My Politically Incorrect Tips on How to Do Online Research

Maybe it's my stubborn personality, but I've never been one to take what I'm told at face value.  If something ‘can't be done', I won't give up on it until I've researched it to death and found out for myself that A. They were dead wrong and it just took a little more digging to find a way, or B. Yep, dead end.  Either way, then I can finally move on because I know the truth.

It's funny when I think back on how I used to do research before we had the internet.  I'd start with our own old encyclopedias, and if I didn't get anywhere I'd head over to our library or shlep off to a university library to get to the bottom of whatever issue I was hot on the trails of finding the truth about.  I'd dig through periodicals, books, anything I could get my hands on, and it always took a looooong time.

Once I had my “food conversion” I used the same tactics; I became intent on finding what was really the truth on the best way to feed our family.  Thankfully, by then we did have the internet, but still, researching health and nutrition topics is tricky and time consuming because there's so much out there.

A reader recently asked me how I go about this process, so I thought you might be interested in hearing the answer, too.

Tips on How to Do Online Research

I start with a regular internet search, just to see what ‘they' are saying.  If it becomes obvious rather quickly that I'm getting only mainstream, “politically correct” answers that you read everywhere, and that don't even make common sense, I'll move on and look for more alternative sites.  I just don't care about the same old advice that rarely helps anyone and keeps people sick.  Next I always go to the WAPF site to find their recommendations, and sometimes Mercola, but once in a while (not often) he can be a little too “out there” even for me, ha!  I might find new keywords at the WAPF site that take me in new directions on Google.  Next, especially if I'm still confused or unsure on something, I'll email friends or post on my Facebook page to get more feedback.  This often gives me new areas to research and it starts over.  From there I may order a book that I've seen recommended, and then do more learning that way.

New way to search!

Also, here is a great real food blog ‘portal' to help you find specifically what real foodie bloggers are saying on the topic.  Truly, us real foodies are different (we don't blindly follow the ‘professionals', right everyone?!), and you'll find very different information in a search there than in a normal Google search, much more helpful information in my opinion!

All along I'll throw everything interesting that I find into a post draft, with any conclusions that I've come up with.  THEN I organize my thoughts, find important links to share, sometimes affiliate links that help to support the blog, and lastly I finalize everything before the post goes live.

How about you?  How do YOU go about researching topics that are important to you?

Which blogs do you follow to get your real foodie information?

Another reader asked which foodie blogs I follow.  There are so many that I can't list them, because then I'd just forget someone and feel bad, SO instead I thought I'd tell you about the very few of NON-foodie blogs I follow:

• ConversionDiary.com – Jen makes me laugh, all the time.  She has 6 kids under 7 years old, which gives her all sorts of good material.  We chat on the phone once in a great while, too, so I consider her a friend; I'm not sure, but I think we first met when she commented on my blog many years ago.  Her latest post was hilarious:  Ice Cream Truck You're Killing Me.
• TheMattWalshBlog.com – If you like politically incorrect, Matt is refreshing when it comes to all topics not food related.  Apparently many others agree because his blog has millions of monthly views nowadays.  (If you go visit for the first time, be sure to look back through his archives, he's covered some great topics.)  I found him through Jen's recommendation (above), so I knew he had to be good.  (Update:  I had to unsubscribe.  I can't take that much drama on a daily basis!  Now I just check in now and then.)
• AvivahWerner.com – I also consider Avivah a friend since we email now and then, and she's helped me in the past when I've asked for her advice.  She's a really neat homeschooling, Jewish mom who lives in Israel.  I love her blog because her life is so different than mine in some ways, yet so much the same in others.  She always makes me think.  Either with her heartfelt stories about her kids and homeschooling, which help me to be a better mom, or other times by throwing out Jewish words that I don't understand and I have to go look them up!  I think I also found her when she commented on my blog many years ago.

So now it's your turn – what are your favorite real foodie AND non-foodie blogs?

• Here's my original version:  How I find the Truth on Health and Nutrition Issues

photo