I have written about the dangers of the Dunning-Kruger Effect and how this may inhibit best practices while using search engines. Not using the best practices when conducting Internet research may lead to Tort for Negligent Investigations. Skill and knowledge will overcome both of these pitfalls.
Developing the necessary skills and knowledge isn’t ‘rocket science’. It is ‘time in grade’. You must simply do it, study how to do it, and network with people who do it. Unfortunately, this process takes years of effort. I have been doing this type of research for nearly 20 years and I am still learning.
The Search Engine Problem
Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines are owned by businesses. The search engine is a cost to those businesses. The search engine is what brings customers through the door. Once the customer is through the door, the search engine business sells something like advertising and other services. Understanding this is the first step to understanding that the search engine may not properly index what you want, or censor the material you seek. For example, the so-called ‘Googlegate’, where Google censored pages with data on the ‘climategate scandal’.
Another example is that Google AdSense stopped serving ads to this blog because there are words in the blog to which they object. It is a small step to intentionally not indexing something they don’t like or censoring something that represents a threat to corporate profits.
As an Investigator, there is no point to becoming upset with such problems. Problems are there to be solved.
The Solution
If you are your own Expert Searcher, then you must recognise where the difficulties lie. This will mean developing search statements that yield the best results through trial and error. This will mean running many different search statements, for each topic searched, in many search engines. In turn, this will create a problem in documenting the searches and collecting the results for later use. The Expert Searcher will overcome these difficulties.
Over time, the Expert Searcher will develop a methodology for searching and documenting the process. The Expert will develop a set of sources on the Internet and elsewhere to fulfill most of his or her needs. From this will evolve a means of reporting that accurately states the sources and methods without the clutter of the large amount of data collected.
The Expert & The PI
You may not be the Expert Searcher, which is fine if know this to be the case. You are a potential problem, if you think you are an Expert Searcher and you are not one.
If you use an Expert Searcher, and you should, you need to apply your skills to give him a solid starting point, especially when developing an Internet Profile. The Expert Searcher requires the following:
1. Name & Nicknames
2. D0B
3. Address(es)
4. Telephone
5. Fax
6. Email address(es)
7. Known internet handles
8. Known hobbies
9. Known employment
10. Known business & personal affiliations
I typically run the searches through specialised software for social networking and search engine sites, followed by some in-depth search engine queries, and then, I combine that with some whois searches and archived website reports. This develops a fairly robust Internet profile. Finally, I combine the Internet profile with authoritative public records and content from a variety of database aggregators.
What You Get
Your Search Expert will:
1. Report Sources & Methods
2. Properly cite sources
3. Properly evaluate the source data based upon 13 criteria.
4. Use a proven search methodology
5. Properly document the search statements and search methodology
6. Select the best sources.