The truth isn't out of the Internet's mouth - A guide to pre-writing research
Documentary research takes up an essential amount of time for Web editors. Depending on the subject and the writer's specialization, it may take a little longer, but there's no escaping it. Whether it's verifying a piece of information, adding the data that makes all the difference, or seeking added value for the content, documentary research is an integral part of the editorial process. It does, however, have its pitfalls, and that's when you realize that doing research is a real skill.
Identifying sources
The best sources in a field are not necessarily the most obvious. They're not necessarily the most popular, let alone the most widely shared. In some fields, it's important to look for the relevant sources first, before looking for the right information. Indeed, when everyone has been reprocessing the same data for years, it's not uncommon for it to become distorted. Out of context, it can even be inaccurate, which is what we want to avoid at all costs. This is all the more true when you work in a highly competitive sector, where there are so many online publications, all of which are basically the same. But it's also true in fields where competition is low. Online resources are often rather evasive, and it's not always clear where the information comes from.
Each sector has its own sources. Locate the names of experts in the field to browse their publications!
In this sense, the YourText.Guru tool enables the identification of named entities linked to a query on a search engine. You can then see the proper nouns associated with your subject.
The best practice is toidentify sources validated by professionals in the sector of activity for which you are working. During an assignment on the subject of golf travel, we didn't hesitate to consult directly the documentation provided by the French Golf Federation. Similarly, our work for LegalTech often leads us to consult articles in specialist journals such as those published by Dalloz. To save time, have your sources validated by the client!
"Ask Google
Here's a phrase we often quote when someone asks us a question that annoys us, because it shows us that they haven't looked before. Two recent conferences by Olivier Andrieu on voice search (Seo Camp'us Metz, and Yoodx 2018) had made me realize that many users tend to take Google as a truth engine. By looking up information on Google, as you would a dictionary or encyclopedia, you end up believing that Google tells the truth. Services such as Knowledge Graph and position 0, which highlight definitions, complete the picture. Yet Google's index results are a compilation of what other people have said on the Web. Who can we trust?
Go to the library!
For just a few euros a year, an annual subscription to the library is undoubtedly one of the best investments a web copywriter can make. By going to the section relevant to the industry you're working in, you'll have a quick overview of the sources available, and the subjects covered. It's a ready-made categorization from which all you have to do is help yourself. Of course, books don't tell the whole truth either, depending on who's writing them, but it's often easier to identify the more reliable ones.
What's more, with library access, you often have access to resources that you would normally have to pay for, but which the library has paid for you. I'm talking in particular about subscriptions to scientific and specialized journals, which give you access to information with a very high added value, which will make the difference in your publications.
To save time, you can consult your library's catalogs online to see if there are any books that might interest you. On a national level, I recommend using the Sudoc platform, but also Google Scholar and Google Books. You can also search on Amazon! Unexpectedly, it's a tool I use regularly to check out existing resources.
