January 2011

Research is connecting the dots.  The right information is rarely found in the one place.  One of the skills of good researchers is finding and bringing together pieces of information to find the answer.

The ability to quickly connect the dots is a mix of knowing where to look, and what tools to use to for the job.

Stay in the loop
Take advantage of the range of tools that help you to stay abreast of news and developments in the areas you need to be on top of.

Expand your regular knowledge sources
Make some time to look for and evaluate new content providers, information sources, websites and good feeds of information.

Keep in touch with your good contacts
Your network of contacts is invaluable.  Look after them and treat them with care.

Finding tools
Search and content providers are always tweaking with their search options, so play around with their new and shiny offerings to see if they can help you to find what you need, when you need it.

Storing tools
The range of tools for storing valuable links to information, both online and on your local computer, is expanding, and contracting.  Some online bookmarking tools have closed, with rumours of further closures or sell-offs of other popular tools, such as del.icio.us.  Meanwhile, cloud computing offers great potential for storing and accessing your documents and other important information sources, online up in the cloud.

Sharing tools
Facebook and twitter have permanently changed the way we connect and share important and trivial information.  The trick is to find the information currents with useful information, and enjoy the free and quick flow of bits of stories, which you can connect to other dots to turn into useful information.