outlets, as well as from thousands of business-relevant websites, blogs, and forums. Tens of thousands of sources and millions of documents are at your disposal for company research. 

It enables you to search this expertly curated content for all the relevant, credible, quality information you need – all in one place – and access reports, data, and info that’s often locked behind a paywall. You can organize and keep track of your research using alerts, personalized dashboards, reports, and customizable analyses. 

Plus, the Nexis^® archive dates back more than 40 years, so the tool provides results that can serve up the big picture – not just today’s headlines. And Nexis^® adds to its archives every minute, every hour, every day. 

Add to this our powerful indexing, filtering, and analytics functions, and you can be confident that your research will lead you to actionable insights and drive informed, impactful decisions for the benefit of your business. 

 

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