Online Search Strategies
We’ll cover tips and tools specific to internet research later in this chapter, but you should already know that you should first think carefully about what you want to know. This is important to make your research effective. It’s usually best to start your online search with a few keywords. After looking at the results, try variations on these terms.
Expertise Finder has a good research planning tutorial called Google Search Tips For Journalists.
Also remember that the internet is not the only place to search.
Think of other places you might find documents: libraries or government offices, for example. And think of the people you could talk to.
Ingenuity can pay off.
Google search skills
With your goal in mind, there are a variety of tools you can use to improve your research skills, especially on Google.
The advanced search page is a good place to start, but that’s not all.
Some commands can narrow your search.
“A citizen uses social media to solve a crime
Elis Pacheco, a 47-year-old marketing executive from Brooklyn, analyzed video of a man kicking a cat to determine where it happened, then posted it online. The publicity on Facebook attracted the attention of the media and the police and led to the arrest of the perpetrator. »
If you put quotes around a sentence, you’ll only get pages that contain the same words in the same order. And that’s not all: you can exclude terms, set date preferences and more. Here’s a quick ordering tip sheet put together by online research expert Paul Myers, who works for the BBC.
Google offers courses for journalists, including, surprise surprise, a lesson on research. You’ll also find webinars recorded by Google, an “advanced search” course, and more.
Alternative search engines
Google dominates the search engine market with 75%, but there are alternatives.
Some have the advantage that your searches are not saved.
DuckDuckGo does not track you. For more details, see DuckDuckGo vs. Google: An In-Depth Search Engine Comparison published by Search Engine Journal in 2019. Here is another list of alternatives from Techspot.
Search Engine Colossus lists search engines by country, such as B. Russian Yandex or Baidu for Chinese. And here is a list of 12 alternatives created by Search Engine Watch. Another list of search engines was compiled by Mashable. A comparison of the results of different search engines was carried out by Make Tech Easier.
Would you like to look into the past? The Wayback Machine can help you find information from the past that has been archived.
And are phone books too old-fashioned? World.192.com offers a list of international telephone directories.
Set up notifications
Setting up automatic “alerts” on an issue is like hiring a 24/7 detective.
Creating a Google Alert is easy. Here’s how.
A funny blog called ResearchBuzz wrote: The importance of excluding words when setting up Google notifications.
If the alerts don’t bring up any relevant items, you can always delete them.
“A Chinese investigator used satellite imagery
Shawn Zhang, a Chinese law student in Canada, began searching Google Earth for evidence of detentions in Xinjiang and developed a collection of satellite imagery proving the existence of the detention centers. “Zhang, a Chinese citizen, continues to conduct this investigation, although Chinese police have already pressured his family in relation to other content he uploaded,” a China File article said of his efforts. »
Domain and IP Information
You might want to know who runs a particular website.
Try ICANN’s (International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) WHOIS database, a list of all registered domains (somewhat restricted by EU data protection regulations). Domaintools is one of the many search sites you can check out.
A search for the website name may provide the owner’s name, company and contact information. However, some registrars allow users to remain private and some domain owners use proxies. For more detailed information, see the resource page of the GIJN: Online Research Tool.