You’re only as good as your findings. I tell people this all the time. Return a set of searches with findings, from mundane criminal convictions to spectacular instances of mob activity, the client is thrilled. You did a good job. It bugs the heck out of me that researchers are rated this way. I retort, you go to your doctor for a check-up. She’s says all’s well, great numbers. Do you object? Question the work? It’s not my fault you wanted to do business with someone absurdly clean. Or were they?

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PACER is a one stop tool for court searches. You can find cases. Then, you can dig into the case records for more information. It can also be exasperating.

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To Google something these days amounts to no more than putting words in the search box. Maybe you put words in quotes. There was a time when it took more to search. It was not learning Cobalt, but you did need to know the little ins and outs of search. Still, knowing how to construct a proper search is not what makes a good researcher. You have to do your homework.

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Researchers have access to a humungous amount of materials via online databases. So many sources can produce so many articles. How do you get to the right articles. Do you do a negative news search? A negative news screen, however, may not always be the best way to find negative news. I have a few other ideas.

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I have a post to post on the dangers of relying on negative news, but researching on that post got me thinking about thinking, and next thing you know, I’m writing about an old web site and how we, as investigators and researchers need to be aware of our flawed thinking. In other words, I’m right and my wife’s not.

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I understand why many fear Comprehensive Reports.· Clients will rely on them instead of using good research. Unscrupulous players will package up the reports and call it due diligence. Moreover, I understand that the reports have limitations and failings. Yet, there is no reason to not run these reports as often as your search budget allows.

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It’s been a long time since blogs had their heyday. Blogs were ongoing conversations. There was a sense of dialogue, creating an ongoing string of information, that I miss. I’m forced to be my own blogosphere. React to what I wrote last week. More on the Global Dataase.

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I recently came across a good post on the limitations of Global Databases. Moral: they re not as comprehensive as you may think or as accurate as you hope. Big is not always best, but big data matters a lot in research. I’m a fan of Global Databases. Saves an enormous amount of your time. Provides connections and insight you may not see on your own; points you where to look, and gives you information you may otherwise not have.

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Year end, we look back at some of the things we did well.

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“Providing vital information to manage risks and react to unforeseen events”—I came up with this motto when I opened my research shop a long time ago. And a long time ago, nearly all the people and companies the vital information was about were in the United States. Looking up a company in Russia or China or Australia did not happen often. When it did, it was a production, an event, and especially, a large bill. These days, there is a greater need to look at companies and individuals from around the world, but also a greater ability to collect public information from our US based desks.

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Friends don’t let friends share lists of links they come across purporting to be guides on how to do open source research.

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I am not in the missing person’s business, but I need to find people all the time in order to do effective research. Sometimes you don’t. Or can’t. There’s a lot of good information about what it takes to find people. Here’s some information on how you might not. In other words I’m still wishing for a better year in 2021.

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I wish I can play more poker in 2021. I also have a lot of wishes as an open source researcher. I detail some, but not all, my research wishes, in this post that was supposed to go up a little earlier this year.

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We can say that what you inquired about leads to certainty. It would be better, though to say, what kind of certainty are you getting from your inquiries.

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If there’s one lesson Mr. Wolf knows, it’s less certainty, more inquiry.

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Another lesson in how I find people.

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A quick little post to emphasis how important it is to do your free searches as well as the searches from you subscription sources.

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This is not a sales story. It is a tale about locating people, and even when you have the good leads, it may not be easy.

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Listen, I use and value Opencorporates. It is fast and easy to search and very much less cost to use than my subscription services. Plus, it has coverage outside the US, which is pretty useful regardless of cost. Still, I know what I am getting within the world of open source. It is not the best. It helps to have a little history to know why. Then understand some of the other reasons your open source goodie may not do what you think.

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According to the Sources page on my Nexis screen, I have 6,935 international sources to use. Many of those are in English. Many are not. It does not mean I cannot use anything I find. This week an article in Spanish played a big role in a research project.

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