I have read , Information Trapping by Tara Calishain(read my review), Mastering Online Research by Maura Shaw and now, Find it Online.

In my opinion , Find it Online is the best. I learned so much more about online research from it then the previous 2 books. That not say, that I didnt learn anything for Information Trapping, it is great for information that need constant updating and Online Research, I learned to use advanced searching more effectively.

But Find it now , gave me a plan, even before you begin to search online, that will in the long run save you time. And it convinced me that for real important research, a combination of a fee based service with free online searches are the only way to go. I have and still do have an aversion to paying for anything that could be had for free but Alan Schlein makes a good argument to use it when there is a lot at stake.

Now, for my negatives, although the book indicated that it was revised 2006, a lot of the information is dated and has not be revised. The book still talks about ICQ, and he never talks about You Tube even though that has revolutionized the internet, not one word and this was revised last year? And how about myspace and facebook? Looking for someone in their 20 or so age, that is the first place to look. Not one word, revised last year?
But the great information makes up for this,and some typos. It is worth the price and I look forward to the next revision but before buying I will check to see if he included all of the lastest web advances. I hope Alan and his people do not get lazy and do minor changes , that will be a shame.

This book is just Fantastic, it provides in detail all you want to know about Researching. It's very up to date.

I explored the guide at a friend's house and was astounded by the number of references available to anyone who wants to know all there is to know. I work at a newspaper, take foreign language classes and am interested in fine arts.... Just to read the titles of websites is fun.

Ignore "Complete" in the title. No book can hope to match the breadth of the Web. But Schlein does a commendable job in succinctly describing several hundred websites. The value in this book is in his selection. The websites typically have reliable content and lots of it.

In terms of doing online research, it's mostly at a high school or undergraduate level. If you are a grad student or a professional researcher, then the websites covered here are typically too broad for your needs.

Schlein also advises the reader on how to guard against various online perils like spam and phishing. Well, ok, for the latter, he really doesn't offer much except warning you to be on guard. Partly a reflection of the lack of a good programmatic defense against phishing.

Of the many books I have read and own on this subject, this one flows the best and is the easiest to read. That said, this book does not speak to the technical in terms the hows/whys of resources.

I purchased this book as a requirement for an English class. The information set forth is interesting and well written, but it can be difficult to find what I need.

Alan Schlein is the guru of search and find online . An award winning journalist he knows how to navigate through cyberspace. He includes lots of pointers from industry experts and divides the chapters into easy to find sections ranging from a) search strategy to search tools to b) saving and downloading your results to scouring government documents and public records-- great for ancestry searches and wills and other legal documents to getting the latest in news resourcesonline. A fabulous addition for any business book shelf and it belongs on every researcher's desk. Plus his section on Privacy Protection and your identity is probably worth the price of the book alone. I know and have the honor of having met the author-- he's a sharp guy who continues to update this reference tool and really knows his stuff.

This is the second of three basic guides by Facts on Demand press that I am very happy to have in my collection and to recommend to others.

Some really top-notch information brokers contributed to this book, and it is a superb reference, well-organized, that lacks a CD-ROM with clickable links or an Online Version to which access can be gained for a fee or from a password in the printed version.

This book is extremely well-developed to the point that it can meet the needs of a first-time researcher eager to become quickly familiar with the ins and outs of the Internet, as well as the more experienced professional that wants a handy reference work to suggest new sources and methods.

The other two books are Helen Burwell's "Online Competitive Intelligence"--the one book to buy if you can only buy one of these three books--and Sankey & Weber's "Public Records Online" (buy only if you have do work in this area or want to protect yourself by monitoring your divorced spouse's assets, etc.)