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Search Library: Identifying the right sources for my search
Search Library: Identifying the right sources for my search

With millions of documents in the platform, uncovering which sources can unlock the insights you’re seeking will make you more efficient

Mark Jones avatar
Written by Mark Jones
Updated over a week ago

Note: You may be seeing your filters located at the top of your page. This indicates you are on our older version of filters. To see how to enable Vertical Filters ,click here https://help.alpha-sense.com/en/articles/7983833-feature-preview

The default settings in AlphaSense will search across every document. However, you have the ability to reset your default settings to your preferences or simply leverage the Sources menu to filter search results by specific content sets. There are 5 main content sets within AlphaSense.

Company Docs: SEC and Global filings, press releases, event transcripts, company presentations, and ESG reports are all housed under Company Documents. You can find financial performance metrics, C-Suite event commentary and all messaging created by the company in these documents.

Research: Broker, IDC and Moody’s credit research can all be accessed through the platform depending upon your entitlements. These high-value reports focus on company financials, investment products, business strategies, potential deals, competition / peer analysis, and industry, country, or regional themes, as well as ratings and risk analyses.

News: AlphaSense aggregates hundreds of news and media outlets into one place. From global, regional and local news publications and trade journals, to RSS feeds, Financial Times and Market News you can keep up-to-date on breaking news and industry-specific happenings throughout the globe.

Regulatory: Announcements, policy changes, and news from major international Central Banks and articles and updates from international and U.S. energy, healthcare, aviation, agriculture, defense, telecom, and legal regulatory bodies can all be tracked within AlphaSense to help you keep track of macro trends and regulatory bodies impacting markets.

Integrations: Finally, the last major content set available within AlphaSense is your own internal information! Our integrations allow you to import your own analyses, reports, internal presentations and more into the platform to help you streamline your research, with every document searchable within the platform.

With an understanding of the types of content within AlphaSense, you’re better equipped to narrow down your search to find the information you’re looking for, more efficiently.

Now, let’s try it out. Say you want to answer the following questions:

What are the FAANG companies saying about cybersecurity?

As always, you’ll start by defining your Universe. In this case, it’s a defined list of companies, so you might want to create a Watchlist (if you haven’t already) for the FAANG companies before narrowing down your content sources. Because you’re looking for company voice on the topic, you’ll want to filter by Company Docs only by toggling on the Company Docs facet.

Where can I find R&D forecasts for cancer products?

In this case, there is no defined Universe, so you’ll start by thinking about the most relevant content sources. You’re interested in understanding financial forecasts, so you’ll want to turn to the expert analyses within the Research offering. You may also choose to search across RSS feeds or trade journals like FierceBiotech.

How can I monitor news flow for 5G updates from the communications sector?

The Universe is a defined industry, so you’ll begin by using the Industry filter and toggling Communications only. Next, you’ll begin by filtering for News to capture the latest headlines about 5G. If you’d like to expand your search, you may consider adding Press Releases and Research to capture corporate and investor communications around the theme.

What does Pfizer’s clinical trials pipeline look like?

In this case, the Universe is one company, so you’ll start by adding Pfizer’s ticker to the Ticker Search. Next, you’ll want to be narrow in scope when it comes to sources and select ClinicalTrials.gov under the Regulatory offering to retrieve information on Pfizer’s pipeline.

These 4 searches have shown the flexibility of AlphaSense in being able to call up documents from different Universes, while focusing on the nuanced insights you’ll find within the content sets available in the platform. By focusing on the Voice of your search, you’ll be able to pinpoint how companies, investors, the media and regulatory bodies are speaking about a topic.


Up Next

We’ll learn about our advanced search features that allow you to quickly identify documents that speak to the topics and themes you care about.

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