Data structure with market capitalization breakdown

• US 20050203769A1
• Filed: 03/07/2005
• Published: 09/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: The National Research Exchange, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The National Research Exchange, Inc.
• Inventors: Weild, David IV
• Application Number:
  US11/073,809
• Publication Number:
  US 20050203769A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/103 Workflow collaboration or project management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0203 Market surveys; Market polls
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0206 Price or cost determination based on market factors
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search

Abstract

A data structure includes two or more data records, each of which includes a first data field and a second data field. The first data field defines an analyst that is available to provide research concerning one or more securities, and the second data field defines a market capitalization breakdown for the analyst.

Claims

1. A data structure comprising:

two or more data records, each of which includes a first data field and a second data field;

wherein the first data field defines an analyst that is available to provide research concerning one or more securities, and the second data field defines a market capitalization breakdown for the analyst.

2. The data structure of claim 1 wherein the market capitalization breakdown includes:

two or more capitalization range indicators, each of which relates to a unique market capitalization range;

wherein each capitalization range indicator is indicative of a level of marketplace proficiency that the analyst has with respect to companies having a market capitalization within the related market capitalization range.

3. The data structure of claim 2 wherein each unique market capitalization range is based on a percentage-based scale.

4. The data structure of claim 1 wherein the analyst is an individual researcher.

5. The data structure of claim 1 wherein the analyst is a research firm.

6. The data structure of claim 1 wherein each data record is a database record within a database.

7. The data structure of claim 1 wherein each data record further includes:

a contact information field for defining contact information for the analyst.

8. The data structure of claim 1 wherein the data structure is stored on a computer readable medium.

9. A searchable analyst data system comprising:

a data structure including;

two or more data records, each of which includes a first data field and a second data field, wherein the first data field defines an analyst that is available to provide research concerning one or more securities, and the second data field defines a market capitalization breakdown for the analyst; and

a user interface for allowing a user to access the data structure.

10. The searchable analyst data system of claim 9 wherein the market capitalization breakdown includes:

two or more capitalization range indicators, each of which relates to a unique market capitalization range;

wherein each capitalization range indicator is indicative of a level of marketplace proficiency that the analyst has with respect to companies having a market capitalization within the market capitalization range related to that capitalization range indicator.

11. The searchable analyst data system of claim 9 wherein the user interface includes a search engine process for:

allowing the user to define a query containing one or more search terms;

executing the query with respect to the data structure; and

generating a result set of data records that are chosen from the two or more data records, wherein each data record included in the result set of data records at least partially satisfies the search terms of the query.

12. The searchable analyst data system of claim 11 wherein the user interface is a graphical user interface.

13. The searchable analyst data system of claim 12 wherein:

the graphical user interface is a webpage served by a server computer;

the web page is viewable by a web browser process executed by a client computer; and

the search engine process is executed by the server computer.

14. The searchable analyst data system of claim 12 wherein the graphical user interface renders a graphical image representative of the market capitalization breakdown.

15. The searchable analyst data system of claim 14 wherein the graphical image is selected from a pie chart and a bar chart.

16. A distributed computing system comprising:

a server computer for serving a data structure including two or more data records, each of which includes a first data field and a second data field, wherein the first data field defines an analyst that is available to provide research concerning one or more securities, and the second data field defines a market capitalization breakdown for the analyst;

a client computer for allowing a user to access a user interface, wherein the user interface interfaces with and allows access to the data structure; and

a distributed computing network for coupling the server computer to the client computer.

17. The distributed computing system of claim 16 wherein the user interface includes one or more processes executed on the client computer.

18. The distributed computing system of claim 16 wherein the user interface includes one or more processes executed on the server computer.

19. The distributed computing network of claim 16 wherein the user interface includes a search engine process for:

allowing the user to define a query containing one or more search terms;

executing the query with respect to the data structure; and

generating a result set of data records that are chosen from the two or more data records, wherein each data record included in the result set of data records at least partially satisfies the search terms of the query.

20. The distributed computing network of claim 19 wherein the user interface is a graphical user interface.

21. The distributed computing network of claim 20 wherein:

the graphical user interface is a webpage served by the server computer;

the web page is viewable by a web browser process executed by the client computer; and

the search engine process is executed by the server computer.

22. The distributed computing network of claim 20 wherein the graphical user interface renders a graphical image representative of the market capitalization breakdown.

23. The distributed computing network of claim 22 wherein the graphical image is selected from a pie chart and a bar chart.

24. The distributed computing network of claim 16 wherein the market capitalization breakdown includes:

two or more capitalization range indicators, each of which relates to a unique market capitalization range;

wherein each capitalization range indicator is indicative of a level of marketplace proficiency that the analyst has with respect to companies having a market capitalization within the market capitalization range related to that capitalization range indicator.

25. A method of populating a data record of a database comprising:

populating a first field of the data record to include an analyst identifier that defines an analyst that is available to provide research concerning one or more securities; and

populating a second field of the data record to include a market capitalization breakdown for the analyst.

26. The method of claim 25 further comprising:

populating a third field of the data record to include contact information for the analyst.

27. A method of generating a result set comprising:

allowing the user to define a query containing one or more search terms;

executing the query with respect to a data structure, wherein the data structure includes two or more data records, each of which includes a first data field and a second data field, wherein the first data field defines an analyst that is available to provide research concerning one or more securities, and the second data field defines a market capitalization breakdown for the analyst; and

generating a result set of data records that are chosen from the two or more data records, wherein each data record included in the result set of data records at least partially satisfies the search terms of the query.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising:

rendering a graphical image representative of the market capitalization breakdown.

29. A computer program product residing on a computer readable medium having a plurality of instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the processor, cause that processor to:

populate a first field of the data record to include an analyst identifier that defines an analyst that is available to provide research concerning one or more securities; and

populate a second field of the data record to include a market capitalization breakdown for the analyst.

30. The computer program product of claim 29 further comprising instructions for:

populating a third field of the data record to include contact information for the analyst.

31. A computer program product residing on a computer readable medium having a plurality of instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the processor, cause that processor to:

allow the user to define a query containing one or more search terms;

execute the query with respect to a data structure, wherein the data structure includes two or more data records, each of which includes a first data field and a second data field, wherein the first data field defines an analyst that is available to provide research concerning one or more securities, and the second data field defines a market capitalization breakdown for the analyst;

generate a result set of data records that are chosen from the two or more data records, wherein each data record included in the result set of data records at least partially satisfies the search terms of the query.

32. The computer program product of claim 31 further comprising instructions for:

rendering a graphical image representative of the market capitalization breakdown.