Prompted by some remarks in another thread I thought I'd ask the question- how do you do your research on the web for a project?

After looking through my own Library I turn to Google. Recently I was looking for info on Universal Carriers so when I exhausted universal carriers I used Bren Gun Carrier, Bren Carrier. I switched between a websearch and an image search. I also searched the Hulto getty Picture Library and the Time life picture library as well as the Imperial War Museum Photo archive. I also asked in the forum here on Armorama and searched using multiple search words over on the Allied forum on Missing Lynx. I also did a search here on Armorama.

So how do you guys do your research on the web and what tips do you have for searching?

Photo hosting websites are great sources for pics (including hi-res) . Webshots, Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket or Smugmug come to mind but there are others. The problem is that sometimes their search engine sucks...

Another thing to keep in mind is that searching can be quite time consumming, especially for obscure subjects so... Be patient and persevering !

Frenchy

A good basic to start from is the "Wikipedia".

Whilst most time a short overview is given about a certain vehicle, the main attention is drawn to the real assett of the article: The mentioned links on which an article is based on.

These (few) links increase rapidly if you follow them.

So enter "Tiger", you will find approximately a dozen links leading you to other sites which have further links.

If you have got the advantage to use this useful site in more than one language, you will have more links of interesting sources.

Ironically enough, as time has gone by, I've begun to rely less on the Internet for searches and information than I have on books...I used the Internet to get foundational information and then acquired my current book-based library based on specific vehicles that I have a high interest level in.

But, when I don't have the necessary information in the books, my first choice is always Google and Google Images if I'm looking for sites/forums that are specific to the information I'm seeking. Google Images in particular helps cut down on the wild goose chase as it allows you to go to the site where the image is hosted, which often provides a 2-for-1 advantage. I will also use the search functions here at Armorama and Missing Lynx, although to a lesser degree, using various keyword combinations, usually starting broad and then narrowing down if I get a "flood" of hits. Normally I'm after photos vs. information itself...so searching Armorama and ML is a 50-50 venture as most times the threads are old and many of the photos no longer linked for whatever reason.

Frenchy, I never thought of photo hosting websites- good idea

Marco- yes I've done that - used Wikipedia as a gateway to more links on a subject.

Bill, I actually have big library mostly Sherman based but for once off projects I still use the web rather than buy a book that's twice the price of a kit I'll only build once.

I started this thread not really for myself but for new members to see that, along with asking on Armorama, there are other ways to get info. What I like about searching on the web are those happy accidents that happen when you're searching for info on universal carriers and somehow you find a pic of a Somali Technical that sets you off on a modelling Tangent that takes your skills in a different direction

local libraries too are great. esp if you are on budget. Ours has a keyword search like a web search and brings up books they have had in archive, not just on the shelves. stuff you would never think they had. like a massive volume on us army aircraft nose art and unit markings.

I guess it depends on what you are researching. There are tons of locations of the internet to find info and images.......it just takes time to dedicate to search properly and look for the results. It depends also on what genre of modelling.......WWII modellers will have different ways to find things than modern modellers.........simply because of historically based sites versus modern government sites with operational images and updates.

There are tons of AFV sites and image hosting locations......and knowledge is power.

Books are for sure an excellent resource.........but this comes down to budget.....many modellers have voiced that they build for simply the fun and don't care all that much about being super accurate.......therefore the attraction.....or need.....to buy books isn't up near the top of researching a project before even opening the kit box.

Sites such as Getty Images and Corbis.com are loaded with great images........but if guys don't dedicate the time to look at hundreds of images then it won't be tapped into.

Of course asking on modelling sites is appropriate and very good to get answers and further discussions.......but the author of posts really should be taking the time to craft well thought out questions and ask specifics.........it assists with accurate and specific answers........asking structured questions with forethought will produce fast answers.

Get away from the computer and Guitar Hero and go to the local library or museum and take a look around..........history is documented at libraries and museums for a reason.....to share it........don't be afraid to talk to museum staff about archives.........museums don't put everything on display.....not by a long shot.

Searching the internet you need to use specific search words and use them correctly.......use proper grammar and the proper terminology.........if you find a tid bit of information that you want.....then use that information for the next search......and so on and so on.......hopefully you will get more and more info.

Sometimes it simply isn't on the internet......for whatever reason........the good thing is more and more info is added every second.........keep searching.......try new angles......and save info, or bookmark it, or whatever you have to do so you can find it again.

Good point Jason. Sometimes a question that seems perfectly reasonable to the questioner will be too wide to get any answers. I'm generalising here but a question like What colour were German Tanks? won't get answers because the question is too wide. By the time you go back and forth with the poster it'll turn out that he wants to know what scheme Panzer IVs had after Kursk, which if he just typed that into Google he might have had an answer a lot quicker.



JP _Libraries are great and I've used the inter library loan system and the archive search a lot.

As far as internet searching you can start with specifics, such as T-55 in the search field. When you have expired those searchs try to search Russian or Soviets Tanks or Cold War vehicles and such. If you can generalize a little bit some unexpected web sites might reveal some interesting finds.

cheers

Yes Gary- I've learned that the hard way. I might collate all this into an article but how would people find the article?



That's my "happy accident theory" at work

Whilst I'm definitely one of those guilty parties who asks" Looking for images of..." I also try and do as much on the net as possible before asking the question.

I'm finding books less and less reliable as they seems to get dated very quickly as new information comes out.

I have the usual image engines,Google Images, Corbis, Getty, IMW, Prime Portal, etc.

I discovered through ML a site called Britishpathe.com which had hundreds of stills from WW2 film reels. An excellent source of images.
A site worth investigating.

I also discovered by searching for the operation name instead of just "British LVT" I was able to access an number of images that I
would have probably missed.

I will still ask for images, and fortunately for me there are those who are very patient and understanding, and I can't thank them enough.

I agree completely with Jason regarding museums. In Canada we have regimental museums that have so much information ( and incredible artifacts) that are there for us to discover. It may take some time to get inside and a small donation may have to be made,
but it is worth it.

Good thread..

Pete

Boy ain't that the truth, Use to happen to me all the time. Now I take the time to click and save whenever any interesting photo pops up.
One of these days I really need to sort through all the CD's of photos I've collected off the sites into categories.

One of the greatest photo sites I've turned to as well, is Ullstein Bild. http://www.ullsteinbild.de/ It has an English option and allows you to search by period. Type in your keyword, 1939-45, and off you go...some pretty amazing stuff pops up there from time to time and all of the photos are good quality and clear.

I just wish I could crack the top secret code on the IWM, and OzWM..... 2 places I never seem to get any search results from.

Probably too American in your search terms, ya'll nowhatimeen?

But seriously, I sometimes think that Google and some of the other search engines are U.S.-centric and do not give us many overseas/foreign language options until WAY down the hit list. My theory; I may well be wrong.

Nice topic.

1. Think latterally. A good example is T-55 or is that T55 or could it be T 55. "Russian Tanks" may yeild results that other seaches missed. Don't count on what it should be. The gems are often what the site publisher thought at the time.

2. Really go through te Google results. The google heuristics rank sites on a number of factors and relevance isn't high on their list. Popularity, links to / from other sites, frequency of updates, $$$ paid to google are just a couple of things that will put the site you want at the top or at the bottom. If the site you're after is on obscure info, doesn't link to anything and hasn't been updated for maybe a month or more, chances are it could be waayyy down the list.

3. Use other tools to speed up the process. I found an add-in to IE that will open all the links displayed on a page. Handy for opening all the results of a google search page.

4. I don't save just a bookmark. I have too many experiences where good info isn't there when I need it. I use a pdf writer and "print" the page to a pdf. PDFCreator is just one, free pdf creation tool.

Cheers
Shane

Good tips, Shane. What is the IE add-on you found? I mostly use Firefox, but have IE on my machine and will use it if I have to.

The one I'm using at the moment is a simple script. It can be found here. It won't let you open multipe tabs in IE7 but it will open multiple windows. It looks like it will work with FF but probably only 1.5.

For Firefox you might try this. I did a quick search for something to use in FF and I haven't used it. For more add-ons that I'll leave up to you to try can be found at http://www.internetexplorer-firefox.com/.

For IE there's a couple of add-ins that I'll be trying. One's called IE7Pro and is free. Another is called called IE+. I'll download and install them on a test machine and get back to you.

Cheers

Well I've tried IE7Pro and it didn't work. I have a 64bit Vista machine and I think there's an incompatability problem. IE+? The developer's site appears no longer available which is never a good sign so for now I'll stick with the script I mentioned.

Cheers
Shane

The IWM's search engine is sometimes a little whack, but having said that the captioning of the photos isn't always designed to help you locate things, specially individual units since they aren't always consistently named. Usually, I only search for simple things (like all the Crusaders) , or even pick out an entire collection and go through it on the off-chance there's something there (e.g. NWE) . Come across some treasures that way, like an M2A4 mistakenly captioned as a Stuart in the western desert colection. The Australian War Memorial site by comparison is more sanely ordered.....

And definitely don't forget sites in languages you can't read.

David

A good way to deal with sites that have a bad search is use the google search for a site. You go to google and enter a search like so: [search tearm like] "Sherman tank" [and then add to the search box] site:(NAME OF SITE TO SEARCH) so the search in the google site to find all references for Sherman tanks on this site the search would look like

Sherman tank site:https://armorama.kitmaker.net

[search term] site:[site to search]

Hope this helps.
Dave