Technology Watch via Textual Data Analysis

With the ever increasing amount of data directly accessible by end-users one needs to find new ways of reviewing and managing vast quantities of textual information. The techniques of lexical analysis can extend the effectiveness of research by aiding the rapid reading and interpretation of large texts via lexical approximation and textual data analysis. By adding interactive navigation systems to the power of statistical analysis, one can save a great deal of time, without sacrificing the quality and detail of the information obtained. By making clear the structure and form of the database, the computer can provide you with a summary from which you can determine focused and specific analyses. Three example analyses will be presented to demonstrate these capabilities. The first indicates strategies which could be used to identify the activities of competitors though the analysis of patent databases. The second explores the development of the theme of ethics over the past 20 years through analysis of a bibliographic reference system. And the third, shows how electronic newsletters published on the Internet may be accessed and analyzed to reveal innovations and trends.