Obscure Research Resources

[Caveat Lector]

The most common answer in response to any question about how anything works is "Google it!". But sometimes, googling it does not always get the precise results you want. So then you turn to Wikipedia, but even that's not always a great help. Sometimes, you need to know precisely when something was invented or the precise workings of some device or system, or look up a rare religion, but it's a very obscure detail that's not easily found on Wikipedia or anywhere on the web. (Also, in some cases, some of us want to google the answer to something but are afraid in the back of our minds this could result in the FBI knocking at our door for a friendly visit ) Is there a way anyone can provide a, or several, research resources that provides details for really obscure details? Wikipedia is one of them, but we're talking about really tiny, obscure details that even Wikipedia probably wouldn't know everything about (plus, there's the whole thing about how it can be edited by anyone, so...). Like when microwavable popcorn was invented, or the properties of shoelaces, or littler-known religions, or...pretty much anything obscure.

Off the top of my head, at least for the "googling details on stuff that would get the FBI at your door" thing, I do recall this tumblr page that's dedicated specifically to details in crime investigation and forensics, but I forget which one. I also recall some tumblr pages dedicated to writing also provided similar resources.

(I know some people are going to say this, and I agree with them, so I'll just say this: For the record, as a general piece of advice, if you want to know how something works but can't find the right resources that give you the precise answers for it, just BS your way through it--the average reader probably wouldn't know what goes into the production of making shoelaces or the inner workings of a door lock and you could get away with it, and I'm sure most people on here would agree with me on this; this is just if you want to absolutely double-check the details to make sure you're right about something, or if, in the case of the obscure religions thing, you want to be respectful and not come off as someone relying on lazy stereotypes)

[171]

Yeah, it's difficult indeed. I'm in the same boat, so I understand how does it feel.

I don't feel like researching sometimes, and BS may way through it, so yeah, I agree with you.

However, I go to local libraries or bookstores when I feel like it, they might provide more information than you think.

[Caveat Lector]

Yes, but what about websites and internet resources?

[171]

I use websites and internet resources too, they are easy to find.

If you don't feel at ease when you're researching on the internet, as I said before, you can go to local libraries and bookstores.

[PaupauSenpai]

I know exactly what you mean! I need to learn how exactly doctors deal with unknown diseases for this VN I'm working on, and another one I'm thinking about makes me wonder how I will find out what it's like to live in a halfway house...x~x

This reminds me of the Reference Desk forum in the Nanowrimo forums (http://nanowrimo.org/forums/reference-desk ), you can ask whatever you want there and hope for some answers, which I think are likely. ^^ I think that is your best bet when you can't find what you want on Google or Wikipedia. Just from the first page of threads alone I see everything from "Classical equivalent of emo pop?" to "Goats! And spinning goat hair into yarn," haha. I think this is a good place to go for obscure things!

[czxcjx]

It depends on whether the information is factual, technical or analytical.

Wikipedia tends to be okay at facts. Ask for a history of a religion or a biography of an artist and it'll usually bring it up. The problem is that it always feels like a summary that doesn't go into the nuances of the subject. Surprisingly Wikipedia has very comprehensive summaries though. Search up an example like Gnosticism and it'll go into the belief systems, history and variants on the religion. To get deeper into where they draw their sources from just look at the references at the bottom

For technical information it's better to either find a proper academic textbook or a specialist to explain the stuff to you.

What is hard to find on the internet though is analyses or interpretations. This is especially so in History, which is not just a mere representation of facts but also about putting the fact together to come up with a cohesive theory of events. It's also bad for looking up Literature and the Arts because they'll go into the plot and structure but rarely do they delve into the thick analyses of what makes it good that Literature professors do. Philosophy is a weak point as well but for that we have http://plato.stanford.edu/.

What is best is always to try and scout out primary sources yourself. If you want to read about Gnosticism go and read the Gnostic Bible itself. If you want to know about events go and find published records.

The best resource though is still personal experience or personal anecdotes from those involved in such stuff.

[SinSisters]

I've encountered this on numerous research projects (teachers and their research projects tho) and I've encountered the same thing while trying to be accurate regarding 15th century and 16th century English clothing and customs. Honestly? It may seem like the Internet is chock-full of resources, but as above users have stated, libraries are your best bet. You could always buy a book, but sometimes, it's just two or three lines from a book that you can read while still in the library. Seems archaic, but libraries still have a greater use than we give them credit for. ALSO, encyclopedias are you best friend. Not everyone can be Sherlock Holmes and have every single updated Encyclopedia sitting on their shelf, but many professional essays give resources that you could want to check out.
It it's something particular to one country, you could always search in that language and hope that Google Translate will help you out.

-Nat

[truefaiterman]

Most of the best info I could get on certain topics came from going to forums and ask, or going to bookstores and buying material (even encyclopedias, they're highly underrated in the Internet times).

But for Internet... I've been surprised a few times with TV Tropes and their Useful Notes section:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UsefulNotes

It covers a huge amount of info about a lot of stuff, and in the worst cases it gave me a base to search further or enough data to find obscure information on the net.

[kaleidofish]

Little Details is an amazing resource. I think it's exactly what you're looking for, Caveat Lector.

If you're a university student, tap into your school's library research databases. I've got access to thousands of articles across many journals, academic & otherwise, because of it. The research databases have helped me increase the historical accuracy of the latest story I'm working on. I'm also going to recommend Google Scholar as a resource. Everyone knows Google, but not everyone knows Google Scholar and how helpful it can be.