INTERNET RESEARCH:
WINNING AT VIRTUAL HIDE-AND-SEEK
BASIC UNDERSTANDINGS
·
Research by Any Other Name...
corporate intelligence - knowledge
management - content - content development -
data mining - info mining fact finding - fact checking - verification -
investigation - intelligence gathering - information brokering
·
General Issues, Concepts, & Misconceptions
·
Browsing vs. Searching
·
Terminology
·
Reading URLs & search results
·
Web Page Pieces-Parts
·
Your Link Collections
·
Bookmarks & Favorites
·
Deli-cio-us et al.
·
Browser features you never looked for
·
The Invisible Web
·
Well-Researched Info Needed in Business, for instance, to support...
·
Learning — keeping up, conversing intelligently with
clients & colleagues, coping with overload
·
Growth — improving products & services, locating talent
·
Marketing & Sales — market & consumer profiles
& intelligence
·
Competition — Spotting trends & new developments,
competitive business intelligence
·
The Content Machine — Client projects, Web development,
internal & external communications
STRATEGY / TACTICS /
TECHNIQUES
·
Profile of an Internet Research Diva
·
An intelligent, intuitive, efficient investigator who…
Saves clients time, money, &
frustration by…
Finding targeted info through
“Directed Research” — research with a
point-of-view — to…
Become the As-Needed
Expert-of-Choice
·
Uses a solid Information-Finding Process (the elements
often overlap):
Locate – Assess – Filter –
Digest – Interpret – Synthesize –
Organize – Contextualize – Customize
·
Lateral / Peripheral / Non-Linear Thinking
·
Project
·
Topic
·
Querying
·
Profiling: Beyond “Can you tell me…?”
·
Search Engine as Oracle
·
Go to School — Educator assets
·
When to Stop — or …“Help! I’ve fallen into the
Internet and I can’t get up!”
TOOLS
·
Search Engines, Metasearch Engines, and Special
Configurations
·
Directories: Human-edited resources
·
News Sites
·
Paid Database Services…and how to get around them sometimes
·
Free Databases
·
Likely Spots Within Likely Sites… plus some Backdoors
·
Resource Resources — Treasuries from librarians & other
info mavens
·
Your Library Card
·
ListServs, Online Forums/Discussions, &
Newsgroups
·
e-Newsletters & Newsletters
·
Web 2.0
·
Specialty Reference Sites/Services
SCANNING SEARCH RESULTS & EVALUATING SITES
·
Filtering vs. Tightening vs. Refocusing Your Query
·
Evaluating a Web Source
·
Remember books?
·
Profiling the Site or Page Owner
·
Red Flags
·
More Resources on Site evaluation
·
P.S. - Don’t throw that dubious site away!
RECORDING & DELIVERING YOUR RESULTS
·
Keeping Track of Your Results
·
The Purpose-Driven Delivery Format — “Why do you/your client want this
information?”
to
book research services or how-to seminars,
email Judith
|