This is one of my goals of the year - to better myself at doing online research. I wish to be able to get more precise (?) results for what I am searching. Idk if I’m making myself clear here but I’d greatly appreciate any tips that you may have for me. Thanks in advance!
A lot of libraries have online chat services where you can ask a reference librarian for help researching a topic. They can point out good sources and alternative search databases that might be more relevant than a general Google search depending on your query topic.
Librarians! They aren’t just moving books around on carts. They actually study how to find information for several years. They are information finding professionals. (And other stuff like organizing, presenting, preserving etc of information.)
Even if you think a random librarian won’t know about your topic, they are very likely able to help you find out about it.
Libraries are one of the few places where you can just walk in (or call, or chat, or email) and ask someone for help and get it free of charge no hassle. If you aren’t near a library or you don’t find your local library helpful, just reach out to some other one. They don’t check if you live in the place. NYPL has very generous online materials and assistance. But you can try other cities.
@badgerific