Miscellaneous Research Tools
The Wayback Machine
Tied to a database of 10 billion archived Web pages that go back five years. See what old and defunct sites looked like. Heavy use, so download may be slow. Time Capsule
Type in your birthdate -- or any date you're interested in for that matter -- and get a digest of news headlines, top song titles and other timely factoids covering that era. Who, What, When Database
Great for quick fact-checking. A database of "key people and events from 1000 A.D. to the present." Create graphic timelines of periods in history and of the lives of individuals. Search Systems
A free database that has business information, corporate filings, property records, unclaimed property, professional licenses, inmates, criminal and court filings and much more. You can even see aerial photographs of your home. Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Information
This site will be a boon to anyone studying issues related to information technology or electronic publishing. The site has been publishing the index since 1997, and this latest version contains more than 1,400 citations as well as an introduction that explains how to use the site. The bibliography and index reference both online and print sources, including books, articles, monographs, and chapters. Librarians in particular will want to bookmark this site. ZabaSearch.com
This site provides basic information for free, including birth year, month, phone number and address for free and deeper background information for a fee. There is a fee for queries that return a wealth of info sometimes dating back more than 10 years: residential addresses, phone numbers both listed and unlisted, birth year, even satellite photos of people's homes. The Scoop: CAR Stories Database
A browsable database that has individual pages for
papers, topics, dates and bylines. Nearly everything has
an RSS feed for it, so you can subscribe to specific reporter's byline, topic, etc. Electronic Sources of Information: A Bibliography
This site will be a boon to anyone studying issues related to information technology or electronic publishing. The site has been publishing the index since 1997, and this latest version contains more than 1,400 citations as well as an introduction that explains how to use the site. The bibliography and index reference both online and print sources, including books, articles, monographs, and chapters. Librarians in particular will want to bookmark this site. DeadorAliveInfo.com
A handy quick-reference, fact-checking site for copy editors. Find out if a celebrity is dead or alive. Energy Saving Tips
With rising energy costs, this site offers tips on heating and cooling. PC World: 30 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do on the Internet Neil Reisner: Using the Web to Search for Records
A great set of search tips from Florida International professor.
Neil Reisner: Finding Almost Anybody
Tips on tracking down people, databases, etc. Fagan Finder
Journalists will be especially interested in the search engines, reference, news and law sections. Vital Records Database
Lists links to all the state and county agencies that keep vital statistics such as birth, death andmarriage records around the country. Also lists the fee the states charge for the records. Online Public Records
Find public records data.
HighBeam.com
Access 1.5 million articles from more than 200 sources for free.
SearchingtheInternet.info Academic Scholar Search Engines
A great collection of search tools. Resource Shelf?s DocuTicker
A helpful research blog run by several top researchers. Pantheon: Encyclopedia of Myths PI Newslink
A blog for private investigators/researchers. ResourceShelf: DocuTicker
A daily update of new reports from government agencies, ngo's, think tanks, and other groups. Copyscape
Track who has lifted content off your website. Just type in the URL of your site. Ehow.com
A how-to guide that makes for great trend stories and features. Leadership Directories
Find leaders in government, foreign affairs, legal, media, etc. Virtual Library Museums
Find whatever you want, whether it's art, history, science or a natural park. CountryReports.org
Stats and facts on countries. More than 26,000 pages. FedStats
Studies and stats on federal government research.. Wikipedia: State Agency Databases
A wiki on state databases that feature information on businesses, licensed professionals, etc.
WordSpy
Looks for new words popping up in English usage. Omgili
Searches more than 100,000 message boards and forums.
WhyFiles.org
A science explanation site. HookedOnFacts
An "engine" that generates random, interesting facts. Helpful feature ideas, notebook items, etc. CityTownInfo.com
A collection of information on U.S. cities and towns. The site includes almanac-like reference data, property statistics, local weather reports, links to the official city web sites and maps for about 3,500 cities. The site also includes a summary article on about 50 major cities. City-Data.com
This site has collected and analyzed data from numerous sources to create profiles of all U.S. cities. It featuresthousands of pictures, maps, satellite photos, stats about residents (race, income, ancestries, education, employment...), geographical data, crime data, housing, businesses, political contributions, weather, hospitals, schools, libraries, houses, airports, radio and TV stations, zip codes, area codes, user-submitted facts, similar cities list. OCLC Libarian's Toolbox
Resources, some free and some by perscription. Obits 101
A national obits clearinghouse of links. UN.org
Has reports with individual country statistics on many topics. NationMaster.com
Has reports with individual country statistics on many topics. International Center for Journalists Social Security Death Records Encyclopedia & Reference Resource
Browse articles in all areas of topics within Earth & Environment, History, Literature & Arts, Health & Medicine, People, Philosophy & Religion, Places, Plants & Animals, Science & Technology, Social Science, Law, Sports, Everyday Life, and more. Poynter.org: Summer Resources
Fourth of July, other factual sites on the summer solistice. Deadlineonline.com
A must-bookmark for any journalist.
A clearinghouse of sourcing links from the Schlein News Bureau.
Broken down by people, sources, documents and background. Voice of the Shuttle
Compiled by the UC Santa Barbara English Department, this is an outstanding general links site. Resources include anthropology, women's studies, literature, philosophy, business theory, cyberculture and more. ERIC Database
National Education Resources Information Center at Syracuse University offers research and materials from all federally funded labs. Lost in Translation
Takes your phrase in and out of English and other languages and gives you results. Modern Language Association: Language Map Data Center
Provides maps and data babout the many languages spoken in the United States. Database of Learning Sites
Site checks dozens of search engines and newsgroups. Easybib.com
A free site that allows you to enter a source you wish to cite, where you found it (e.g., online or print), the author and other details. You then get an instant bibliography entry that you can reuse as you need. Refdesk.com
A blizzard of topics, from zip quotes and stock quotes to sports. National Personnel Records Center
A central repository of personnel-related records, both military and civil service. The site provides service to "government agencies, military veterans, former civilian Federal employees, family members, as well as researchers and historians." Howstuffworks.com
Look up just about anything in this online encyclopedia. PBS Animal Encyclopedia
Hundreds of helpful facts and stats. Phaster Lookups Reference Database
Do quick searches for reference tools: encylopedias, economic terms, legal dictionary, biblical reference, quotes and more. Great one-stop reference shopping. TradeStats
See what each state exports and where they are shipping. Who Is trading with Iraq. BBC: Languages
Glossaries and helpful sound files. Anecdotage: Anecdote Database
A handy database of stories about famous people. Be sure to double-check all facts found in the database. Bartleby Reference Page
Features dictionairies, encyclopedias, thesauri and usage guides. Infomine: Scholarly Internet Resource Collections Acronym Finder
"The web's most comprehensive database of acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms. 212,000-plus definitions!" Newswords.com
A global headline search site. YourDictionary.com
Glossaries, quick-reference look-ups. Translation tools as well. Modern Language Association: Language Map
Search by language and state for an interactive map of how many people speak that language by county, zip code, etc. Speech & Transcripts Center
Current and past speech transcripts. Historychannel.com: Speech Transcripts
Historical transcripts and audio. Vanderbilt: Exploration Online Research Journal Towards Electronic Journals: Realities for Scientists, Librarians and Publishers
Focuses mostly on scientists' perspective as authors and readers, how changes over the years by publishers and librarians have affected scientists, and what they should expect from electronic journal and digital journal article databases. We describe some myths concerning scholarly journals and attempt to assess the future in a realistic manner. Peoplespot.com
A good fact-checking site. Biographies, vital records, demographics, population and census statistics, e-mail, phone, reverse and professional directories, newsgroups, chat rooms. Everyzing
Provides transcript searching (every spoken word) in some YouTube categories. Searches can currently be performed in a limited number of categories (sports, entertainment, etc.)
TVEyes
The site offers "transcript search" of podcasts. The site is fee-based service and allows you to search nearly all major TV networks and some local stations. The site also has a free transcript search of TV news video available on the open web from MSNBC, Reuters, etc. ResearchBuzz.com RoboForm
This software remembers every password, various addresses (which you control by creating different identities) and unlike Gator, contains no spyware. Although the basic version is free, the pro version is available for about $30. Dialect Survey
A survey quiz from Harvard that studies dialect dispersion in modern America. See how much you differ from folks in your hometown (or adopted locale), or examine the maps to find out how people say what, where, etc. British Library Archives
The British Library owns the world's largest collection of research materials. You can search 20,000 journals for free and order full text for a small fee. New York Times: TimesMachine
Browsable access to the Times from 1851 to 1922, but is only available to home delivery subscribers. PoliticalQuotes.org: Eigen's Political & Historical Quotations
More than 40,000 free quotations from more than 11,000 different historical and political figures in a searchable database. WorldStatesmen.org
Though this site is run by a hobbyist, it features complete lists of the heads of state and government for every country and colony in the world over the past 300 years. It also has pocket histories of each country/colony, images of each country and colony's flags, and in many cases links to constitutions, national anthems, and so on. Also updated fairly regularly. Again, double-check the information you find on this site, but it appears to be very, very helpful. BBC News Country Profiles
Features include an overview, historical timelines and links to the media from each country. Also some audio of newsmaking moments. Geographic Encyclopedia West Egg's Cliche Finder The Library Files
Links by beat from the intranet of the Wisconsin Capital Times. TVEyes.com
Keep track of keywords mentioned on TV. You can do a free demo try, but it costs for a user log-in. World Time Server The U.S. Constitution American Community Network
This site has a large amount of data on many U.S. communities. GotoCity.com
Organized by state and city, explore data on many U.S. communities. Biography.com
The TV show on A&E has a database of bios on famous people. Good for fact-checking. American National Biography Online
The American National Biography (ANB) offers portraits of more than 17,400 people. The site includes feature illustrations, hyperlinked cross-reference, links to selected Web sites and powerful search capabilities. It requires a user name and password, though. HistoryChannel.com
A great site for fact-checking. Voycabulary
Don't know a word used on a site? Enter the URL into this page and it gives you a new page in which you can click on any word on the page to find it's meaning. Ajeeb.com
This site provides instant, free translation of Arabic Web sites into English. Editor's Web.org
News release galore, many from federal agencies. Rootsweb.com
A free genealogy site. Social security, birth and census reports. Yahoo! Almanacs/Calendars
Links to online almanacs and other calendar Web sites. TimeTicker.com
Use this database to check what time it is anywhere in the world. Guiness Book of World Records
If your momma claims it's a world record, you better check it out. Brain Track
Search British universities. ExpertClick.com
A searchable site for authorities on particular topics. 14,000 topics covered and more than 1,500 individuals, associations, corporations and public interest groups. OtherTimelines.com
A chance to rewrite history, giving the user the chance to write their own scenarios and sequels to historical events. Example: What would have happened had JFK not been killed? FindSame
A plagiarism finder. CredoReference.com
This cross-reference site does a search of 50 reference titles. Martindale's Reference Desk
All kinds of resources. Internet Public Library's Pathfinders
University of Michigan librarians organize subject pages that included annotated suggestions for both the Web and library books. A great starting point for any story. SearchSpell.com
Check your spelling as you submit a query. Columbia Encyclopedia
The sixth edition has 51,000 entries and 80,000 cross references and search capabilities. BookFinder.com
Links to 20,000 independent book-sellers and lists more than 30 million books (new, used, rare, etc.). Online Arabic Translation Tool
Translate content on Arabic sites to English using this resource. Plug in the text or the URL to get the translation. Systransoft.com
Instant translation for several languages. WorldTime
An interactive world atlas, information on local time as well as sunrise and sunset times in several hundred cities, and a database of public holidays worldwide. National Digital Library
Detailed multimedia presentations on significant historical events provide access to the highlights of the collections at the Library of Congress. World Almanac for Kids Online SoYouWanna.com
Teaches you how to tackle hundreds of life's problems. Internet Resources for Writers
A great one-page stop for helpful writing and reporting links. Social Science Research Network
This site covers the worldwide dissemination of social science research and is composed of a number of specialized research networks in each of the social sciences. Lycos Multimedia Search
This site offers photos and more. Freeality
Various search tools, people locator. PC Magazine: Top 101 Websites to Engage, Entertain and Inform
Covers topics such as computing, business, finance, etc. U.S. National Archives The Capitol.net: Online Resources
Lists of helpful reporting links by category. HookedonFacts.com
This site generates offbeat facts and stats. Click the fact generator repeatedly for a list of of fun, interesting facts. LinkPopularity
Check how many sites link there are to a particular sit. Excite's World Facts and Global News Directory Truth or Fiction?
This site takes "rumor mill" e-mails we all receive and determines if they are true or false. There is a good list of Attack on America information. Quoteland.com
A links page put up by an individual. Fact-check anything you find on the site. NewsWise
Newswise maintains a comprehensive database of news releases from top institutions engaged in scientific, medical and business research. Allows reporters to search, browse or download any article or abstract. Deloitte Press Room
Several interesting studies by the consulting firm. All in One Search Page
Search more than 800 databases, directories and more. Lexis-Nexis
Search hundreds of periodicals. Password and ID required. Edirectory.com
A global directory of search engines. Good Quotations
Gabriel Robins' Good Quotations by Famous People has some super material. Docusearch.com
This site claims to be "the place to find, locate & track down anybody! We offer locate searches, DMV driver & vehicle searches, telephone record searches, financial and bank searches, criminal and property records. Some searches are free, others you must pay for. Onelook Dictionary
A glossary of 743 subjects. World Book Online
The digital version of the encyclopedia. Artcyclopedia
The fine arts encyclopedia. One of the top reference sites around, according to the American Library Association. Search by artist, etc. ADAM: Art, Design, Architecture & Media Information Gateway
A searchable list of 2,500 links. Free Translation
This site translates English into other languages. Very cool! And free. HyperStat Searchable Stats Database
Powered by Rice University. Back Issue Finder
Marketplace for finding periodical information. ReporterPitch.com
Similar to Al's morning meeting on Poynter.org, only with e-mail. The e-mail-based story idea exchange for working journalists acts as a distributor of stories or generated in daily work. OneLook Dictionary Search
A very handy, quick-search resource. Type a word or phrase into this search engine and it will match your clues with the word you need. The Quotations Page
Check sources of famous quotes. Ask.com
Known as AskJeeves.com, you use natural-language search fields. You can pose questions and you'll get answers! The Avalon Project
Yale Law School site that offers digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. Librarians Index to the Internet The Virtual Library
Links to dozens of indexed library resources. IBB Voice of America: Pronunciation Guide
An invaluable tool to broadcasters on deadline. Law Library Research Exchange
The Internet Public Library
Search an extensive research database. American Library Association Libraries Page
Links to several large libraries around the United States.. Librarian's Index to the Internet Research and Style Guides for Students
Nearly 100 links to helpful research sites. Special Libraries Assn. News Division
Newsroom librarian site on archiving, online references, research materials. Library of American Broadcasting
A collection of audio and video recordings, books, pamphlets, periodicals, personal collections, oral histories, photographs, scripts, and vertical files devoted exclusively to the history of broadcasting. Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Information
Deals with all aspects of electronic publishing and include print and non-print materials, periodical articles, monographs and individual chapters in collected works. Each edition includes about 1,500 indexed titles. Both the index and the bibliography are continuously updated. Instructions on How to use the Subject Index and the Bibliography Internet Journalism Resources
From Minnesota State University. Online Literature Library
Search through hundreds of titles and authors. Presidential Libraries E-journals.org
Search for journals on hundreds of wide-ranging topics.
Museum of Hoaxes
Don't be fooled by urban legends and if it sounds too good to be true, it is. StrangeFacts.com
A cool resource for offbeat stats and facts. One Look Dictionaries
Search nearly 4 million words. Famous Name Changes
Track celebrities, politicians. The Gutenberg Bible Online Forbes People Tracker
Track more than 120,000 executives and members of the Forbes rich and celebrity lists. Customized e-mail alerts (free!), research public companies and news updates! The British Library
Portal to more than 150 million items from history. Institute for Public Accuracy
As a nationwide group of policy researchers. Great source for public policy issues! Kalends.com
A free consumer-oriented, searchable site that features, general interest, business, holidays, and trade show events set to occur in the U.K. and elsewhere. There is some U.S. material. Online Internet Sources Link List
A super alphabetical listing to hundreds of sites. Just scroll through to find your subject. Ersys
A comprehensive collection of demographic, lifestyle, and economic data covering over 2,600 U.S. cities portrayed as thematic maps, informative reports, detailed tables and colorful charts --- all freely available. Edhead: Simple Machines
Learn about gears, levers, inclined planes and how things are engineered. Lewis Mumford Center: Census Research
This site lists some census research analysis that is used by many reporters, especially those covering census information. It is run by Merci Miglino of the Lewis Mumford Center at the Research University at Albany, SUNY. Genomic Glossaries and Taxonomies
Biotechnology & pharmaceutical terms (& definitions) not found in most dictionaries. About 3,500 + definitions for applications, biochemistry, bioinformatics, cheminformatics, drug discovery and development, genomics, molecular biology, proteomics (and beyond), tools and technologies. OnlineHomeBase.com
A web-based service that lets you store research notes and reminders for interviews etc with a user interface that looks like a simple notepad sheet. SlipUps.com
Mistakes in movies, books, quotes, TV shows, etc. Clock Your Typing Speed FindTutorials.com
Learn how to do just about anything. Dogpile.com Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy University of Michigan Documents in the News
Search safety reports from many areas -- transportation, environment, etc. Smarting Surfing Links
A Columbia University professor offers tips on searching on the Web. Cal-Berkeley: Journalism Research Tools
Links to online almanacs, encyclopedias, directories, subject guides, etc. Internet Resources for News Librarians and Others
Links galore, grouped by topics and types of tools. Law Library of Congress
Links galore to research, other law centers, collections databases, reading room, bibliographies, etc.
FASCNET Internet Resources
A searchable database of hundreds of helpful sites, organized by beats and topics. SearchSystems.net
Great one-stop shopping for links to public records databases. Acronym Finder
A helpful database of more than 200,000 acronyms, abbreviations, etc. USPS: Quick Zip Code Search AreaCodeDownload.com
Quick reference area codes and zip codes. S9.com
Biographical dictionary with 33,000 entries.
National Archives
Thousands of public records and historical documents. Art Science Research Laboratory
A New York based, not-for-profit organization that creates intellectual environment and advocacy of interdisciplinary study, encompassing the areas of research, collections and publishing. On a daily basis, art historians, scientists, artists, designers, and programmers contribute ideas, participate in a dynamic environment, and challenge the outdated but still prominent structures of practices in the arts, sciences, and humanities.
Nobel Prize Winners' Research
A database of their papers.
Dietary Supplements Labels Database
From the National Library of Medicine, this database offers information from the labels of over 2,000 brands of dietary supplements in the marketplace, including vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and other specialty supplements. HelpaReporterOut.com
Run by blogger and PR pro Peter Shankman, is a free subscription site that allows reporters to submit a query looking for sources. Simply enter your query into a form, and it will get posted on the site's next e-mailing. Queries are sent out three a day to a list of more than 18,000 global sources. If a source has knowledge of a specific query, that source can just e-mail the reporter directly. Note that PR people are kicked off the list for off-topic pitching. PDFTextOnline.com
Site lets you download to a ZIP file. Zamzar Conversion Tool
A free service that turns a .PDF into flat-file text. PC Magazine's Undiscovered Websites: Info, Reference and Search
From November, 2007, a great collection of sites that provide shortcuts on the web. Library of Congress: Ask a Librarian
Submit questions to a librarian. Includes a chat feature and links to various collections. Chicago Reader: The Straight Dope
Answers to dozens of offbeat (sometimes silly) questions. Good for looking for quirky story ideas.
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