This article is worth a look: Six Techniques to Get More from the Web than Google Will Tell You. Some of these are more useful than others (ie. this article was written with bias towards an American readership), but take a look. The techniques are:
Use search engines and Wikipedia to find quality research tools. The emphasis here isn't on *using* Wikipedia directly, but letting it point you in directions of other sources, which makes sense to me. The advice - 'use them to carry you to better places'. Well yes, but that's what we do with search engines anyway in most cases. Search engines don't know the answer to stuff, they just push you to different places or drag content from places to try and answer the query. Interesting reference to Geniusfind which is a search engine directory that categorizes thousands of topic specific search engines and databases. Worth a look. The other reference here was to the Beaucoup engine, which I don't rate highly at all (their geographical section for example is very poor.)
Search blogs for specialists. Yes, makes lots of sense to me. Usual references to Google blog search and Technorati but another suggestion is QuackTrack which lists 6,000+ categories and 150,000+ weblogs.
Study business school websites. Less useful for the non-US readers, but I can see where they're coming from on this - see what research is going on, look to see what's published and follow the links.
Find statistical data on government sources. Makes sense again, though the links given are US government, but everyone else can find their own I'm sure.
Research trade groups and online publications. Good for research in hot topics, and again several references to US associations.
Visit the library! Yay for the library. 'It may sound archaic. But libraries ... have access to subscription databases ... you would be unlikely to find elsewhere. Specific links to the Digital Librarian and the WWW Virtual Library but no reference to Pinakes or the Librarians' Internet Index which surprised me. However, useful stuff all round.
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