Lessons from Stimulus - I (How to Mine Information)

Stimulus was/is a business environment simulation game we developed indigenously in CEL. It was my first project at CEL, and one of the most memorable to date. As a new recruit, it was an experience not only in getting along with some highly creative people, but also how to research and dig for information.

This post is about the latter: How to Research.

Sooner or later, we all have to dig for information, and today the Web is the best way to look for it. That said; I've found some techniques to find stuff faster. Maybe they could help you too.

Start with Wikipedia: Not Google. Once you read the Wikipedia article, you'll have a better idea of what exactly you're looking for. Besides, you'll know what keywords to use. (More about keywords later.)
Oh, and lest I forget: do check out the "related pages" and "external links".

Keep Wandering, with Tabs: I seriously recommend using a browser like Firefox or Opera that supports tabs. Open all new links in tabs, unless you are sure you don't like the current page. (If this is indeed the case, the links won't be very useful either.)

Time is Money: Spend no more than a few seconds on each webpage. Believe me, a quick glance is all you need to understand what the page is all about. Besides, if you use tabs, you can always come back later.

Google: But only after you've seen Wikipedia, and have a reasonable idea of what you're looking for. Remember, Google works with keywords. The more specific the better. If you're looking for China's income statistics, it is better to search for "China per-capita income statistics" than "China population + income".
Also, if you don't find what you're looking for, try new keywords. Do NOT look at more results. In general, it is a bad idea to look at anything except the top 5 results. And NEVER look at the next page.

Forums: Forums are very rarely informative and have a relatively low signal-to-noise ratio. But if you do need to use a forum, post specific, detailed questions. Otherwise, a lot of time and effort is spent merely on clarifying your concern. If you are new to what you're looking for, do say so. Be polite, and please, PLEASE, if someone helps you, post a "thank you" note. A little encouragement always helps :).

Blogs: Blogs are a mine of info, but make sure you know what you're getting. Is it personal opinion, fact, or rumor?
Also, make sure you check out the comments on the blog post, not just the post. They'll often lead to insight, or at least links to more info. Comments could also help verify the authority of the given post.

Consolidate: Information that lies scattered over many pages is useless. If you use Firefox, I recommend Google Notebook (boy, how I wish this was available during Stimulus!).
Even otherwise, simply copying relevant information in a Word (or equivalent) file helps. Remember to note your sources. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to find more info from a page you've visited but forgotten the address of. (In case you are stuck here, check when your Word document was last modified, and see your browser's History for that date.)

Stop: When you've gathered enough info, stop! The Web is designed to make you want to spend more time on it. But you need to stop, or you'll die of information overload. (I almost did!)

Next: How (not) to Collaborate