How to Find Out Anything

Become an ace researcher and add a valuable skill to your resume

Course is closed.
How to Find Out Anything

WHEN Monday, October 29, 6:30-9:30 pm

WHERE mediabistro.com, 494 Broadway (Spring and Broome), New York, NY 10012

PRICE
$65 ($50 for )
more info

Course Details

There's a world of information beyond Google.

The old-time reporters called it footwork -- the laborious process of tracking down the facts. The demands of editors haven't changed, but the work of sniffing out hard-to-find facts and reliable primary sources has. We have ever more sophisticated libraries and the internet. But having a browser isn't enough: you need to know how to think like a detective. Investigative journalists and librarians know that effective research is just like solving a puzzling crime. Learn how to leverage a few facts into a much broader body of information to flesh out an article. In this one-of-a-kind course, you will discover how to unearth critical data on people, companies, industries and specific subjects, as well how to use the Web and libraries' resources together to turn yourself into a formidable fact-finder.

In this seminar, you'll learn:

  • How to find information on people, industries, and specific companies
  • How to leverage what you do know to find out what you don't know
  • What you need to create your own information and research web site (for each research project)
  • How to search government databases
  • How to find out the law and legal history on any topic
  • How to use any Internet search to find bits of information hidden to the untrained searcher

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Instructor Bio

Don MacLeod's Courses

How to Find Out Anything – New York (Seminar on May 21)

Don MacLeod
Don MacLeod is a law librarian with more than 15 years of reference experience researching companies, individuals, legislation and specific subjects for the major New York firms of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Chadbourne & Parke, LLP and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. For five years, he developed intranets and taught web research as manager of web applications for Cravath and Chadbourne before returning to research work. He is the author of two editions of the Internet Guide for the Legal Researcher and serves as editor-in-chief of the Glasser LegalWorks publications Internet Law Researcher and Internet Connection. He is a regular contributor, both of articles and photographs, to The New York Press and has written for Database magazine and the New York Law Journal. He also speaks regularly at law seminars about the use of the Internet for legal and factual research.


Testimonials


I drove up from NYC to the seminar with Don MacLeod in Boston, because I had missed the one in New York. I think it was well worth the car rental and ten hours on the road. -- Martin Downs, editor, The Alicubi Journal

"As I walked out of the class, I wanted to tell everyone I know -- magazine writers, book authors -- to take the class. But then I thought -- let them find out about it themselves!" -- Maria Ricapito, freelancer

"Don was very knowledgeable in fact-finding. I am very happy with all the new information I now know, and I can't wait to put it to good use! It's unbelievable how much free information is out there. I would definetely recommend this seminar to everyone because it can be so useful in our everyday lives. Thanks for the knowlege." -- Helen Baldwin

"Don was great -- he answered everybody's questions and even covered some topics that weren't part of his original slide deck. Very approachable and knowledgeable!" -- Andrew O'Hearn, freelancer

"Don was fantastic! I never thought I could sit still for 3 hours. But he was so well-informed, well-prepared, and generally personable that I'd go back for more. I give him and A++." -- Elizabeth Ungar, freelancer

"I thought Don's seminar was excellent. Because Don is such an engaging teacher, the evening whizzed by, and after 3 hours, I was still thoroughly engaged. In fact, I was sorry to leave. I have taken 3 classes on Internet research. This was by far the most useful and inspiring. Don's enthusiasm for sleuthing is genuine and contagious! I would definitely recommend the seminar to a colleague." -- Linda Crowley, associate research editor, Hearst Publishing

"I strolled into class feeling quite confident in my web prowess -- and at the very least my mastery of the Google search engine. Less then 10 minutes into the class, my mind was already blown. As he covered the 'advanced search' features the mousy fact checker to my left issued an audible gasp and swayed in her seat; the editor-type across from me cringed and pounded the table with his fist. Needless to say, my classmates and I unanimously agreed afterward that the fact-finding and research skills we learned during this course would save us considerable leg work in the future and give us a significant edge over our colleagues, who, it would now seem, are roving the web without the facts. Thanks again." -- Daniel Schulman, freelance writer

"I'm always skeptical when reading glowing tributes on someone's seminars. There was no exaggeration in the reviews of Don MacLeod. He passed along lots of great information in a very digestable form, and in an encouraging, engaging, and energizing presentation. I'd recommend his seminar without any reservations, and hope to hear him again." -- Susan Stauber, works in trade book publishing

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