Research, Reasoning, Results!

Research

From the earliest age, everyone is an investigator. Each of us learns a variety of methods to facilitate our research.

First, we learn to value asking the right questions, particularly open questions. One question leads to the next as we deepen our understanding. And, as Socrates taught, a line of questioning for one topic can be adapted and applied to additional topics.

Second, we learn how to use different resources – dictionaries, encyclopedias, card catalogs, reference books and periodicals – and their analogs on the Web. We remember which resources have the greatest chance of providing what we need based on our experiences.

Third, we learn how to take notes, properly cite sources, and organize our thoughts. We synthesize and create new works. We learn how to share our insights effectively and to collaborate.

Whether evaluating an investment opportunity, comparing different models of a HDTV for possible purchase, planning a vacation, investigating a crime, or conducting a scientific inquiry, we apply the patterns of research techniques that we have learned.

Search engines such as Google provide but one step of the investigative process. Almost all of the other steps of investigation are unsupported and users are left to fend for themselves usually by reading and skimming through a variety of sites.

Research largely remains time-consuming and costly, even when information is freely available. One recent (12/2007) survey conducted for LexisNexis by WorldOne Research found that professionals spend on average over 2¼ hours performing online research each day and over 85% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “Not being able to access the right information at the right time is a huge time-waster.”

Why is there a disconnect between the research process and search engines? One part of the answer lies in the diversity of resources that are available, only some of which seem amenable to conventional search engines.

The Web's host of resources has changed the world. And, the participatory nature of Web 2.0 continues to accelerate the creation of additional resources, including greater opportunities for user-generated content and social networking. The emergence of Web 2.0-style tagging and mash-ups speak to a recognition that something beyond ordinary search is needed.

But Web 2.0 is only part of this explosion. Corporate data warehouses and document repositories and Web-accessible applications often have exactly the information that we need.

One partial solution is the deployment of portal sites. Broadly speaking, portals come in two closely related varieties: Typical corporate (intranet) portals provide directories of information sources that are useful for employees; Typical Web portals provide directories of articles and resources infused with advertising around a particular topic area (for example, WebMD). But the content-centric point-of-view presented by a portal is precisely the problem! Even when "personalized," portals are blind to what users are trying to do and the questions that users are trying to answer. Portals are largely ignorant of the research process.

So, we have established that people know how to do research and that they have an abundance of raw resources available, but the process of research has been largely ignored and remains time-consuming and costly. Let's set aside the discussion of research for a short exploration of the reasoning process.

Reasoning

Almost everything about the human experience is conceptual and the glue of it all is reasoning. We make connections and find analogies. We strive for insight.

For a moment, please ask yourself this question: "Do you own a sparkplug?"

Chances are, you said "yes". How did you arrive at that answer? You probably reasoned like this: "A sparkplug is part of an engine and an engine is part of a car. I own a car (and whenever I own something, I own all of its parts). Therefore, I own a sparkplug."

This is more than an academic example: It goes to the heart of the matter at hand. There are two relationships involved: "owns" and "part-of". The "part of" relationship "nests" – if X is a part of Y and Y is a part of Z, then X is a part of Z, and so on. And, "owns" is a relationship which projects through "part of". Every day in a multitude of ways we apply this kind of reasoning while doing research and other activities. (And, by the way, if you said "No, but I own a glow plug" you were also reasoning by analogy.)

Reasoning like this is essentially a reflex. We do it naturally and usually with little awareness. That is, until we have an "AHA" moment of connection or an "UH-OH" of having missed something important.

But again, while doing research using the Web, we have been left to fend for ourselves for putting the pieces together – for doing this sort of reasoning. We keep notes and try to remember salient facts.

There must be a better way …

Results!

EXPRESSway helps people do the research and reasoning that’s part of their everyday lives (personally or professionally). They drastically lower research costs by shortening the time to research while helping to ensure completeness and boosting the overall comprehension of a topic.