Record A
Northline Growth / https://www.northlinegrowth.example
Record B
Northline Growth / northlinegrowth.example/
Detected reason
Same normalized domain and company name
Final action
Merge; retain the more complete record
Web research & data collection — sample project
From Unstructured Web Information to Organized Business Data
A self-directed research workflow demonstrating source discovery, data collection, verification, cleaning, and structured reporting.
SELF-DIRECTED DEMONSTRATION — NOT CLIENT WORK
01
Project brief
The research problem
“Identify and organize a sample of companies in a selected market segment, collect publicly available business information, verify the information, remove duplicates, and produce a structured research database.”
Portfolio context
Hypothetical research brief created for portfolio demonstration. No company commissioned this work.
02
Research objective
A traceable research method
The objective is to demonstrate how I would convert an open-ended request into a documented, reviewable dataset.
01
Interpret the research request
02
Define inclusion criteria
03
Identify relevant sources
04
Collect public business information
05
Verify information
06
Standardize fields
07
Identify duplicates
08
Record source URLs
09
Flag uncertain information
10
Organize the final dataset
03
Research criteria
Hypothetical sample research scope
- Industry
- Digital marketing agencies
- Target market
- United States
- Company status
- Currently operating
Required information
Company name
Website
Location
Industry
Company description
Contact page
Public business email, if available
Public company social presence
Source
Research status
Only publicly available business-level information is included. Private personal information is neither collected nor exposed.
04
Sample research database
Structured evidence, ready to inspect
Synthetic demonstration dataset created to demonstrate research structure. Company names and data are fictional unless explicitly identified as publicly sourced.
20 sample records
11 standardized fields
Fictional .example domains
| Record ID | Company Name | Website | Location | Industry | Company Description | Contact Page | Public Business Email | Source | Verification Status | Research Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DA-001 | Northline Growth | northlinegrowth.example | Austin, TX | Digital Marketing | B2B demand generation and paid media studio. | /contact | hello@northlinegrowth.example | Company website + directory | Verified | Website and location aligned across two sources. |
| DA-002 | Cedar & Signal | cedarandsignal.example | Portland, OR | Content Marketing | Content strategy and editorial production agency. | /get-in-touch | contact@cedarandsignal.example | Company website | Partially Verified | Business email listed; directory profile not located. |
| DA-003 | BrightField Digital | brightfielddigital.example | Denver, CO | Digital Marketing | SEO and conversion optimization consultancy. | /contact-us | info@brightfielddigital.example | Website + company profile | Verified | Service focus confirmed on official profile. |
| DA-004 | Marrow Creative | marrowcreative.example | Chicago, IL | Creative Agency | Brand, campaign, and digital content studio. | /hello | — | Company website | Needs Review | Contact form found; no public business email. |
| DA-005 | Verde Metric | verdemetric.example | Miami, FL | Performance Marketing | Analytics-led paid search and social agency. | /contact | team@verdemetric.example | Website + directory | Verified | Name, services, and city cross-checked. |
| DA-006 | Common Thread Media | commonthreadmedia.example | Boston, MA | Media Planning | Media planning and audience strategy firm. | /connect | inquiries@commonthreadmedia.example | Company website | Partially Verified | Operating status visible; second source pending. |
| DA-007 | Juniper Reach | juniperreach.example | Seattle, WA | Digital Marketing | Lifecycle marketing and customer retention studio. | /contact | hello@juniperreach.example | Website + company profile | Verified | Public business contact details confirmed. |
| DA-008 | Redwood Search Lab | redwoodsearchlab.example | San Francisco, CA | Search Marketing | Technical SEO and organic search consultancy. | /start | — | Company website | Needs Review | No email published; retain contact-page URL. |
| DA-009 | Plainview Social | plainviewsocial.example | Columbus, OH | Social Media | Organic social and community management agency. | /contact-us | hello@plainviewsocial.example | Website + directory | Verified | Directory record uses matching domain. |
| DA-010 | Current & Co. | currentandco.example | New York, NY | Brand Strategy | Brand positioning and integrated campaign studio. | /inquiries | newbusiness@currentandco.example | Company website | Partially Verified | Location taken from official contact page. |
| DA-011 | Blue Quarry Media | bluequarrymedia.example | Raleigh, NC | Digital Marketing | Local search and paid media agency. | /contact | info@bluequarrymedia.example | Website + company profile | Verified | Business-level data only; no personal contacts. |
| DA-012 | Kindred Commerce | kindredcommerce.example | Nashville, TN | E-commerce Marketing | Retention and email marketing studio for online retail. | /work-with-us | projects@kindredcommerce.example | Company website | Partially Verified | Specialism clear; external profile pending. |
| DA-013 | Signal House Studio | signalhousestudio.example | Los Angeles, CA | Creative Agency | Campaign creative and digital production studio. | /contact | studio@signalhousestudio.example | Website + directory | Verified | Official domain linked from directory listing. |
| DA-014 | Harborline Strategy | harborlinestrategy.example | Baltimore, MD | Marketing Strategy | Go-to-market and communications consultancy. | /contact-us | — | Public business directory | Needs Review | Official website did not resolve during review. |
| DA-015 | Aperture Demand | aperturedemand.example | San Diego, CA | Demand Generation | B2B pipeline strategy and campaign execution agency. | /contact | hello@aperturedemand.example | Website + company profile | Verified | Description standardized from official services page. |
| DA-016 | Mosaic North | mosaicnorth.example | Minneapolis, MN | Digital Marketing | Integrated digital campaigns and content studio. | /hello | contact@mosaicnorth.example | Company website | Partially Verified | Business appears active; independent source pending. |
| DA-017 | Good Measure Agency | goodmeasureagency.example | Philadelphia, PA | Analytics & Marketing | Marketing measurement and campaign optimization firm. | /contact | team@goodmeasureagency.example | Website + directory | Verified | City and service category cross-checked. |
| DA-018 | Oak Street Interactive | oakstreetinteractive.example | Charlotte, NC | Web Marketing | Website strategy, SEO, and digital campaigns agency. | /contact-us | — | Company website | Needs Review | Contact page available; public email not found. |
| DA-019 | Daymark Collective | daymarkcollective.example | Atlanta, GA | Content Marketing | Content systems and brand storytelling studio. | /inquire | hello@daymarkcollective.example | Website + company profile | Verified | Name and domain confirmed on official profile. |
| DA-020 | Forgepoint Digital | forgepointdigital.example | Pittsburgh, PA | Digital Marketing | Paid acquisition and landing-page optimization agency. | /contact | growth@forgepointdigital.example | Company website | Partially Verified | One primary source recorded; secondary check pending. |
Scroll horizontally to inspect every field. “—” indicates information not found; it is not inferred or invented.
05
Source verification system
How accuracy is checked
Important information should be checked against more than one reliable source when appropriate. A source is recorded even when a second confirmation is unavailable.
1
Primary website
Preferred for services, location, contact details, and operating status.
2
Official company page
Used to confirm identity and publicly listed company information.
3
Public business directory
Useful as an independent cross-check, not a sole source when avoidable.
4
Official LinkedIn/company profile
Used only for public company-level details.
5
Other reputable public source
Recorded with context and evaluated for recency and authority.
Status logic
Verified
Key fields align across suitable sources.
Partially Verified
Primary source found; independent confirmation pending.
Needs Review
A material field is unclear or a source is unavailable.
Not Found
Requested information was not publicly located.
06
Data cleaning
From inconsistent inputs to usable records
| Before | After | Cleaning action |
|---|---|---|
| northline growth llc | Northline Growth | Trimmed whitespace; standardized case and suffix. |
| https://www.verdemetric.example/ | verdemetric.example | Removed protocol, www, and trailing slash. |
| Austin, Texas | Austin, TX | Normalized state to two-letter format. |
| hello [at] juniperreach... | hello@juniperreach.example | Standardized a clearly published business email. |
| Oak St Interactive | Oak Street Interactive | Matched to official displayed company name. |
| (blank email cell) | Not found — contact page retained | Missing value explicitly flagged; not guessed. |
Standardized names
Duplicates removed
Normalized URLs
Consistent locations
Missing fields flagged
Whitespace removed
Consistent capitalization
Structured notes retained
07
Duplicate detection
Match, compare, then decide
Duplicates are evaluated using normalized domains, company names, locations, and contact details. Ambiguous cases are flagged rather than blindly deleted.
Record A
Verde Metric / Miami, Florida
Record B
VERDE METRIC / Miami, FL
Detected reason
Same name, city, and public email
Final action
Remove duplicate after field comparison
Record A
Signal House / signalhouse.example
Record B
Signal House Studio / signalhousestudio.example
Detected reason
Similar name but different domains
Final action
Flag for manual review; do not delete
Record A
Daymark Creative / daymarkcollective.example
Record B
Daymark Collective / daymarkcollective.example
Detected reason
Same domain; possible rebrand
Final action
Keep current name; preserve former name in notes
08 / Research quality checklist
A final review before delivery
Research requirement understood
Inclusion criteria defined
Sources recorded
Data fields standardized
Duplicate records checked
Missing information flagged
URLs checked
Business information separated from personal information
Final dataset reviewed
Research notes completed
09 / Research workflow
- 01Understand brief
- 02Define criteria
- 03Find sources
- 04Collect information
- 05Verify information
- 06Clean data
- 07Check duplicates
- 08Record sources
- 09Quality-control review
- 10Final research dataset
10
Sample research summary
One-page delivery summary
Prepared by
Doli Abhigna
DEMONSTRATION ONLY
- Research objective
- Organize a sample of U.S. digital marketing agencies into a consistent, traceable business-research dataset.
- Scope
- Public business-level company information within a hypothetical portfolio brief.
- Methodology
- Define criteria, identify sources, collect fields, cross-check, normalize, deduplicate, and review.
- Data fields
- Company identity, website, location, industry, description, contact channel, source, status, and notes.
- Verification approach
- Prefer primary sources and cross-check material fields against suitable public company sources.
- Data-quality checks
- URL normalization, capitalization, location formats, missing-field flags, duplicate comparison, and source review.
- Limitations
- Fictional records and .example domains; this sample does not represent a live market census or client engagement.
- Final deliverable
- Demonstration dataset created to illustrate the workflow.
11
Business use cases
Where this research process applies
Lead research
Structured public-source research
Competitor research
Structured public-source research
Market research
Structured public-source research
Product research
Structured public-source research
Supplier research
Structured public-source research
Prospect research
Structured public-source research
Industry research
Structured public-source research
Business directory research
Structured public-source research
Content research
Structured public-source research
Data enrichment
Structured public-source research
12
Skills demonstrated
What this sample demonstrates
Each skill below is evidenced in the criteria, dataset, source logic, cleaning table, duplicate review, or quality checklist above.
Web Research
Market Research
Competitor Research
Lead Research
Data Collection
Data Entry
Data Cleaning
Data Verification
Source Tracking
Information Organization
Duplicate Detection
Online Research
Quality Control
Attention to Detail
Google Sheets / Spreadsheet-style Data Management
Transparency statement
“This is a self-directed portfolio demonstration created to show my research methodology, data organization, verification process, and quality-control approach. It is not client work.”