The original version of this page can be found at : http://forum.sfreader.com/default.aspx?f=19&m=22274
| Posted By : nathan - 8/28/2006 12:02 PM | | Hey, people.
Frank noted in another thread how he (and many he knew) had left google in favor of Wikipedia for research. I was amused by this as I've mostly done the same thing. I go to Wikipedia to find the best "key words" to google to find a sight with slightly more authority than Wikipedia.
Do any of you have some research tips? I like the CIA World Fact Book for mundane matters. Does anyone know of a place for tech questions or medical questions, for example?
Any general tips or insights would be appreciated.
Thanks -- Nathan
VIEW IMAGE"Writing the wet dreams of teenage boys" - Lindsey Llyod, Tangent Reviews
Tarantino himself has been forward and unapologetic about his influences. In a 1994 interview with Empire magazine, he said, "I steal from every single movie ever made. If people don't like that, then tough tills, don't go and see it, all right? I steal from everything. Great artists steal, they don't do homages." |
| Posted By : Swashbuckler - 8/28/2006 11:41 PM | Nathan: My only advice is to use breadth, by delving into numerous web sites on a particular topic as opposed to one or two. I actually have pretty good luck with Google. Most of the time, what I'm researching is historical, scientific or religious in nature, so details aren't particularly difficult to find. I try to look at Web sites from opposing camps on anything controversial, and fnd the truth in between, so to speak.
For more mundane tech details, though, manufacturer's Web sites generally are good. Unless, of course, you're seeking a schematic on some Top Secret aircraft or something ...
Steve Goble
Visit www.stevegoble.com for news on upcoming stories or to visit my blog |
| Posted By : STForstner - 8/29/2006 5:31 PM | My problem with wikipedia is I recall hearing about a couple of really bad entries, and that has made me leery of using it. I do occasionally go there, but generally just do my research through Yahoo search, or by asking folks in the particular field if they have a favorite site I can go to.
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| Posted By : TW - 8/29/2006 5:49 PM | Ditto what ST said about Wikipedia ... but I noticed that they flag (sometimes?) disputed entries... actually put a bold notice on the page to the effect that "this information is in dispute".
I also have found Yahoo workable, coupled with a dose of patience to refine whatever I'm searching to narrow the results.
"The Teeth of the Matter," July 18; and "Cold Dragons" upcoming, in Dragons, Knights and Angels |
| Posted By : STForstner - 8/30/2006 3:12 PM | | The thing I'm finding that really stinks is the number of websites set up to do nothing but get you there so the advertising will pay. I was doing a search for something the other day and kept running across the same websites listing the same info. When I went to one, all it did was give me a list of links that were supposedly about the information I was looking for, but hal the time took me to OTHER such sites. That is the only thing that makes it a pain to search on yahoo/google. I don't know about some of the other search engines, maybe Jeeves is better? |
| Posted By : Dave - 8/30/2006 5:20 PM | www.Reddit.com and www.Digg.com are good places to search-
Dave
SFReader Webmaster
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| Posted By : nathan - 8/30/2006 5:59 PM | Thanks for your help guys. And for the links Dave!
Wikipedia is somewhat risky but I admit to a certain fondness for it. Dave I intend to fully check those links out.
Thanks guys.
VIEW IMAGE"Writing the wet dreams of teenage boys" - Lindsey Llyod, Tangent Reviews
Tarantino himself has been forward and unapologetic about his influences. In a 1994 interview with Empire magazine, he said, "I steal from every single movie ever made. If people don't like that, then tough tills, don't go and see it, all right? I steal from everything. Great artists steal, they don't do homages." |
| Posted By : carnifexpress - 8/30/2006 8:42 PM | Wikipedia has quite a bit of false information... 20/20 or one of those news shows had a segment where college students have "wiki parties" where they add in slightly false information to the site for fun... like changing peoples names or dates or other things, so that it looks right but is slightly off... I'm guessing it was the nerd fraternity, lol
Armand Rosamilia
Visit Carnifex Press for more information!
Freehold short stories:
"Dew Scented" Stalking Shadows anthology
The Freehold site is now up!
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| Posted By : von Darkmoor - 8/30/2006 9:22 PM | Drat! Now I gotta change the name of the party . . .
J
~
Clash of Steel Magazine Fantasy Book Reviewer |
| Posted By : carnifexpress - 8/31/2006 6:12 PM | lol, the only reason I remembered that useless info is because they said "wiki party" like 10 times and I kept saying "wiki, wiki, wiki" like in that horrid 1980's Jam On It song... sorry, the old guy will leave now...
Armand Rosamilia
Visit Carnifex Press for more information!
Freehold short stories:
"Dew Scented" Stalking Shadows anthology
The Freehold site is now up!
|
| Posted By : Bill Ward - 9/1/2006 1:33 AM | Wikipedia Celebrates 750 Years Of American Independence
Founding Fathers, Patriots, Mr. T. Honored
for the full story:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/50902 |
| Posted By : Frank - 9/3/2006 1:00 PM | | I usually do quick double-checks on specific facts once I read them on Wiki. I use Wiki as a starting point to help refine my searches on the web. What takes longest to learn is how to be very specific in the search engines to narrow the thousands of results you usually get. You have to learn to talk in search engine speak. My wife is a champion searcher and she says undertanding some of the software code sites like Google use helps a lot. She also claims knowing HTML also helps. She's the website builder in our little family so I don't know from experience about all that but I have learned how to word my searches to cut my research time down. In the end what really helps the most is being already somewhat knowledgable on the subject you're researching, which allows you to quickly assess any particular result as being relevant to your needs or not. So being a trivia-loving know-it-all helps, which is something I've always aspired to. Fits in nicely with my assholeness. |
| Posted By : nathan - 9/13/2006 7:41 PM | Thanks for the tips guys. Another warning about wiki: I was doing some research and came across a fellow Bolan writer who is new but has done some more work than I have. He had his name up at Wiki with this fun little tag line added at the end of his bio:
Mr. (name) is enthusiastically gay and proud to be the first known homosexual to write in the Executioner series. His predilection for Lance Bass has led to a well-publisized restraining order being placed on him by the celebirty.
They (Wiki) pulled the joke/harass entry pretty quick but I doubt anyone knows how long it was up there. So a word to the wise for anyone who puts their own entry in (as opposed to those of a fan club, I guess): check it often.
If the entry wasn't homophobic I would have found the line about a Lance Bass restraining order pretty funny but it wasn't done as a gag by a buddy, so there you go.
Sounds like one of those wiki parties.
VIEW IMAGE
"Writing the wet dreams of teenage boys" - Lindsey Llyod, Tangent Reviews
Tarantino himself has been forward and unapologetic about his influences. In a 1994 interview with Empire magazine, he said, "I steal from every single movie ever made. If people don't like that, then tough tills, don't go and see it, all right? I steal from everything. Great artists steal, they don't do homages." |
| Posted By : Frank - 9/13/2006 9:13 PM | | Beware The Wiki? Sounds like the title of a PKD story... |
| Posted By : crystalwizard - 11/3/2006 5:08 AM | Or the title of a cult movie: The Wiki Man
Never meddle in the affairs of a wizard unless you are soggy and hard to light!
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