Summary
Highlights
The video's main goal is to equip viewers with methods to find, search, and use information in languages and alphabets they are unfamiliar with. The speaker highlights the vast amount of information available in diverse languages like Mongolian and Kazakh, stressing that technology can make this accessible. The presentation will also introduce 'nasty tricky websites' for accessing expensive materials (dubbed a 'Robin Hood' approach).
The speaker challenges the notion that English is sufficient for all research, particularly when focusing on specific countries like Israel (Hebrew) or Suriname (Dutch). Accessing local, non-English information is crucial for developing better chapters and providing unique insights. The presenter shares practical, 'homegrown' techniques learned through trial and error.
The discussion moves to the importance of accurate keywords for searching across academic, illegal, and free databases (like ResearchGate and Google Scholar). The speaker also introduces 'deep Google' or 'Google Pro' techniques, showcasing advanced search engine features that yield different results. Specific attention is given to databases like Proquest and Google Books.
The video addresses the challenge of searching in languages with non-Roman scripts (e.g., Vietnamese, Arabic, Cyrillic, Korean) or those with diacritical marks (e.g., Czech, Danish, Polish). The speaker explains how these variations impact search results and promises to demonstrate methods for effective searching in such languages.
The presenter emphasizes the need for a robust set of keywords beyond simple terms like 'leadership.' He advises experimenting with related terms (e.g., leadership styles, HR) and checking previous editions of relevant texts. Tools like Word's synonym function and word cloud generators can help identify effective keywords. Once a list is curated, these keywords need to be translated using services like Google Translate or DeepL.
A live demonstration showcases using Google Translate to translate keywords from English to Russian. The speaker then uses the translated keyword in Google Search, demonstrating how to filter for PDFs using 'file:pdf'. He shows how to translate entire search results pages and content within PDFs using Chrome's built-in translation feature or by copying and pasting text into Google Translate.
The video explains that Google search results are localized, meaning a search from the Netherlands will differ from one in Tel Aviv. To obtain local results for a target country, users should temporarily change their Google settings by navigating to google.com/preferences and selecting the target country's language for 'results in'.
Google Scholar is introduced as a powerful, free tool for academic research. A live demonstration shows searching for 'leadership in Colombia' in Spanish. The speaker highlights how Google Scholar often provides direct PDF links and explains how to translate these documents using Chrome's translate feature or Google Translate for text copied from the PDF.
Google Books offers a vast collection of scanned books, many of which can be partially viewed. The speaker explains how to use keywords to search within these books and how Google highlights relevant passages. He acknowledges the limitations (not all pages are viewable) and hints at 'tricks' to access more content, also touching on the ethical considerations of accessing copyrighted material for free.
ResearchGate is presented as a valuable, free academic social network where users can find publications. The speaker explains that while some full texts can be requested, a more direct method for accessing paywalled articles is through Sci-Hub, an illegal website. He demonstrates using a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) to download a full academic article from Sci-Hub, highlighting that this is a 'Robin Hood' approach to information access.
The video introduces a method for extracting text from images (like screenshots from Google Books) using Online OCR (Optical Character Recognition). The process involves taking a print screen, uploading the image to onlineocr.net, and converting it into editable text. This text can then be translated, making previously inaccessible content usable for research. A live demonstration illustrates this precise workflow.
The speaker returns to the topic of searching in languages with diacritical marks (e.g., umlauts, special accents) and non-Roman scripts. He advises caution when typing these characters and suggests copying them from existing text. Boolean search operators (AND, OR, parentheses, quotation marks) are also discussed as tools for refining searches, emphasizing their varied functionality across different language settings.
The video shares another 'illegal but useful' website, Libgen (Library Genesis), where users can often find full versions of expensive books for free. The speaker demonstrates searching for his own book on Libgen and quickly downloading it, reiterating the 'Robin Hood' philosophy of making knowledge accessible. The final tip involves using ProQuest for advanced searches, specifically filtering results by language for target countries with unique languages like Arabic.