I keep reading but I'm still having trouble finding where CI professionals actually obtain information from. I use the internet and subscription databases to get about 99% of my data. How can I get more information? Specifically, how can I get more information about direct competitors than their web sites and subscription databases? Also, is it ethical and legal to get it from anywhere else? Are CI's a sort of private eye?

Dear Scott, CI is nowhere near spying if you read the code of ethics at the SCIP website.

It is a very wide field of potential options to recognize and predict the competitive environment of any organization.

In order to specify and receive what you are looking for you should google for CI consultants, read their service profiles, pick a suitable candidate and get some help.

Maybe a market study will do? Or do you need someone doing a competition deep dive for you? Depending on industry, needs, geolocation and many other factors you might need to find someone professional.

Or check out the literature link here at markintell or elsewhere to start learning how to do it yourself if this is what you chose to do (you're in for the ride of your life but it will take some time to practice and apply the growing knowledge).

Hope this helps.

I will keep searching the sites. I am not looking for someone to do it for me, but rather I am a young recent grad trying to build my knowledge and capabilities in this field to increase my productivity at work, and also I have an interest in maybe becoming a CI professional myself someday.

I would recommend you to proceed with method: ask yourself what are the information your are missing. Then being creative you will think of where is that information, or who should you ask to. It is to my sens important to take in count "direct" sources, meaning what about asking the questions above to someone in your market?

Asking a simple question is far from illegal, and sometimes you get very valuable results ;)