Recently, the PRISM team has
been out on the road discussing our services and methods with potential and
current clients. During the process, we generated interest in our data FUSION
process and the value it adds to investigations. It made us realize our readers
(you) could benefit from the same discussion. To simplify the process, we will
discuss the value added from each type of data source. Currently, we utilize
three main sources: Public Records, Online Content, and Social Media Content.
Public Records
Public records push a
research project off in the right direction. With the abundance of personal
information available, these records make it possible for you to look up criminal
and litigation history, identify physical locations and property information,
map out potential networks of family and associates, and vet out current
licensures. Together, all of these records combine to build a base for your
research. They provide relevant search terms and locations for the rest of your
work. However, many public records databases contain outdated, incomplete, and
inaccurate information. You still have to look at other sources of information
to verify the data and paint a more complete picture of the individual of
interest.
Online Content
General online content is
a great way to find out how the individual of interest interacts with society
at large. News stories can help research a multitude of issues related to an
individual. First, they can help you identify any additional criminal or civil
litigation information which may have been excluded from public records. Second,
news articles provide a wealth of knowledge regarding business operations which
can help you set a general context for the individual’s professional life.
Finally, local news also tends to spend time giving lip service to those doing
work in the community, which can help you identify additional organizations
connected to the person of interest. When you combine this data with personal
and professional websites, you have additional contextual data that informs you
about what the person is involved in on a routine basis. However, this data,
even when combined with public records, tells you very little about the actual person
you are investigating and still may contain some inaccurate information.
Social Media Content
Social media content’s
best value added comes from the data about the person’s personality, interests,
and habits. When a person posts a wide array of information about the things
they like, do, and consume, it becomes very easy to identify additional places
to locate information. Social media profiles also provide a great wealth of
connection data that allows you to confirm connections from public records and
build out additional social networks. Additionally, you can verify some of the data
that was originally identified in both public records and online content. It is
imperative this data is fused together with public records and online data
during the research process. Without social media, it is nearly impossible to fully
understand an individual.
Conclusion
To add reliable,
actionable intelligence to your investigation, it is imperative to use a data
fusion approach. Without using a comprehensive online research solution, you
can be acting upon inaccurate or incomplete information. In order to provide a
truly thorough investigative service to your clients, you should implement a
data fusion process as a integral part of your operations.
