Research library

OSINT Guides: Investigation Methods, Company Research and Digital Evidence

Practical evergreen guides for planning an enquiry, checking identities, researching businesses and documenting findings. Start with the investigation workflow, then use the specialist guides to deepen the part of the research that matters to your decision.

Choose your starting point

Use the workflow guide for a new research question, the due diligence checklist before a business relationship, the ownership guide for opaque structures, the social-media guide for online claims, and the asset tracing guide for suspected holdings.

For a defined investigation brief, explore our OSINT services.

Evergreen pillar guide

How to Conduct an OSINT Investigation: A Practical Research Guide

An OSINT investigation is a structured enquiry into a defined question using lawfully accessible information. Its value comes from verification and analysis: a folder of search results becomes useful only when another person can understand what the records establish, what they do not establish and why the distinction matters.

  • Define a decision and a testable question before collecting information.
  • Resolve identities before connecting records, profiles or companies.
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Evergreen pillar guide

Company Due Diligence Checklist: How to Verify a Business Before a Deal

Company due diligence is most useful when it tests the claims on which a relationship depends. Before signing with a supplier, partner or investment target, establish exactly which business you are dealing with, who is behind it and which inconsistencies could change the proposed decision.

  • Resolve the legal entity and contracting party first.
  • Check owners, management and material related parties together.
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Evergreen pillar guide

How to Research Beneficial Ownership and Map Company Connections

Ownership research asks who holds a company, who may control it and what evidence supports each answer. A useful investigation follows dated records across entities while keeping legal ownership, operational roles and inferred influence separate. A complete-looking chart is not enough if its links cannot be checked.

  • Start with exact entity identifiers and a date-specific question.
  • Follow each corporate layer instead of assuming the first parent is the endpoint.
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Evergreen pillar guide

Social Media Investigation Guide: Verify Accounts, Posts and Digital Evidence

Social-media research becomes an investigation when it tests a specific factual question. The challenge is to establish whose account or content is involved, what the material actually shows and how much of the surrounding event can be verified. A screenshot is an observation to examine, not a complete answer.

  • Define the factual proposition and relevant time period.
  • Verify account identity separately from the truth of its posts.
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Evergreen pillar guide

Asset Tracing Guide: How to Research Holdings and Verify Ownership Links

Asset tracing researches holdings and the relationships connecting them to a subject. Public-source work can identify leads, verify some recorded interests and explain where an ownership chain remains unresolved. It is one part of a wider recovery or dispute process, and a discovered asset is not automatically recoverable.

  • Define the subject, purpose and decision before a worldwide search.
  • Prioritise asset hypotheses using known facts and jurisdictions.
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A practical reading order

First define the investigation question and source plan. If the subject is a business, establish its legal identity and material disclosures, then follow the ownership chain where needed. Use the social-media guide to test online evidence and the asset guide to distinguish holdings from unverified leads. Each article includes a worked example, a checklist or comparison table, and questions that address common research gaps.