Hi David!
I was dismayed to see a little while ago that someone else had locked
this question, leading me to believe I might have an impersonator!
First, let me say that your question just made my day! What a
wonderful thing to see such high praise right out here in front of
everybody! I'm deeply flattered. Thank you so much.
Now to answer your question...
No, I don't work from a library. I'm a stay at home mother of two
boys, perched on a comfy purple chair, at my (disaster-strewn) desk in
the back bedroom of my apartment. My "office" consists of a light
wood desk, covered with Final Fantasy figures (a guilty pleasure),
pictures of people dear to me, little trinkets given to me by friends,
a pile of Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" books, a box of chocolates, a cup
of coffee, and a cute stuffed tiger cub named Snowflake perched upon
my monitor (a cherished gift from my best friend).
What resources do I use? Would it surprise you to learn that I use
Google almost exclusively as my search engine? Long before I ever
knew about the Answers program, questions posed to me at home were
aswered with "Have you Googled it yet?" It's my favorite engine
because it's fast and complete. I occasionally use Blowsearch [
http://www.blowsearch.com/ ] to query a bunch of search engines at
once, but I'm usually happier with just Google. I especially like the
advanced search techniques, which are the best and coolest way to find
what you need. Those are explained here:
[ ://www.google.com/help/refinesearch.html ]
I also use the telephone quite a bit. If I'm interested in a
question, but I'm not sure where to start looking for information,
I'll pick up the phone and call a friend who would know where to go.
The phone also comes in handy if the client needs a clarification that
just cannot be found on the web:
[ https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=14182 ]
...and I've also been known to spend a little time on the phone to
confirm research I've already done:
[ https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=6314 ]
My other resources come primarily from my life experiences. I've
always been fascinated by books and research materials, and worked as
a student librarian for three years in high school. My Senior year, I
left the US to live in Germany with AFS and the Congress Bundestag
Youth Exchange Scholarship program, returning to enroll at the local
University (I don't think I'm permitted to name it here) as a dual
major German/Secondary Education. In spite of steadily working -
sometimes two jobs at once! - through school, finances didn't permit
"on time" graduation - I'm still about a year away from my bachelor's,
but likely will not return to University studies any time soon. (I
sort of have my hands full! ;))
I've held jobs in retail, restaurant, clerical, and even construction
(volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity house when I was 20), so I
have a wide range of experiences to draw from that help greatly in my
research. I teach Internet classes at my children's school each week,
and volunteer often for new projects. I learn a great deal about
virtually any topic just talking to the people I volunteer with.
My hobbies don't hurt, either. Although I don't drive, I listen to
Car Talk on NPR with an almost religious fervor. I just adore Tom and
Ray, and I've learned enough about cars from them that I don't panic
or fret when something goes awry with our family vehicle - I just look
up the problem on their web page!
I'm very much a Usenet Junkie. Do you have any idea how much
interesting stuff there is *just* on Usenet? I read and post to
several sci-fi/fantasy related groups, but also voraciously read about
half a dozen others, including news.groups and several net-tech
related forums. Just because I'm curious. You can find tons of
information about nearly everything just searching Usenet:
[ ://www.google.com/grphp ]
I'm also a seasoned cook, and spend a great deal of time prowling the
'Net for new recipes. I nearly always stumble across something else
interesting while I'm at it. This has led to great fun at dinner
parties. ;)
I try to approach all of the questions I research with a sense of
curiosity - wanting to know more about the question myself helps me
approach the search from several angles. I recall from my days as a
student librarian and as an education student that detail in research
is very important, so I try to include as much information as
possible, without putting in so much that the reader is confused. If
my write up is over my head, it's not going to do the client any good
either.
The best advice I can give you is to be curious about the questions
you're researching. OK, sure, some of those with $50 price tags on
them look appealing, but how likely are you to find the answers and be
able to write them up in some detail if you don't really care about
the subject you're researching?
- Don't choose your questions based solely on the bid price.
- Think about other things associated with the topic when you research
- sometimes looking for an associated term or topic will give you a
back door into information you couldn't find using the obvious search
terms.
- Personal experience matters! Have you dealt with a similar topic
before? Cite it, but do try to back it up with similar examples from
the 'Net.
- USE YOUR PHONE! *Everybody* you know knows something you don't.
Ask your friends, ask your family. Use their answers to refine your
searches.
- Use several search windows at once. I have Mozilla opened to 4
windows at a time, with different search terms in each. It's faster,
and easier to skim to find what you need.
- If you find a nifty resource page BOOKMARK IT! And label, label,
label! I have all of my resource pages divided into subfolders, each
labeled clearly - Art, Cooking, Tech, Search Engines, Car Junk,
Journals, Discussion Groups - and each bookmark in each folder has a
specific label as well.
-Read! No, really! Read everything you can lay hands on.
Most importantly, BE CURIOUS! Did you know that until I started
researching for Google, I had no idea what a "labial frenulum" was? I
didn't. I'll bet you don't either! But the question title really
intrigued me, so I researched it. I found one obscure page with words
I didn't understand, so I researched those words, too, and finally
came up with an answer. I am now waiting for the day I can use the
answer to finally win a game of Trivial Pursuit:
[ https://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=5002 ]
(That's the best I can give you for "step by step". I don't really
have a particular method - if something comes up in my search that I
don't understand, I search on that too until I get what I need. A
strong sense of "What *is* that?" really comes in handy.)
And now I see, David, that I've carried on like a giddy school girl,
the kids are home from school, and it's time to get the place in order
for a weekend guest and a visit to the theater tonight!
I hope you find the answers helpful, or at least entertaining! Have a
terrific day!
missy-ga |
