I'm not particularly hyping Google. In fact this site is devoted to going beyond simple Google searches, but currently it is THE place to begin searching for almost everything.
Try things you were never told that Google could find - enter telephone numbers, package tracking numbers, virtually anything and see what you get.
If it doesn't work you've only lost a few seconds.
In beta for more than a year, Google also has a search for pay service where you can pose a question, set your own price, and have one of 500 carefully screened and tested researchers do the work for you.
The depth of the research done will depend on how much you are willing to pay but you have to approve the answer and the more specific you are the better chance you will get exactly what you were looking for.
In most instances the answer to your question will include links to other resources so you can verify results or continue more research on your own.
My major word of advice is to take comments with a grain of salt because anyone can comment while only certified researchers can post paid answers.
Research 101
Although this site is really intended for more advanced users, everyone has to begin someplace so I have built this basic introduction to online research.
Trust Issues
This is probably the most difficult aspect of online research but is nothing new to researchers because you always had to question sources, it's just that research is now easier than going to a large library so more people are doing it.
Common sense, always a rare commodity, is your best guide. You need to be far more careful of results for some topics than, for instance, tracking UPS packages.
Beware particularly of sites offering medical advice. If you really aren't qualified to evaluate it then even trusted sources such as medline or medical journals can be dangerously misleading.
The best advice is to confine serious research to areas where you have some personal expertise or begin researching a topic which is new to you by doing basic research to equip yourself with that personal expertise rather than expecting to get a quick answer to a serious problem.
Here again Answers.Google.com is a good place to begin serious research in such areas because a seriously wrong answer is likely to be quickly jumped on by other researchers in the comments.
OUR RESEARCH SERVICE
A major problem with Google is that your question and answer are BOTH public knownedge and become the property of Google.
Another problem is that Google Editors reject many questions including those which deal with locating individuals but they also restrict a lot of other questions and answers.
That is not only their right, but their obligation as a good citizen of the Net, but my company provides confidential research and can therefore, answer many questions which are not possible to even ask on Google Answers.
We also charge considerably more than Google Answers with out base minimum charge (payable in advance via PayPal) starts just above Google Answer's maximum price.
So, contact us if you wish to have a question answered confidentially and we will negotiate a price with you depending on the depth of research you require.
