-agencies can gather information through on-site inspections of an office, factory, or some other business facility -examples include safety inspections of underground coal mines, safety tests of commercial equipment and automobiles, and environmental monitoring of factory emissions -may ask a firm to submit certain documents or records to the agency for examination (ex: FTC often asks to inspect corporate records for compliance) -firms typically comply because it is in the firm's interest to maintain a good relationship with regulatory bodies *site search example: ex: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may inspect a site to determine if hazardous wastes are being stored properly or to sample a facility's wastewater to ensure that it complies with the clean water act.