I want to hire an internet search guru. Is the type of person I am
looking for a mathmatics whiz, librarian type, internet expert of some
sort. I have dabbled with Boolean Operators as a way to perform
complex searches. I am unsure what method would be best or what type
of person I need. I am not really sure if algorithms have anything to
do with what I need but I have read about them and it seems possible.
Of less importance if you would have a list of qualified individuals
in or around Oklahoma City I would appreciate it. Would you have an
idea of how much money I would need to pay someone with these
abilities.

Thank You,
Joel

---

Request for Question Clarification by blader-ga on 02 Jun 2002 18:38 PDT

Dear joel:

I'm not sure what you're looking for in an answer. Are you looking for
ways to look for internet search gurus, or a list of such gurus in the
Oklahoma area and their prices?

Best Regards,
blader-ga

---

Request for Question Clarification by tehuti-ga on 02 Jun 2002 18:59 PDT

Hello joel1357-ga

You seem to be mixing very different types of "experts".  Someone
proficient in Boolean logic need not necessarily be a mathematics whiz
or even an Internet expert for than matter!  If you are considering
only an Internet search, you need to be aware that Boolean logic is
not supported fully by many search engines.  For example, Google
defaults to the AND operator.  When I put in a search for apples OR
pears, that seemed to work, however, apples NOT pears was totally
unsuccessful.  The only search engine I am aware of that fully
supports Boolean, together with such things as nested parentheses, is
the advanced search in Alta Vista.  Unfortunately, search
capabilities, as many other things, tend to get dumbed down to suit
the majority of users.

However, the nitty-gritty of how to perform the sort of search you
need would be determined by the person hired to do it.  Ideally, you
should be looking for someone with some background knowledge of the
subject of your search as well as training in search techniques.  This
person should be familiar with resources, so as to advise you whether
the information is likely to be freely available on the Web, or
whether it is necessary to use paid-for commercial databases.  In the
case of web searching, the best approach might not necessarily be
through a global search engine such as Google, but through a
subject-specific one or through a subject-specific metasite.  Without
knowing the question you wish to pursue, it is difficult to make
comments.

One useful place to try would be in your local library, which you can
identify using the search facility at
http://www.odl.state.ok.us/go/pl.asp.  It is just possible that the
reference librarian there will be able to do the searches you require.
 If not, s/he should be able to provide with the names of information
brokers who might be able to help.  As for fees, they can be
anything!!!  I myself have carried out searches for any payment
between zero and $120/hour, depending on circumstances.

Best of luck in your hunt

Hi, and thanks for the question!

I'm going to do a little deducing here and hopefully stumble upon your
request. Clarification of this is definitely requested by me, but I
believe that I understand your needs. I'm going to keep in mind that
you feel the Google-Answers is not enough for your requirements, which
suggests that you are looking for information that may span over
several days, or weeks, or you are looking for comparative
information. This could be any number of tasks, that would need
someone that knows how to sift through the gigs of Internet
information and find the things he's looking for.

An example could be meta-tag usage of trademark names. This is an
Internet search going through hundreds of pages a day looking for
websites that are illegally using a companies trademark name in their
meta-tags to gain more traffic to their website. Such a search would
be coded, started and maintained over a period of time and not
something that would be presented to Google-Answers, which deals with
single answer questions such as the one you have asked here. This
doesn't mean that it couldn't be effectively presented to
Google-Answers, and I'll talk more about that in a later paragraph or
two.

What you are looking for is an "Internet Programmer", someone who
writes code, queries and robots which deal specifically with the
Internet. This is not an "Internet Designer" or a web page creator.
This person may have not created a single webpage in her life, but she
is definitely active on the Internet. The Web deals with pictures and
presentation, this person deals with data.

The person you are probably looking for has Perl experience. Perl is a
language used to deal with systems and networks, it also is a very
effective tool on the Internet. There are other tools, Python comes to
mind, and your person may use that instead or as well as Perl.

Another qualification is experience with databases. A lot of
experience with databases. This person knows how to create a report.

This person probably knows "Fuzzy Information Sorting", and/or "Text
Categorization" . This is a learned skill set that takes in the
documents from a search and sorts them into relevant subsets. This is
that huge abyss area that isn't covered by Boolean searches. For
instance, if you do a search using the term "Toy Makers" you are going
to get a large variety of websites back: News, Ads, E.com, College
papers, review, Christmas, and blog sites. Information sorting is
getting at the few pages that are relevant to the need the search was
originally created for.

If you are looking to create your own search engine, like Google or
Yahoo, then you are looking for another person entirely. This person
probably knows C as a language or C++ and programs on Unix systems
(perhaps Linux, but probably not a Microsoft OS system) He also
understands Fuzzy Information Sorting, but on a much deeper level than
our person described above. He also knows database structures on a
much deeper level.

The main difference between the two are experience and salary levels.
The first one is 35-65k per year, the second 50-80k per year (based on
salaries currently being offered on Monster.com). If you are in need
of the second, you are looking for more than one person.

I mentioned above I would come back to Google-Answers. Now, this is
going to sound like a blatant plug for the place I contract for, but
really it isn't. I happen to know that several of the researchers
currently contracting are programmers of various levels, and they have
the benefit of being researchers as well. So if your search is one
that would be something that happens over a period of time, with
variations, you might consider asking for a run on here and see what
can be done for you. If it works out, and you begin to post regularly,
more than likely a few of us are going to create some scripts/programs
to deal with your questions for you. This may be a much better
solution than you currently realize, and it would give you some
experience in working with your current information needs.




Links for further information:

A Fuzzy Set Model or Search and Consideration
[ http://www.ebrc.psu.edu/publications/papers/pdf/1999-05.pdf  ]

Yimming Yang
[ http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~yiming/ ] 

[ http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/~ley/db/indices/a-tree/y/Yang:Yiming.html
]

[ http://citeseer.nj.nec.com/yang95noise.html ]

Categorization of Text 
[ http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/group/doremi/categorization/categorylinks.html
]




I hope this answers your questions and if you need any clarification
on this topic please don't hesitate to ask.


Thank you, 

webadept-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by joel1357-ga on 02 Jun 2002 22:23 PDT

Our company wants to hire someone that would be among the finest in
the world in putting together searches and culling together very
relevant results for searches queried.

What credentials would this person(s) need?  (Mathematics wiz,
librarian, internet/intranet expert, etc.)  When doing complex
searches, what do people use?? Boolean operators, algorithms, or other
things because quite frankly it is very confusing to me?

I will list 10 searches below as an example of the type of information
I need, though there are many others.

1.	Second hand widget dealers in China?
2.	South Africa second hand widget buyers in quantity of more than 100
units?
3.	Second hand widget dealers in South America?
4.	Secondhand widget dealers in Mexico city?
5.	Used widget buyers Eastern Europe?
6.	Used widget dealers in Oklahoma City, OK?
7.	Pre-owned widget dealers in Moscow?
8.	Buy/sell widgets in Paris, France?
9.	Import/export secondhand excellent to good condition widgets not
more than 10 years old?
10.	Reputable secondhand/used widget dealer with 10 or more employees
and 5 or more years experience?

On a side note, how do you insure that searches you perform for a
specific country or city will only return results in those specific
places?

---

Clarification of Answer by webadept-ga on 02 Jun 2002 23:01 PDT

It sounds like, from the examples you have provided, that what you are
looking for is someone who is good with Boolean type searches on a
Internet search engine, such as Google, Yahoo, WebCrawler or a meta
engine such as Dogpile.

This person would be on the same par as a Google-Answers Researcher.
No Higher mathematics would be required to get those answers. Research
Librarian skills would be a plus, and some basic logic skills, but
mostly someone who has worked with search engines, and has experience
in using them. That is really the key skill you are looking for.

Programming skills, for these types of questions, would not be
necessary, nor would advanced Text Categorization skills, like the
ones I first described. Really, what you want is a Google-Researcher.

A researcher could be a lot of things. To get fastest results from an
advertisement I would go with Research Librarian, or Historian
(College Degree level) who has extensive experience in using Search
Engines and/or Internet Reference sources.

Again, I would like to point out that you have at your beckon call
here on Google-Answers at least 100 Researchers ready to answer anyone
of those questions you listed. Maybe you could go back through some of
the older questions and you'll see several questions exactly like the
ones you have there, answered very quickly.

Let me know if this doesn't clarify the answer enough for you. 

webadept-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by webadept-ga on 02 Jun 2002 23:11 PDT

On your other request.. if I was looking for Use Sports Equipment in
the San Francisco area, I would make a search on Google that looks
like this :

+"Used Sports Equipment" +"San Francisco" 

Then, check the first few listings to see if I needed to add further
qualifications to the search. The quotes group words together, the +
plus sign tells the Google engine that it is required.

Hope that helps

webadept-ga

I have people that work for me that are going through all of the
questions and giving me their recommendation for how all of the
questions that I have asked should be rated. I had to make an
exception for this question and rate it personally. The responses I
received from this question is what caused me to ask over 60 $ 100
questions. In fact I will always look forward to visiting this site
when I need quality research done. All of the responses seemed to be
answered well, however is was the comment from larre-ga that caused a
stir from the people in my department and put me in a position to
break out the credit card and have the people on this site do the
research that we needed done. So again, thank you to all who
responded, my hat is off to larre-ga who went above and beyond and
ensured that I will always look at this site as a leader in the
research field.

Again Thank You,
Joel

Hello Joel,

In your quest for a top-notch researcher, in conjunction with the
skills well-detailed above, I believe you might seek an individual
with the following characteristics:

General knowledge

As you are obviously aware, you'll need an individual with broad
general knowledge. You've described that role as "librarian" however,
however, it goes deeper. As well as topical familiarity, your
candidate should have expertise in several unrelated fields,
specialized knowledge in several more, and broad general knowledge in
a wide variety of subjects or topics.

Internet knowledge

Your candidate should know the Internet well as a searcher, and as a
user. The knowledge base linked on the Internet is only the tip of the
iceberg. There are thousands of databases which are not indexed by any
search engine. Your candidate needs to know what currently is, and
more important, what IS NOT available online. Digging out data is a
skill unrelated to Boolean mathematics. It is a catagoric familiarity
with WHERE data may be located, online or off. A in-depth search
doesn't necessarily begin with keywords in a search engine. It begins
with knowing which engine to use for a specific purpose, or where
exactly to go to begin looking for the data.

Reference Sources

Your researcher will need reference sources in addition to the
Internet. Nearly every bit of data you'd ever want is for sale, but
not all of it is on the 'Net. You'll need to give your researcher
access to private databases, reports, reference books, professional
journals and subscriptions to specialized field data. Your researcher
will need an excellent reference library in-house, with subscriber
access to newspapers, magazines, and other sources of current
information.

Languages and Communication Skills

Your researcher will speak or be able to read and write more than one
language if you're seeking international data. The specific language
is probably not as important as the what knowledge of a different
language gives in terms of the ability to think in a different
pattern. Your researcher will need to know HOW to seek data in foreign
languages, and how to get it accurately translated for you. Your
researcher will need to be able to communicate excellently with humans
as well as computers. Your researcher should be able to translate
technical materials into plain language. Your researcher will be able
to organize data from diverse sources into a prioritized report.

Curiosity and Persistence

Your researcher should possess an extremely high degree of curiosity.
It's one thing to be able to read about and report on a new subject.
It's another to actually learn the subject well enough to be able to
report intelligently and be able to answer further questions without
needing additional research. Your researcher will possess enough
curiosity to deliver more than the basics you've asked for.

It also takes a high degree of persistence. Many pieces of information
are not readily available. Your best-of-the-best searcher won't give
up until they have proof your information isn't available through
conventional sources. Your researcher will exhibit characteristics of
competitiveness - not willing to let the unknown win.

---------

There may not be any single subject or degree as the only possible
background for a researcher. You're looking for a gifted individual
with varied knowledge and experience. Initial training or education
may not be the best indicator. Study of mathematics or philosophy
would probably be included in your researcher's resume, but they
aren't the only possibilities. Your researcher will have a degree of
familiarity with statistics and statistical methodology, in order to
evaluate the relavance of acquired data. A certain degree of computer
programming knowledge would be useful, however it shouldn't be the
only criterion. You're looking for an individual who is a Superuser of
computers, who may or may not be a programmer. Superusers have the
ability to coax a tremendous amount of data from a computer, not
because they know how to program them, but because they understand the
programming interface, either intuitively or from a fair amount of
experience.

As I mentioned in the beginning, these are characteristics of good
researchers, not necessarily what you'll find on a resume. Google
Answers researchers have many different backgrounds and skill sets.

You might take a look at Salary.com for information about formulas for
determining competitive salaries based upon experience, skills, and
education.

larre-ga

Joe,

I tend to agree with what Larre wrote.

Personally, I think it sounds like you are looking for a Research
Librarian (also often called Information Specialists).  Librarians are
trained in the art of searching -- whether it's via the Internet,
proprietary databases, and hard copy materaials.  Libraians have
masters degrees, generally either an Masters in Library Science (MLS)
or a Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS).  I recommend
posting a job ad on the Special Libraries Association web site (
http://www.sla.org ), including more specific details about the person
you'd like to hire.  You might also look at the Society of Competitive
Information Professionals (SCIP) at http://www.scip.org.

Consider:
*  Are you interested in a specific area of subject expertise?  Will
they be searching for market research data, competitive intelligence,
historical data?
*  Will this person be a full-time permanent employee?  A part-time
employee? *  Do you want to pay them a salary with benefits or simply
by the hour?
*  Will they work at your office or from home?  If from home, will you
provide the equipment they need (computer, Internet hook-up, online
charges, etc.) or will they need to have that already?
*  Do you subscribe to any online services like Nexis, Factiva,
Dialog, Investext that will allow for more comprehensive and complete
searching?  Not everything is available for free on the Internet and a
good searcher knows how to make use of a huge range of resources. 
Often the MOST CURRENT information (e.g., market research info like
"how many widgets were sold in Paris in 2001") is NOT YET available
free on the Internet, but IS available on various pay databases like
the ones I listed above.

Salaries vary greatly from city to city so it's hard to say what you
would pay.  Salary for a corporate researcher (with an MLS) in NYC is
about $50K.  Other cities like Washington, DC, San Francisco, etc. are
comparable.  But, Norman, OK.  You might take a look at the Bureau of
Labor Statistics for area wages at http://www.bls.gov.

Hi Joel,

Its interesting what the Google Answers Researchers have come across.
But I still feel they have missed out a few sites per se, according to
my knowledge. There are a few service providers in the space you are
asking. Here is a list:

http://www.searchwarriors.com
Have a range of services aimed at people like you.

http://bhivanju.netfirms.com (tho, the site does not mention any
details on this, I know these folks are involved in Internet
Researching big time.)

I will let you know more as I come across them.

DRS.