Open Source Research

• Uses publicly available news and information sources
• Seeks to get the story behind the story
• Follows standard research techniques and methodology
• Applies critical thinking skills to the framing of information

Open source research and analysis is nothing more (and nothing less) than reading the news and doing standard library research.  It is called "open source" because it relies on public, not private, information.

Doing open source research requires reading broadly and deeply.  The general methodology is the same as nearly everyone learned in school for report writing: 

• find all of the available information,
• see how the pieces fit together,
• check the sources for accuracy and reliability,
• formulate a testable hypothesis,
• evaluate the hypothesis against the confirming or disconfirming facts, 
• frame the critical questions which illuminate the underlying objective reality, and
• write up the results

Critical analysis differs very strongly from rhetorical or expository writing.  Analysis seeks to determine what really is - as opposed to chosing only those facts which support a particular conclusion.

Journalism has been called "the first draft of history"  Open source research is the second draft.  As such, it should be considered - like any published information - just that:  a draft.  This is particularly true when open source research is applied to current events or breaking news.  The conclusions drawn from available information may not be correct, even though they appear to be so at the time they are written.

The job of a research analyst - like much of life - is using what you do know to find out what you don't.  Another way to put this is the job of a research analyst is discovering what one is wrong about and correcting it.  Success for an analyst is finding out you've been wrong...