Tracking Trends: News and Articles:
One way to track trends is to read current news articles or reports on your industry or topic. You can use the word "trends" as one of your search words, in addition to keywords such as consumer behavior, technology, spending patterns, or whatever words best match your topic. Two article databases to try are:
Business Source Premier: http://usfca.edu/Library/databases/Business_Source_Premier/
ABI/Inform Complete: http://usfca.edu/library/abiinform/
And a social issues database to try is:
CQ Researcher: http://usfca.edu/Library/databases/CQ_Researcher/
Tracking Trends: Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors:
Harris Polls Vault: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/Insights/HarrisVault.aspx Searchable data from Harris opinion polls from 1963-present.
Nielsen Wire: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/ News stories tracking trends in areas such as consumer behavior and media.
Trendwatching.com: http://trendwatching.com/trends/ Free lists of monthly consumer trends.
Tracking Trends: Industries and Sectors:
Now and Next - Top Trends: http://www.nowandnext.com/?action=top_trend/list_sectors Top trends in a variety of industries.
Now and Next - Trend Maps: http://www.nowandnext.com/?action=misc&subaction=trend_maps Cool and colorful maps showing trends in a variety of areas, including food, technology, and more.
Tracking Trends: Specific Industries:
CNet: Tech Trends: http://www.cnet.com/
Fashion Trendsetter: http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/
ZDNet: Emerging Tech: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/emergingtech/
Tracking Trends: General Trend and Futurist Web Sites:
Now and Next - Future Trend Sites: http://www.nowandnext.com/?action=misc&subaction=links A list of other trend and futurist web sites.
Tracking Trends: Social and Health Issues:
Pew Social and Demographic Trends: http://pewresearch.org/topics/socialtrends/
World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/research/en/
Tracking Trends: General Statistics: US:
FedStats: http://usfca.edu/Library/databases/FedStats/
Urban Institute: http://usfca.edu/Library/databases/Urban_Institute/
Professional Associations:
One other type of resource that can help you track trends is professional associations in various fields or industries. You can find these by searching the open web with Google or another search engine, and using keywords for your industry or area such as: restaurant industry, biotech industry, etc. and then adding the keywords "professional associations" to your search. You can also search for professional associations through this directory site, the American Society of Association Executives' Gateway to Associations: http://www.asaecenter.org/Community/Directories/associationsearch.cfm
A few examples of professional associations are:
American Marketing Association
National Society of Accountants
American Bakers Association
