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How to Research

How to Research
Photo by NOAA / Unsplash

My method of research utilizes tools and methodologies from OSINT (Open Source Intelligence), Cyber Security, and Academia, with the goal of obtaining a large amount of accurate information efficiently.

NOTE: All of the recommended tools, services, and resources are free (that being said, some of the academic article websites may require university or paid access).

General Rules and Tools

  • Document everything that is useful (if you're debating if you should document it.... document it)
    • I recommend using Obsidian as your note taking homebase. You can create templates for people, events, artifacts, and more, which saves a lot of time in the long run. You can also integrate Obsidian with Omnivore, Zotero, and ResearchRabbit using community plugins.
    • Web pages can be saved to be read through later by Omnivore (https://omnivore.app)
    • YouTube videos, PDFs, images, etc... can all be stored in Zotero (https://www.zotero.org/)
  • Track when you found each resource (you'll likely want to know this later)
  • Don't neglect academic articles
  • There's almost always another way to find what you're looking for
    • Don't give up early. Think creatively about how you could find it.
    • Try different search engines from different countries (Google, Yandex, Baidu)
    • Reverse image searches to find information on the item in the photograph
    • If the website is broken or taken down or the page was removed, try utilizing the WayBack Machine (https://web.archive.org/) to view a snapshot of that page that was taken in the past, or use the Google operator "cache" (e.g. cache:https://example.com)
    • For a large collection of useful online tools for investigation, check out https://osintframework.com/
  • Don't assume an academic article is always accurate
    • People make mistakes. I find academic articles with in accurate translations and claims quite frequently. This is why investigating their sources is so important.
  • Utilize Google Dorking to save time
    • Google Dorking is the use of advanced search operators on Google to find specific information that is not easily accessible through standard search queries
  • Track the state of research that a source is in. I recommend using tags or folders to symbolize the following,
    • Found a reference to a source (found/reference, or F/R)
    • Found the source (found/source, or F/S)
    • Investigating the source (investigation/active, or I/A)
    • Finished investigating
      • Valid verified source (investigation/done/valid, or I/D/V)
      • Invalid or unverifiable source (investigation/done/invalid, or I/D/I)
    • You could also opt to use the Kanban plugin for Obsidian

Conducting the Research

1. Define Your target

  • Clearly define what information you are after
    • Person, place, object, event, time period
  • Formulate a precise research question or set of questions to guide your investigation
    • This is incredibly useful, because having questions that you ask for each resource you find will improve your ability to quickly identify if a resource is valuable to you or not

2. Gather Background Information

Always Start with General Knowledge:

  • Familiarize yourself with the broad context of your topic by reviewing reputable general sources such as encyclopedias, textbooks, or historical summaries
  • Websites like Encyclopaedia Britannica or History.com can provide an overview and key details.
  • Wikipedia is a perfectly fine launch pad, as long as you use it correctly
    • Don't use it as a source. Use it as a quick way to find sources.
    • Scroll to the bottom and check out the bibliography

Establish Key Terms and Concepts:

  • Identify and list relevant keywords, names, dates, and locations related to your topic. This will aid in searching and filtering information.

3. Academic Articles and Books

Scholarly Databases:

Book Searching Websites:

4. Search Engines, Online Databases, and Archives

Search Engine Utilization

  • Google, generally speaking, is king
    • I've learned to always start with Google
    • Use Google Dorking to focus your searches and get more accurate results from specific sites or the internet at large (If you don't know what Google Dorking is, Google it)
    • Utilize the advanced Google search tool, https://www.google.com/advanced_search
  • Use other search engines
    • Different search engines from different countries will have very different "views" of the internet. Using multiple search engines increases your chances of finding what you're looking for.

Access Digital Archives:

Search Historical Newspapers and Periodicals:

  • Use databases like Newspapers.com, ProQuest Historical Newspapers, or Google News Archive to access historical newspaper articles

Public Image Databases:

  • Websites like flickr and imgur can contain surprisingly useful photos of artifacts from museums and universities around the world that individuals have taken and chosen to share
    • Once you find images you're interested in, you can use reverse image searches (Google) to find the original document or artifact

Working with Images

5. Investigate Government and Official Records

This is often overlooked by researchers, especially historical researchers, but the government archives can often surprisingly useful information depending on what your topic of research is.

Review Government Documents:

  • Look for declassified documents, official reports, and records on government websites or platforms like the U.S. National Archives or The National Archives (UK).
  • https://foia.state.gov/Search/

Examine Legislative Records:

  • Explore congressional records, parliamentary debates, or other legislative materials that may shed light on historical events or decisions.
    • This includes laws that may have something to do with the topic of interest

6. Social Media and Online Forums

Using the hearsay of the internet should always come after already investigating official sources. Inspecting the "word on the street" of the internet can often lead you to things you missed earlier on in your research.

Search for Discussions and Insights:

  • Online forums, social media platforms, and discussion groups can offer unique perspectives and information. Sites like Reddit, Quora, or specialized history forums might have relevant discussions or sources.

Monitor Historical and Educational Blogs:

  • Many historians and researchers maintain blogs where they discuss and analyze historical topics. These can provide insights or lead you to additional sources.

7. Evaluate and Verify Sources

Assess Credibility:

  • Verify the reliability of the sources you find. Consider the author’s qualifications, the publication’s reputation, and the presence of supporting evidence
  • Cross-reference information with multiple sources to confirm accuracy, or at least establish corroboration of evidence
  • Track down the primary sources, only settle for secondary sources when the primary source is not available to you

Check for Bias:

  • You always want to be aware of potential biases in the sources you use. If a bias isn't already obvious, you may want to investigate the individual or institution more closely to discover what their general biases are.

8. Analyze and Visualize

Analyze:

  • Ask questions
  • Identify patterns
  • Consider things from a "bird's eye view"
  • Identify qualitative and quantitative data
  • Represent data using tables, charts, and graphs
  • Map information geographically, if applicable
  • Create a bibliography

Summarize Key Insights:

  • Write summaries from different perspectives
  • Write notes highlighting the key points, patterns, and findings from your research

9. Consult Experts if Needed

Reach Out to Specialists:

  • If you encounter complex or unclear aspects of your topic, consider contacting historians, archivists, or experts in the field. They may provide additional insights or suggest further resources.
  • An often overlooked resource is the Library of Congress. You can ask a librarian to find a manuscript for you that you are having trouble finding.

Watch Lectures and Seminars:

  • Sometimes it is helpful to see how professors address the broader topic that yours fits into, or maybe the exact topic

10. Review and Revise

This is so easy to neglect, but if you don't reflect you can't improve.

Reflect on Your Research Process:

  • Evaluate your research findings and methods. Reflect on what worked well and what could be improved for future investigations.

Revise as Needed:

  • Based on your findings and feedback, make necessary revisions to your research approach or conclusions.
    • It seems obvious, but very few people actually do this.