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internetassociationaofirs · 4 years ago
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10 Best People Search Engines for Finding People in 2021
People finder websites, or People Search Engines just like a social media application, are meant to connect you with others. You can know them before, or they might be someone new to you. However, the primary purpose of a people searches website is to find out if you need to get in contact with the person or not.
For example, you require a roommate to share the rent, and you need to know about the person before you allow them space. Now, if you do not have enough knowledge of that individual, then maybe things will mess up for you, too. But with the help of a people search engine, one thing that you will make sure of is that the person is trustworthy.
So, the question arises how these sites are different from the usual social media applications? People searching sites will help you find social profiles and let you know if the person has any criminal or arrest records. In other words, these search engines can help you find anything about the person of your desire so that you can contact someone hard to find. Moving on, we will look at some of the best people search sites. So, let's begin.
List of Best People Search Engines
1.BeenVerified
The first people search website which is on our list is BeenVerified. One of the websites best known for its simplicity and features. It stands out because of its easy-to-tackle tabs and the expected results shown to the users. BeenVerified can help you in searching the names, email addresses, phone numbers, and locations.
BeenVerified sets apart because of the extra details such as social media accounts, professional background, address history, pictures, friends, and general information. However, such information is for free on the website. But if you want a full report on someone's background, like criminal records, court records, and more, you will have to get a membership ($39.99 for one month).
Features
Combines social graph and public record
Authentic information
Offers criminal record
Affordable service
App available for smartphones
US-centric
2.Spokeo
Spokeo, a US-only people lookup website, works well searching details from white page listings, public records, and social networks. People are explored using a name, email address, phone details, or location. It happens because Spokeo has claimed to use deep web technology to get results that usually search engines miss out on.
The results are driven from more than 60 social networks, online profiles, dating site profiles, but it works only in the US. So, it can be used outside the US, but its results are US-based. It simply means that you will not find any of your friends if they don't live in the US. However, if any of your relatives live there, you will find them.
The service also has a paid subscription, starting at $4.95/month.
Features
Best for connecting with people
US-based searches
Basic results for free
Easy to use
3.PeopleFinder
PeopleFinder has indexed millions of data available publicly into its system, which helps in finding an individual. Furthermore, it uses Intelius' backend service for details of that particular person. It is a great platform to reconnect with the people with whom we have lost contact.
The best part of PeopleFinder is the free address of the person you are searching for. However, many other search engines fail to provide that. Also, on submission of only $2.95, you can search for the complete report of that person, which includes financial information, relatives, phone numbers, court records, and much more.
Features
Best for free users
Recent address available for primary users
Quite affordable
Intelius-backed service
Check criminal and social records
Search results can take considerable time
4.Whitepages
Finding a person on the internet is a hectic task without people search engines, and gathering information about them is more like searching hundreds of diaries and notebooks. While a people search website like Whitepages makes your job relatively more manageable. It's an excellent tool for users who want to get more than just social or professional information. If you want a full background report, you will have to obtain a premium subscription, starting at $19.95/month.
Whitepages bring you detailed information about a person based on contact, addresses, properties, court records, criminal records, liens, and judgments. In addition, it offers details around family members & associates, current contact details, etc. You will find a person here just by entering their name/location/phone number/ address. It is a great tool for instant results.
Features
Best for hiring employees
Accurate contact information
Basic info for free users
Global search available
5.Instant Checkmate
Instant Checkmate brings you data from public profiles, federal data sources, and state & country data sources. It uses advanced technology for finding these sources. A clear report is then presented after searching the person. The report shows all the data as simply as possible.
One thing you should note before buying the subscription starting at $19.99 is that Instant Checkmate is a US-only people lookup engine. It is used as a public record research service and provides the required details like any other people's search engine.
Features
Search through publicly available data
Best for criminal and background checks
Advanced search filters
Access property data
6.Intelius
People finder and searcher Intelius is another search engine that gives us the data for people search details, email lookup, social network search, property records, background check, criminal records, or reverse lookup.
However, the problem with Intelius is that it is not free, and the results are only for the US. There are two different ways to subscribe to the engine. One is just for the people search report. While people search report plus (includes email search & social network) and background report, starting at $29.95/month.
But you can avail of a discount of 50% for the first month which brings your fee to $15.95 for one month.
Features
Reconnect with old friends
Review property data
Exhaustive criminal and court records
Best for background checks
Myriad of social tools
US-only
Pretty expensive
7.Truthfinder
Comparable to the known people search website Pipl, we have Truthfinder. The main difference between the two is that Truthfinder only works in the US alone. In contrast, the Pipl works across the globe. You can search for an individual's police records, check court records, photos from social media, contact information, and much more.
Truthfinder is more like a background check besides being a people connector. If you are searching for employees or a college mate to share your room, Truthfinder is a better option than Pipl. Truthfinder uses Federal, State, and County data sources to gather information.
For free users, you can only see basic information like age and possible location. In addition, the search takes considerable time to show the results. But Truthfinder has some great tools like reverse phone, address lookup, family tree, and dark web scan.
Features
Best for background checks
Accurate US-only results
A vast database of criminal and court orders
Multiple tools, including reverse phone
Basic information for free users
Takes considerable time to show results.
8.PeekYou
After testing this search engine, it was seen that the results were not as they were expected. However, they were not bad either. PeekYou provides details about a person based on their social media accounts, web profiles, email addresses, contact details, and other public records.
It has a patented technology that helps it bring data from 60 websites, news sources, homepages, blog platforms, and several other sources. You can search for people using names, location, web-username, or phone reverse search with that much information.
PeekYou works best for US residents, and it can be used for global searches as well. So, if you are getting all the details for free, you do not have a right to complain.
Features
Proprietary algorithm to offer accurate results
Fast People Search
Phone reverse search
Global search available
No sign-up required
9.Pipl
Pipl, probably the best fast people search engine, is here. Pipl is the exclusive engine that provides the data for a global audience. It quickly gets you professional, social, and contact information. On Pipl, you can find people using their name, email, username, or phone number.
For some time, Pipl was used for free, but that's not the case now. Also, the company has targeted professional users mainly. The website also shows that it should not be used for personal or non-commercial uses.
The service allows a subscription of $298 per month for an annual subscription. It also gives a $198/month/user plan that supports up to 5 users and a $148/month/user supporting 10 users.
The best part is Pipl gives you an unlimited number of searches.
Features
Accurate information
Free search for 5 days
Social media linking
Minimal information required
Available worldwide
10.Us Search
With a simple User Interface, this search engine stands out in its performance. You can get your desired results in just a few seconds. All you have to do is enter the first and last name, and you will get results. If you want, you can provide additional information to filter the results much faster to give you the results you need.
With that free search, US Search gives you a chance to search for the paid search option, too. Being one of the oldest people search websites, US Search has a vast amount of data.
Features
Affordable service
Pretty fast
Best for US-based searches
Oldest database
Automatic filter
All in all, People Search Engines can be very handy for gathering micro details about anyone. These details are significant before hiring a new employee, renting out our space, or working on a delicate project. One thing is accepted everywhere: a people search website can provide you with greater details than any other social media. With time, the significance of People Search Engines has increased, and seeing that Association of Internet Research Specialists has compiled a list of Specialized Search Engines. This list includes a database of Alternative People Search Engines besides the top 10 mentioned Search Engines. Do have a look.
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internetassociationaofirs · 4 years ago
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Invisible Web Search Engines to access the Deep Web
The invisible Web, as the name suggests is the invisible part of the World Wide Web which either is not indexed on the search engine or is subjected to various access restrictions. The regular search engines cannot trace or track the content uploaded on the Invisible web which means not everyone can get access to it. Just in case you aren’t aware, the World Wide Web can be called the metaphor Ocean which further has different sections like Surface Web, Shallow Web, Deep Web, and Dark Web.
Surface Web includes the normal part of the Web which we browse and it includes the set of websites indexed by the automated search engines. Search engines can index and track all the content uploaded on the Surface Web and thus it is available for everyone. All the social networking websites, online shopping, etc comes under Surface Web.
Shallow Web is basically used by the developers and other IT people which includes the databases stored by the developers, servers, programming language, etc. It is actually the background of the web pages you and I browse.
Dark Web and Deep Web – These two are slightly different and combinedly make the term Invisible Web. All the information and content stored or uploaded on the Dark and Deep Web are hidden and are not accessible to everyone. The Deep Web includes personal content like online banking, email inboxes, cloud storage, etc which requires some kind of authorization to access.
Whereas the Dark Web actually refers to a set of anonymously hosted websites that are not indexed by the regular search engines. There are specific web browsers and search engines to access the deep web search engines and this is what we are going to learn in this post.
Invisible Web Search Engines / Deep Web Search Engines
1] The WWW Virtual Library
Started by Tim Berners Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, the WWW Virtual Library is the oldest web catalog. It is actually a wide range catalog that compiles the key links of various web pages in different categories like Agriculture, Arts, Recreation, Education, etc. This virtual library lives on hundreds of different servers worldwide. Check it here.
1] USA.Gov
If you are looking for any information on US government services and programs you can check the USA.Gov. The website is very simple and comes with a user-friendly interface. Just use the search box to find what you are exactly looking for. It is very well organized as per the categories. Check USA.Gov here.
2] Elephind
This website is one of its kind as it showcases international historical newspapers. It includes 3,866,107 Newspapers and 4,345 Newspaper titles which is huge. Most of the newspapers shown on this website are on the deep web and are not indexed on Google or other traditional search engines. You will get the newspapers from the 17th Century too. You can either use the search bar to get a specific newspaper or can go through the newspaper archives. Check Elephind here.
4] Voice of the Shuttle
Voice of the Shuttle is an excellent resource for anyone interested in Humanities. It is a beautifully and perfectly curated collection of deep web content. The collection includes a wide range of categories right from Architecture to General Humanities, Literature to Legal studies, and a lot more. It has been listed in Forbes as the best of the Web directory in the Academic research category.  Check Voice of Shuttle here.
5] Ahmia
It is a Dark web search engine and you need to install the Tor web browser to use it. You won’t be able to open the links without the Tor browser. Ahima indexes the hidden content published on Tor. Check Ahmia here at https://ahmia.fi.
These were the five search engines to explore the Invisible Web or Deep web.
Alternative Deep Search Engines to Explore the Invisible Web
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internetassociationaofirs · 4 years ago
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Deep web may not be as dark as you think: These Search Engines Get You There
A major amount of data remains inaccessible as it resides in the invisible internet which is further divided into parts of deep web, and dark web.
You probably never realised this. There is only a fraction of the internet that we can access from Google and Microsoft’s search platforms as well as other platforms including Amazon. A major part of the internet remains undercover. The content present on the internet that cannot be accessed through usual search engines like Google or Bing is known as the invisible internet. You may immediately associate that with all things anti-social, but that isn’t true. A major amount of data remains inaccessible as it resides in the invisible internet which is further divided into parts of deep web and dark web.
The deep web can be described as that part of the internet that requires an accreditation to access. It consists of library databases, email inboxes, personal records which includes financial, academic, health, and legal data, cloud storage drives, company intranets and much more. Meanwhile, to access the dark web one needs to use a dedicated browser like Tor to see the content. The dark web is more secretive than the regular web which makes up a fertile ground for illegal activities to flourish such as drug selling, human trafficking, and weapon sales. Considering the intricacies of the invisible web, it is quite understandable that one requires a different method to access the data present in these areas of the internet.
The WWW Virtual Library: One of the oldest catalogs on the web, this website was started by Tim Berners-Lee who also created the World Wide Web, back in 1991. It is a high-quality index of deep web content across dozens of categories as it is compiled by a group of volunteers who include the links by hand.
USA.gov: This is a portal that will provide you with access to all the public material you need on every federal agency and state, local, or tribal government. One can also find information about government jobs, loans, grants, taxes, and much more through this search engine.
notEvil Dark Web:  For those looking for access to the dark web this search engine may come in handy. The search engine has a .onion domain name, hence one cannot access it through a regular web browser. To access the contents of the dark web, one needs to use a browser such as Tor and paste hss3uro2hsxfogfq.onion into the address bar. The website comes with a database of more than 32 million dark websites.
The Wayback Machine: This search engine has access to more than 361 billion web pages on its servers, which allows users to search for content that is no longer available on the visible web.
Pipl:  This can grant you access to searchable databases, member directories, court records, and other deep internet search content to offer you a detailed picture of a person.
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internetassociationaofirs · 4 years ago
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What is Research: Definition, Methods, Types & Examples
What is Research?
Definition: Research is defined as careful consideration of study regarding a particular concern or problem using scientific methods. According to the American sociologist Earl Robert Babbie, “research is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and control the observed phenomenon. It involves inductive and deductive methods.”
Inductive research methods analyze an observed event, while deductive methods verify the observed event. Inductive approaches are associated with qualitative research, and deductive methods are more commonly associated with quantitative analysis.
Research is conducted with a purpose to:
Identify potential and new customers
Understand existing customers
Set pragmatic goals
Develop productive market strategies
Address business challenges
Put together a business expansion plan
Identify new business opportunities
What are the characteristics of research?
Good research follows a systematic approach to capture accurate data. Researchers need to practice ethics and a code of conduct while making observations or drawing conclusions.
The analysis is based on logical reasoning and involves both inductive and deductive methods.
Real-time data and knowledge is derived from actual observations in natural settings.
There is an in-depth analysis of all data collected so that there are no anomalies associated with it.
It creates a path for generating new questions. Existing data helps create more research opportunities.
It is analytical and uses all the available data so that there is no ambiguity in inference.
Accuracy is one of the most critical aspects of research. The information must be accurate and correct. For example, laboratories provide a controlled environment to collect data. Accuracy is measured in the instruments used, the calibrations of instruments or tools, and the experiment’s final result.
What is the purpose of research?
There are three main purposes:
Exploratory: As the name suggests, researchers conduct exploratory studies to explore a group of questions. The answers and analytics may not offer a conclusion to the perceived problem. It is undertaken to handle new problem areas that haven’t been explored before. This exploratory process lays the foundation for more conclusive data collection and analysis.
Descriptive: It focuses on expanding knowledge on current issues through a process of data collection. Descriptive research describes the behavior of a sample population. Only one variable is required to conduct the study. The three primary purposes of descriptive studies are describing, explaining, and validating the findings. For example, a study was conducted to know if top-level management leaders in the 21st century possess the moral right to receive a considerable sum of money from the company's profit.
Explanatory: Causal or explanatory research is conducted to understand the impact of specific changes in existing standard procedures. Running experiments is the most popular form. For example, a study that is conducted to understand the effect of rebranding on customer loyalty.
Here is a comparative analysis for better understanding:
Exploratory Research
Descriptive Research
Explanatory Research
When it comes to customers and market studies, the more thorough your questions, the better the analysis. You get essential insights into brand perception and product needs by thoroughly collecting customer data through surveys and questionnaires. You can use this data to make smart decisions about your marketing strategies to position your business effectively.Research begins by asking the right questions and choosing an appropriate method to investigate the problem. After collecting answers to your questions, you can analyze the findings or observations to draw reasonable conclusions.
To be able to make sense of your research and get insights faster, it helps to use a research repository as a single source of truth in your organization and to manage your research data in one centralized repository.
Types of research methods and examples
Research methods are broadly classified as Qualitative and Quantitative.
Both methods have distinctive properties and data collection methods.
Qualitative methods
Qualitative research is a method that collects data using conversational methods, usually open-ended questions. The responses collected are essentially non-numerical. This method helps a researcher understand what participants think and why they think in a particular way.
Types of qualitative methods include:
One-to-one Interview
Focus Groups
Ethnographic studies
Text Analysis
Case Study
Quantitative methods
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internetassociationaofirs · 4 years ago
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23 Search Engine Alternatives to Google
Google Search dominates global search with a market share of approximately 90%. However, alternative search engines offer many benefits, such as enhanced privacy, niche content and users, and new growth areas.
Here is a list of alternative search engines. There are engines for media-specific searches, community-powered platforms, social search, encrypted search, and more.
Search Engine Alternatives to Google
Bing is the second largest search engine in the U.S. A recent upgrade of enhanced shopping features, including proactive price comparisons and a shop-the-look deals hub, has made Bing even more useful for consumers. Bing offers search for web pages, images, video, shopping, maps, and news. Brands can advertise through the Microsoft adCenter.
Yahoo! Search is the third largest search engine in the U.S. The search is powered by Bing, and advertising is via the Microsoft adCenter. In addition to search, Yahoo! offers editorial content, including news, finance, and sports.
Yandex is a Russia-based search engine platform that uses machine-learning in nearly all its services, including search-result rankings and serving online ads. Recent platform improvements include video timestamp responses to search queries, detailed quick answers to a greater number of queries, improved object recognition in real-time, and the ability to view a summary of customer feedback. Brands can serve ads through Yandex.Direct.
Amazon is the world’s largest search engine for eCommerce products. A9, Amazon’s algorithm, runs the engine. Text, price, availability, selection, and sales history determine whether or not a product appears in a customer’s search results.
DuckDuckGo is a search engine dedicated to safeguarding user privacy. It delivers the same search results to every user. Its mobile browser and desktop extension come with private search and seamless protection from trackers for all users.
CC Search accesses more than 300 million free images from open APIs and the Common Crawl dataset, aggregating results across multiple public repositories into a single catalog. A planned expansion will add texts, audio, and images. Creative Commons, the nonprofit behind CC Search, is the maker of CC licenses, which facilitates creators sharing their work online.
AOL Search offers results from web, image, video, shopping, and local content. Organic listings primarily come from Google, though additional results appear as well. Sponsored links appear from the Google Ads program. Users can set SafeSearch to avoid explicit content in results.
Gibiru is an uncensored private search engine. Find sites that have been shadow-banned or blocked from mainstream search engines and browse anonymously. The Gibiru Wormhole acts like a browser but automatically blocks history, cookies, and malware from being saved in your browser.
Swisscows is a “family-friendly” search engine that excludes pornography and violent content from its results. It does not collect or track data and, to ensure privacy and security, does not work with cloud or third-party servers.
Ecosia is a socially-responsible search engine, using the profit made from advertising to plant trees. Ecosia does not sell data to advertisers and has no third-party trackers.
Mojeek, based in the U.K., provides a global alternative search engine. It does not track users nor retrieve results from another engine. Mojeek has its own searchable index of web pages and its own ranking algorithm according to what it considers the highest quality and most relevant.
Searx is a free metasearch engine that aggregates results from more than 70 search services. Users are neither tracked nor profiled. Searx can also be used over Tor for anonymity.
Qwant, an E.U.-based search engine, does not track user devices. User queries are encrypted and confidential. Qwant unites all search results from the web onto a single page, including news, social networks, images, videos, and shopping.
Facebook Search includes people, posts, photos, videos, places, Pages, groups, apps, links, events, and more — all on Facebook. Results are based on your Facebook activity, shared content, and community content.
Twitter is a microblogging platform. Search for real-time news, trends, and content from industry leaders and influencers.
Neeva is an ad-free, private, and customizable search engine founded by two ex-VPs of Google. Choose retailers and news sources you want to see results from. Discover products aggregated in one place and easily read through reviews from reputable sites and verified customers.
WolframAlpha is a resource for obtaining knowledge and answers, driving computations based on a collection of built-in data, algorithms, and methods. Its mission is to collect and curate all objective data, implement every known method and algorithm, and make it possible to compute whatever can be computed about anything.
Brave Search offers a new way to get relevant results with a community-powered index, while guaranteeing privacy. Brave Search is built on top of an independent index, and doesn’t track users, searches, or clicks.
OneSearch has enhanced privacy features, such as encrypted search terms and search-history links that expire after one hour. OneSearch doesn’t use cookies to identify users or track their online behavior uniquely. OneSearch doesn’t share users’ personal data with advertisers, doesn’t allow ad retargeting, and doesn’t support behavioral retargeting of users.
Wiki.com lets you search Wikipedia, independent wikis, and encyclopedias. Find content from collaborative community-led wikis.
LinkedIn, the professional networking platform, searches for jobs, professional contacts, or new skills to learn.
YouTube Search lets users search through the site’s massive video content (over 500 hours uploaded every minute). Results are prioritized by relevance, engagement, and quality.
The Internet Archive is a resource of internet sites and other digital artifacts. It works with 750-plus libraries and partners through its Archive-It program to identify important web pages. It provides 25-plus years of web history accessible through its Wayback Machine search engine.
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internetassociationaofirs · 4 years ago
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Is Google adjusting the FLoC strategy? Friday’s daily brief
Is FLoC switching from cohorts to topics?
With the rollout of FLoC delayed until 2023, there may be an indication that Google is adjusting how the privacy-focused ad-targeting system may work.
“A lead engineer helping guide Google’s Privacy Sandbox development has revealed signs of what may be next for the firm’s most advanced cookieless ad targeting method. The potential update of the Federated Learning of Cohorts targeting technique detailed at a recent engineering research event would involve assigning topic categories to websites and people rather than assigning opaque numerical cohort IDs to them,” wrote Kate Kaye with Digiday.
This may be a response to evidence that the previous method of FLoC (which did not pass muster with GDPR) might enable fingerprinting, which means bad actors could still track individuals — something FLoC is expressly created to prohibit. “Topics have a number of advantages over cohorts. Users can see what’s being said about them and understand it,” said Josh Karlin, a tech lead manager of Google’s Privacy Sandbox team in its Chrome browser division at an Internet Engineering Task Force meeting.
“We are always exploring options for how to make the Privacy Sandbox proposals more private while still supporting the free and open web. Nothing has been decided yet,” a Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land.
Why we care. While Google is buying itself more time (testing for the latest version of FLoC ended July 13 and it’s taking feedback from the advertiser community into consideration too), this pivot could potentially be better for everyone involved. “Adopting a topic-based approach could give advertisers, ad-tech firms, website publishers, and people a clearer understanding of how ads are targeted through the technique,” said Kaye.
The SEO Periodic Table: HTML success factors
These elements encompass the HTML tags you should use to send clues to search engines about your content and enable that content to render quickly. Are you describing movie showtimes? Do you have ratings and reviews on your e-commerce pages? What’s the headline of the article you’ve published? In every case, there’s a way to communicate this with HTML.
Search engines look for familiar formatting elements like Titles (Tt) and Headings (Hd) to determine what your page’s content is about, figuring that these cues to human readers will work just as well for them. But search engines also utilize particular fields like Schema (Sc) markup and Meta Descriptions (Ds) as clues to the meaning and purpose of the page.
As Google has removed the AMP requirement, we’ve gotten rid of that element and added two new ones: Image ALT (ALT) and Content Shift (CLS). ALT text for images improves accessibility and image SEO. Screen readers use ALT text to help those with visual disabilities understand the images on the page. ALT text for images can also help with image search — surfacing your site in image search results. Content Shift (CLS) focuses on the elements of visual stability.
Cumulative Layout Shift, which is part of the Core Web Vitals and overall page experience update, refers to unexpected changes in a page’s layout as it loads — it’s annoying for users at a minimum and can cause real damage depending on the severity of the shift and content of the page.
Read more about the HTML success factors or download the whole SEO Periodic Table.
Search Shorts: Get more GMB photos, remote working SEOs and automation advice
Google My Business ‘Photo Updates’: A new way to get customer pics. Another solid local SEO piece by one of our faves, Claire Carlile. “It is now possible to add a photo update without leaving a review if you click… on ‘Add a photo update.’”
Remote forever? Kelvin Newman asked his SEO and digital marketing Twitter followers if they were back in the office yet. Over 60% said no (with 19% saying they’d always been remote). Many replies and QTs expect that trend to stay for a while.
Source: AOFIRS
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internetassociationaofirs · 4 years ago
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Deep Web May Not Be As Dark As You Think: These Search Engines Get You Theres
You probably never realized this. There is only a fraction of the internet that we can access from Google and Microsoft’s search platforms as well as other platforms including Amazon. A major part of the internet remains undercover. The content present on the internet that cannot be accessed through usual search engines like Google or Bing is known as the invisible internet. You may immediately associate that with all things anti-social, but that isn’t true. A major amount of data remains inaccessible as it resides in the invisible internet which is further divided into parts of deep web and dark web.
The deep web can be described as that part of the internet that requires an accreditation to access. It consists of library databases, email inboxes, personal records which includes financial, academic, health, and legal data, cloud storage drives, company intranets and much more. Meanwhile, to access the dark web one needs to use a dedicated browser like Tor to see the content. The dark web is more secretive than the regular web which makes up a fertile ground for illegal activities to flourish such as drug selling, human trafficking, and weapon sales. Considering the intricacies of the invisible web, it is quite understandable that one requires a different method to access the data present in these areas of the internet.
The WWW Virtual Library One of the oldest catalogs on the web, this website was started by Tim Berners-Lee who also created the World Wide Web, back in 1991. It is a high-quality index of deep web content across dozens of categories as it is compiled by a group of volunteers who include the links by hand.
USA.gov This is a portal that will provide you with access to all the public material you need on every federal agency and state, local, or tribal government. One can also find information about government jobs, loans, grants, taxes, and much more through this search engine.
notEvil Dark Web For those looking for access to the dark web this search engine may come in handy. The search engine has a .onion domain name, hence one cannot access it through a regular web browser. To access the contents of the dark web, one needs to use a browser such as Tor and paste hss3uro2hsxfogfq.onion into the address bar. The website comes with a database of more than 32 million dark websites.
The Wayback Machine This search engine has access to more than 361 billion web pages on its servers, which allows users to search for content that is no longer available on the visible web.
Pipl Pipl can grant you access to searchable databases, member directories, court records, and other deep internet search content to offer you a detailed picture of a person. Source: AOFIRS
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internetassociationaofirs · 4 years ago
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What are Research Skills and why are they important?
Most jobs actually require some level of problem-solving. You may come across an impediment and come up with a question that you must answer in order to proceed. To answer this question, you will almost certainly need to conduct some research. People with research skills can identify a problem, gather informational resources that can help address the problem, assess the quality and relevance of these resources, and come up with an effective solution to the problem.
What is Research?
Internet Research is the practice of conducting research using Internet information, particularly free information on Internet-based resources (such as Internet discussion forums).
Simply put, research is the process of discovering new knowledge. This knowledge can be either the development of new concepts or the advancement of existing knowledge and theories, leading to a new understanding that was not previously known.
Internet research can provide quick and immediate access to information worldwide, although the results may be impacted by unknown bias, difficulties in verifying the credentials of the writer, (and therefore the accuracy and relevance of the information obtained), and whether the search engine has the capacity to draw significant results from the abundance of available material. Recovered initial resources may not be the most appropriate means to address a certain question. In the structuring of internet search results, popularity is often used, however popular information is not always the right one or represents the wide knowledge and opinion about a subject.
In fact, almost every profession or job necessitates some level of research and research skills. As long as you encounter a question, which is a natural occurrence in almost everything, you should encounter an opportunity to conduct research. When there is a need for research, strong research skills come in handy.
What are Research Skills?
Research skills enable you to focus on a specific goal, gather relevant information, and communicate your findings to others. We are taught from a young age to develop research skills, and for good reason.
Teachers in academia required answers to a series of topic-related questions in an essay. Similarly, your boss may eventually request that you investigate a work-related topic or figure out how to solve a problem.
Why are Research Skills Important?
Research skills are important in the workplace for a variety of reasons, including the ability for individuals and businesses to:
Develop new processes and outcomes. You don't have to be involved in research and development to improve the way your team works. Any sensible employer will value your efforts in researching new processes that will make your job (and those of your team) more efficient.
Personal Growth. People who have a knack and a passion for research are never satisfied with doing things the same way they've always done them. Organizations require independent thinkers who will seek their own answers and continually improve their skills. These employees will also learn new technologies more quickly.
Customer relationship management. In almost every industry, being able to conduct research on your customer base is critical. It's difficult to move products or sell services if you don't know what people want. It is a valuable responsibility to research your customer base's interests, needs, and pain points.
Cost Effective. Whether your organization is launching a new product or simply trying to cut costs, research is critical for identifying wasted resources and redirecting them to more worthy causes. Anyone who goes out of their way to find ways for the company to save money will be praised by their boss.
Competitor Analysis. Knowing what your top competitors are up to is crucial for any company. If a company wants to stay functioning, it must research what works for its competitors, what they do better than you, and where it may improve its standing with the least amount of resources.
Types of Research Skills
Experienced researchers understand that conducting a worthwhile investigation necessitates a wide range of abilities. Consider which research abilities you have naturally and which you could improve.
Goal Setting
You must first know what you're looking for before you can conduct any form of productive research. Setting goals is a skill just like any other. It will be lot easier to construct a path there if you can imagine the conclusion you're aiming to attain by investing effort into research. Goal-setting skills include:
Specificity
Time-Management
Vision
Realistic
Planning ahead
Organization
Accountable
Data Collection
The collection of data is often the first thing to remember when thinking about the research process.Itis a systematic process to collect and measure information on variables of interest that allows one to respond to research questions, to test hypothesis and to assess results.
Simply collecting facts and information on the internet can meet your needs for some purposes. More direct and popular research may be needed by others. You will be more impressive with your experience in different methods of data collection. Methods of data collection are:
Interviews
Questionnaires and surveys
Observations
Documents and records
Focus groups
Oral histories
Evaluate and Analyze Information and Sources
In research, it is important to find reliable information suitable for your task. Some tasks may require the use of certain types of sources, such as primary or secondary sources or certain types of journals, like scientific journals. You may need to restrict the numbers sources you use for other assignments.
In all cases, the information contained in your assignments should always be assessed. Knowing how to assess information helps you with research tasks and with your life's bigger decisions. Knowing where to go for information that is relevant, credible, and accurate can assist you in making informed decisions about graduate school, a new car purchase, financial aid opportunities, daycare options, and other topics.
Published books
Encyclopedias
Magazines
Databases
Scholarly journals
Newspapers
Library catalogs
Using the internet to gather information
Search engines are used to find the majority of information on the Internet. A search engine is an online service that employs web robots to query millions of web pages and compile an index of the results. Internet users can then utilize these services to search the web for information. While it is beneficial to consult different sources, today's research is driven by good online research skills.
One of the greatest things about the internet is how much information it holds; unfortunately, getting to the data you need requires sifting through a lot of rubbish. Employers value the ability to efficiently utilise the large reservoir of knowledge available on the internet without getting lost in the clutter. The following are some examples of internet research skills:
Source checking
Searching relevant questions
Exploring deeper than the first options
Avoiding distraction
Giving credit
Organizing findings
Due to the sheer size of the World Wide Web, and with the rapid growth of indexed web pages, finding relevant and reliable information demands specialized training and Internet research skills. We provide a centralized virtual platform for knowledge professionals that use the Internet as a primary source of information. This AofIRS is more than just a virtual collaboration and networking platform for researchers and knowledge professionals. The website is filled with free, up-to-date content and reference material that is ideal for research.
Interviewing
Some research projects may demand a more hands-on approach than relying just on online resources. In the research process, being prepared with great interviewing skills can be really beneficial. Interviews can be a good way to get first-hand knowledge for your research, and knowing how to conduct an effective interview can help you improve your research skills. Interviewing abilities include:
A plan of action
Specific, pointed questions
Respectfulness
Considering the interview setting
Actively Listening
Taking notes
Gratitude for participation
Report Writing
Report writing skills can help you in both your employment and your academic studies. In any case, the overall goal of a report is to transmit specific facts to its audience.
Communication is crucial for effective report writing. Your supervisor, professor, or general reader should comprehend your findings and conclusions clearly. Skills in report writing include:
Formatting is important.
Including a synopsis
Keeping your focus on your main goal
Developing a plan
Proofreading\sDirectness
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking skills can help you a lot in the research process and in general as an employee. Your data analysis skills are referred to as critical thinking. When you're conducting research, you'll need to be able to interpret your findings and make rational judgments based on them. The following are examples of critical thinking skills:
Observation
Analysis
Assessing issues
Problem-solving
Creativity
Communication
Planning and Scheduling
The development of baseline productivity and success standards is one of the most significant components of planning and scheduling. You won't know if you're meeting goals until you have a particular strategy in place with a specific desired outcome defined by a completion date.
It also makes time management considerably easy. Employers value planning and scheduling abilities because they suggest a well-prepared employee. Skills in planning and scheduling include:
Setting objectives
Identifying tasks
Prioritizing
Delegating if needed
Vision
Communication
Clarity
Time-management
Note-taking
Research involves sifting through and taking in lots of information. Taking thorough notes ensures that you do not overlook any findings and allows you to communicate these findings to your coworkers. Being able to take good notes aids in the summarization of research. Here are some examples of note-taking abilities:
Focus
Organization
Using short-hand
Keeping your goal in mind
Neatness
Emphasizing important points
Reviewing notes afterward
Time Management
Unfortunately, we only have 24 measly hours in a day. In a professional setting, the ability to effectively manage this time is extremely valuable. Hiring managers look for candidates who can complete tasks within a specific time frame.
Strong time management skills imply that you can organize a strategy for breaking down larger tasks in a project and completing them by a deadline. Improving your time management skills can significantly boost the productivity of your research. Time management abilities include the following:
Scheduling
Creating task outlines
Thinking strategically
Stress-management
Delegation
Communication
Utilizing resources
Setting reasonable expectations
Meeting deadlines
Other Helpful Research Skills
The definition of research skills is broad, and there are many traits that could help you in the research process. Consider some of the additional research skills below.
Attention to detail
Reading and writing skills
Patience
Considering keywords
Networking
Competitor comparison
Multitasking
Summarization
Presentation
How to Improve Your Research Skills
The great thing about research skills is that many of us use them on a daily basis. When you use a search engine to find information on a topic, you are conducting research. However, there are more proactive ways to begin improving your research skills today:
Make a distinction between source quality. A researcher's worst source determines how good they are. Start paying attention to the quality of the sources you're using, and be wary of anything you read until you've double-checked the attributions and works cited. Examine the author's bias, the author's research's alignment with the greater body of confirmed research in the subject, and the journal that sponsored or published the research.
Verify information from several sources. It gets increasingly trustworthy when you can verify information from a variety of sources. If you want to strengthen your belief in one source, check if you can locate another that agrees with it. When you run into contradictions and conflicts in your study, you know you need to keep going until you reach a more definitive conclusion.
Don't be influenced by confirmation bias. Confirmation bias occurs when a researcher expects a specific result and then searches for data to support that hypothesis, ignoring any sources that contradict or invalidate the researcher's initial idea. Be ready for unexpected responses and keep an open mind. Also, keep in mind that you might not be able to discover a definitive answer. It's preferable to provide the important points of your research to someone (such as your employer) and explain that it didn't lead to a concrete plan of action than to alter your data and give the answer you or your boss want to hear.
Stay organized. You'll encounter a lot of material during the data gathering process, from webpages to PDFs to videos. To avoid losing something or not being able to properly mention something, it's critical that you maintain all of this information organized in some way. There are numerous methods for keeping your research project structured, but here are a few of the most common: Bookmarks in your browser, index cards, and an annotated bibliography that you update as you go are all useful tools.
Develop your research skills. Professional certification will help you improve your research skills. CIRS™ (Certified Internet Research Specialist), is by far the only professional credential that meets this challenge. Professional researchers owe it to themselves to seek structured certification programs and stay in touch with new materials and tools that are available to transform research problems from very difficult or impossible to quick and simple tasks. We have developed a CIRS Certification (Certified Internet Research Specialist) to educate and train Online Researchers that now form a significantly large group of people involved in digital information research work.
Get specific as you go. There's nothing wrong with commencing your investigation in a broad sense. After all, it's critical to become acquainted with the vocabulary and substance of the researcher's results before delving into the details. Orienting yourself to a new topic is an important step that will prevent you from being discouraged and working backwards.
Learn how to spot a reliable source. Because not all sources are trustworthy, it's critical to be able to distinguish between the good and the bad. To find a trustworthy source, utilize your critical thinking and analytical skills to ask yourself the following questions: Is this source consistent with other sources I've discovered? Is the author a subject matter expert? Is there a conflict of interest in the author's point of view on this subject?
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