# I love this section but...



## SeverinR

I love this section- research, but I think everyone should try to look up information on their own first.

Simply type in the subject in a search engine and see what pops. If nothing, reword it, or look up something related, or find another name for it.

The internet has nearly unlimited resources on most subjects.
Name it, type it in and you will probably find something on the subject.

The more you use it the easier it is to do.  You will be more efficient and have a since of accomplishment when you do it.

If you have problems finding it, stop in here, or even share what you found, it might inspire others.  Even the most computer savy won't find the answer, thats what this section is for.

I love research on the computer, it is so much easier then treking to the library and trying to find something in the huey dewy and lewy's numbering system:rofl:. (sorry to librarians for the heresy of their cataloging technique.)


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## The Backward OX

Do you mean to sit there and tell me that in an _American_ state with the population of Ohio the libraries still aren't computerised? If they still rely on huey dewey and louie they can't be.

I live in a 'banana republic' town with a population of 955 and our library's records have been online, and searchable for subject matter, for about four or five years. AND it provides links to major libraries across the country. AND an online book reservation system. :-D


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## Ditch

I'm constantly researching, I needed a transparent material that was strong and found that they now have some that is as strong as steel. In the same short chapter I needed information about the treasure fleet that sank off of South Padre Island in 1514. i just keep another window open and minimized for research, you do want your work to be believable.


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## Woodroam

I keep all of my internet research in OneNote notebooks and have more than enough technical material for all of my novels and a couple non-fiction books. Nothing beats personal experience though. The potential usefulness of this forum is to contact with those who have held a hammer and pounded a nail, such a person is more valuable than a dozen websites telling you how to do it.


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## SeverinR

Woodroam said:


> I keep all of my internet research in OneNote notebooks and have more than enough technical material for all of my novels and a couple non-fiction books. Nothing beats personal experience though. The potential usefulness of this forum is to contact with those who have held a hammer and pounded a nail, such a person is more valuable than a dozen websites telling you how to do it.


I agree, thats why I love it and is the first place I check. But some of the requests are really easy to find.(I do like finding those too, just want to encourage people to try on thier own.)

You know, give the person a fish they smell like fish for a day, teach a person to fish and their home will smell of fish for a lifetime.



Ditch said:


> I'm constantly researching, I needed a transparent material that was strong and found that they now have some that is as strong as steel. In the same short chapter I needed information about the treasure fleet that sank off of South Padre Island in 1514. i just keep another window open and minimized for research, you do want your work to be believable.


Exactly.  I use Onenote too.  I put a link to the places I found good information in it too. Love onenote.
They can build a plastic gun(which contains massive preasure). --The bullets and inner working are still metal though, so they won't will still set off a metal detector.-- 



The Backward OX said:


> Do you mean to sit there and tell me that in an _American_ state with the population of Ohio the libraries still aren't computerised? If they still rely on huey dewey and louie they can't be.
> 
> I live in a 'banana republic' town with a population of 955 and our library's records have been online, and searchable for subject matter, for about four or five years. AND it provides links to major libraries across the country. AND an online book reservation system. :-D


There are computers, but to find the book in the building Hueys brother's number system still reigns.


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## qwertyportne

My young adult fantasy takes place in Budapest, Hungary but I knew I could never travel there to experience it for myself. So I began with Google and then continued on forums with people who had been there. Even though Google couldn't replace an actual visit to Budapest, it helped me identify what I didn't know so I could ask intelligent questions of those who had been there.


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## PaperbackWriter

I have an issue where I'm trying to develop a broken distant future but it's completely outside my comfort zone. Although I can state with conviction that I'm advanced at the art of the search, this one has me befuddled.


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## moderan

It sure would be nice if some of the content was actual research instead of people asking other people to do their googling for them. I'd like to learn things. Granted I'm an army of one but damn.


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## SueC

> It sure would be nice if some of the content was actual research instead of people asking other people to do their googling for them.



If someone needed help with researching a topic, how would you suggest they use this forum then? I don't think people are asking anyone to do the research for them - they are just expressing the idea that they are stumped.

You do know that the post prior to yours was from 2015? If not, I find your post confusing.


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## moderan

SueC said:


> If someone needed help with researching a topic, how would you suggest they use this forum then? I don't think people are asking anyone to do the research for them - they are just expressing the idea that they are stumped.
> 
> You do know that the post prior to yours was from 2015? If not, I find your post confusing.



I do know that. But the thread heading was salient. I disagree with your perception, which I find to be charitable at best. For most of the last year or so I've watched people ask for help that would be more quickly and easily found by simple googling, and there have been numerous complaints in this subforum about people asking others to do their legwork. 
So, to answer your question, I suggest that they learn how to actually do research, or at least how to type queries into the little window and winnow the results. It's that winnowing that's the hard part, you see, because that's actual work, like writing is.


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## Kevin

qwertyportne said:


> My young adult fantasy takes place in Budapest, Hungary but I knew I could never travel there to experience it for myself. So I began with Google and then continued on forums with people who had been there. Even though Google couldn't replace an actual visit to Budapest, it helped me identify what I didn't know so I could ask intelligent questions of those who had been there.


 here is an example of showing how someone might go about getting their own answers...the equivalent of giving them a proverbial fishing pole vs giving them fish, teaching them how to do it themselves, coincidently, the metaphor of fishing being that of searching out information as well.


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## Winston

To me, the proper inquiry to the community would look like this:

"Hi.  I've been doing research regarding "X" for my WIP.  From my inquiries, I've found (insert relevant data).  
I was wondering if anyone else has any experience with this? Or perhaps a different take on the info that I have found?
Thanks in advance.  You're all swell."

There's a trope saying "The Internet is your friend."  It really is.  

BTW:  There was a thread where all of us WF inmates listed our technical specialties. I'm sure it's searchable.
Is it pinned?  Perhaps it should be.


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## moderan

It's also full of bs. Lotsa Dunning/Kruger.


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## Guard Dog

moderan said:


> It's also full of bs. Lotsa Dunning/Kruger.



Yeah... Always best to check as many sources as you can stomach looking up, cross-referencing them, and "averaging out" the results. 

It's a pain in the ass sometimes, but it cuts down on mistakes and embarrassments. And getting a "real world" opinion from someone with hands-on experience is always helpful... as long as you're not an  idiot about it, understand that it's just their own personal perspective, and don't drive 'em nuts with too many questions.

Also, although I don't mind helpin' anybody  I can, if I read the words "Okay thanks, but..." too many times, my hand starts twitchin' and creepin' toward the "ignore" button.

...just sayin'. :-"



G.D.


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## Smoppet

Personally, after doing as much research as I could on my own, I just hired a fact-checker who had expertise in the area I needed help on. 

Sent from my SM-S120VL using Tapatalk


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## NathanielleC

Guard Dog said:


> Also, although I don't mind helpin' anybody  I can, if I read the words "Okay thanks, but..." too many times, my hand starts twitchin' and creepin' toward the "ignore" button.
> 
> ...just sayin'. :-"



So just stop replying to that person. It only makes you come off as a jerk when you respond to someone's thread with, "Do a little research, you pleb." 

Expert should be on tap, not on top.


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## Guard Dog

NathanielleC said:


> So just stop replying to that person. It only makes you come off as a jerk when you respond to someone's thread with, "Do a little research, you pleb."
> 
> Expert should be on tap, not on top.



One, I'm not an "expert" at anything... That's a title people tend to pin on other people at best, and the arrogant and foolish tag on themselves in hopes of impressing those around them. ( Which usually fails, only succeeding in doing the opposite. )

Two, I do like helping people out whenever possible.  But being only human, and having a low tolerance for people who won't even try to help themselves, instead preferring to get other people to do the dirty work for 'em... Well, that's what the ignore function here is for; so you can quit responding to those people and not have to deal with resisting the urge to try any more.

P.S. Any true expert should only be "on tap" if they're being paid to be; anything they give free of charge should be considered a gift. They are not obligated to deal with the lazy or incompetent without compensation. Because they are indeed at the top of whatever their field of expertise is in, compared to those ignorant in that area.



G.D.


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## Lee Messer

I used to live in someone else's 'van down by the river'. Even they had internet. lol. just kidding.

Actually, I am a 32nd degree mason, and I can give insights most can't. Nothing that you can't find on the internet, but at least I can confirm information. Symbology is something I can help with. Even Lecturer stuff. I just can't give away any dangerous secrets. Call me superstitious.

I'm also really into Anthropology (my mother is also an Anthropologist with a private library), I personally research physics, quantum physics, Biomechanical Cybernetics, Consciousness Transfer, Nanotechnology, Artificial Intelligence, etc. etc. etc.

I am originally from the field of electronics communications, but I have worked in all fields of assembly for industrial production (even reverse engineering) up to data sourcing and analysis. I am not an engineer though. I don't have that degree, but I've worked side by side with them quite a bit.

I can help with these areas, or at least point you in the right direction, I suppose.


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## Lee Messer

Subject experts are good for confirming information I can say. The reason is that google doesn't offer a course in bioelectronics, neurology, or acoustics. Some subjects are inaccessible like freemasonry, or military intelligence. In these situations you would want more than google. If you're writing about police tactics, you may come across a little thing called a stun-gun, or tazer. I'd rather ask someone what it does to the body or how it feels to be hit with one. Definitely wouldn't test it on myself to get a description for a book. lol.

My preference for settings though is to actually be there. To sit in one place and take notes. I use maps too, but i feel certain places of prominence have to be directly observed. I will have to make a trip to New Orleans, The Vatican, Jerusalem, and even a little Island called Martinique before some of my books are done. I hope I can, anyway. I may never get to some of these places though. Research will not do the setting well, I think. I've looked at the pictures, but some of the places are so intricate. I want to see, and also hear these places to do them justice. It almost feels like I'm disrespecting their richness and history if I don't. I'll even talk to some people while I'm there. Otherwise, if someone reads the book, and then makes a trip, they'll know I used google. There are some things you just can't describe well without being there. Besides, plane tickets are getting cheaper by the day.


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## Lee Messer

Describe the problem, and I can probably give you more ideas than you ask for. Let me know if you'd like some help. I never get writer's block.


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## Taylor

I welcome anything that anyone throws up here.  It's about discussion, and sometimes people here have real-life experience that is better than Google.  Plus it's all about how you use Google.  Some people use a different search method and get a different result.   But, Google is not the panacea.  It is not dynamic and there is no interaction which most writers crave for inspiration and motivation

So my attitude is to ask away!


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## Mark Twain't

Taylor said:


> I welcome anything that anyone throws up here.  It's about discussion, and sometimes people here have real-life experience that is better than Google.  Plus it's all about how you use Google.  Some people use a different search method and get a different result.   But, Google is not the panacea.  It is not dynamic and there is no interaction which most writers crave for inspiration and motivation
> 
> So my attitude is to ask away!


Agreed. If I want to know something, I'd want to ask someone and then be able to ask further questions depending on the answer. This breeds conversation and a discussion ensues and, quite often, it's not just the person that asked the question that learns.

For those that say "do your own research", asking questions on a forum IS research and is the lifeblood of internet forums.


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## SueC

I agree too. I have seen this type of response every now and then here, but fortunately I think most people on WF are open to being helpful and sometimes, especially new writers, don't even know where else to look for answers. We all started at the beginning, right?


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