nickcrew/web-researcher

Web Researcher

Overview

The Web Researcher skill provides a structured methodology for conducting effective online research. It covers advanced search strategies, source credibility evaluation using the CRAAP test, synthesis of findings across multiple sources, and organized note-taking. Whether exploring a new market, investigating a technical topic, or gathering competitive intelligence, this skill ensures thorough and reliable results.

When to Use

• Researching a market landscape or competitive environment
• Finding technical documentation or tutorials on a specific topic
• Gathering background information before writing or presenting
• Investigating current events or recent developments
• Compiling information from multiple web sources into a coherent summary

When NOT to Use

• When you need a systematic academic literature review (use literature-reviewer)
• When verifying a specific factual claim (use fact-checker)
• When searching only within a single database or proprietary system
• When real-time or live data is required (stock prices, live scores)

Quick Reference

| Task | Approach | |------|----------| | Broad topic overview | Start with Wikipedia, then follow cited sources | | Find recent news | Use site:reuters.com or after:2024-01-01 filter | | Academic sources | Google Scholar, PubMed, SSRN | | Government data | site:.gov or site:.edu operators | | Exclude noise | Use - operator: python tutorial -w3schools | | Exact phrase | Wrap in quotes: "machine learning fairness" | | Evaluate credibility | Apply CRAAP test (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) |

Instructions

1. Define your research question clearly

   • Write a 1-2 sentence research question before searching
   • Identify key concepts and synonyms for each concept
   • Example: "What are the current market leaders in B2B SaaS CRM software and their pricing models?"

2. Construct effective search queries using Boolean operators

   • AND: narrows results — CRM software AND pricing AND B2B
   • OR: broadens results — CRM OR "customer relationship management"
   • NOT/minus: excludes terms — CRM pricing -Salesforce
   • Quotes for exact phrases: "market share" "CRM software"
   • Wildcard (*): "best * for small business"

3. Use site-specific and advanced search filters

   • site:domain.com — search within a specific site
   • filetype:pdf — find PDFs (reports, whitepapers)
   • intitle:keyword — keyword must appear in page title
   • after:YYYY-MM-DD / before:YYYY-MM-DD — date range filtering
   • Example: CRM market share filetype:pdf after:2023-01-01

4. Evaluate sources using the CRAAP test

   • Currency: When was it published? Is it recent enough for your topic?
   • Relevance: Does it directly address your research question?
   • Authority: Who wrote it? What are their credentials? Is the domain reputable (.gov, .edu, peer-reviewed)?
   • Accuracy: Is it supported by evidence? Are claims cited? Can you verify facts elsewhere?
   • Purpose: Why was it written? Is there bias (commercial, political, ideological)?

5. Diversify your sources

   • Aim for at least 5–7 independent sources
   • Include: primary sources (original research, official data), secondary sources (analysis, journalism), and expert commentary
   • Cross-reference key claims across multiple sources

6. Take structured notes Use this template for each source:

   Source: [Title, Author, URL, Date]
   Credibility: [CRAAP score: High/Medium/Low]
   Key Finding 1: [quote or paraphrase]
   Key Finding 2: [quote or paraphrase]
   Relevance to question: [1-2 sentences]
   

7. Synthesize findings

   • Group notes by theme, not by source
   • Identify areas of consensus across sources
   • Note contradictions and explain possible reasons
   • Highlight gaps where information is missing or unclear

Examples

Example 1: Research a Market Landscape

Input: "Research the current landscape of AI-powered writing tools — key players, pricing, and differentiators."

Output:

Research Question: Who are the leading AI writing tools, what do they cost, and how do they differentiate?

Search queries used:
- "AI writing tools" market share 2024
- site:g2.com "AI writing" comparison
- "Jasper" OR "Copy.ai" OR "Writesonic" pricing filetype:pdf

Key Findings (synthesized by theme):

MARKET LEADERS:
- Jasper AI: Enterprise focus, starts at $49/mo, strong brand voice features (Source: Jasper.ai, G2 Reviews 2024)
- Copy.ai: Freemium model, $36/mo pro, workflow automation focus (Source: Copy.ai website)
- Writesonic: $16/mo starter, SEO integration via SurferSEO (Source: Writesonic.com)

DIFFERENTIATORS:
- Jasper: Brand voice training, team collaboration
- Copy.ai: Go-to-market workflows, CRM integrations
- Writesonic: Cost efficiency, built-in SEO tools

PRICING TREND: Most tools moving to seat-based + usage-credit hybrid model (multiple sources, 2024)

GAPS: Limited independent data on enterprise contract pricing; most pricing pages hide volume discounts.

Sources rated: 6/7 High credibility (1 Medium — blog post with no cited data)

Example 2: Find Information on a Technical Topic

Input: "Find information on WebAssembly performance compared to JavaScript for compute-intensive tasks."

Output:

Research Question: How does WebAssembly performance compare to JavaScript for compute-intensive workloads?

Search queries used:
- "WebAssembly" vs JavaScript performance benchmark
- site:v8.dev WebAssembly
- "WASM" performance "compute intensive" filetype:pdf after:2022-01-01

Key Findings:

PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS:
- WASM is typically 10–40% faster than JS for CPU-bound tasks (Mozilla Hacks, 2023)
- For memory-intensive tasks, WASM's linear memory model offers predictability (V8 Blog, 2023)
- JS remains faster for DOM manipulation due to JIT optimization (Surma, web.dev, 2022)

USE CASES WHERE WASM WINS:
- Image/video processing, cryptography, physics simulations, codecs
- Example: Figma uses WASM for its rendering engine (Figma Engineering Blog)

USE CASES WHERE JS IS SUFFICIENT:
- Business logic, UI interactions, API calls, form handling

CREDIBILITY NOTES:
- v8.dev and mozilla.org = High authority (engine developers)
- Personal blogs cross-checked against official benchmarks

Best Practices

• Always start with a written research question — don't just start Googling
• Use at least 3 different search engines or databases for comprehensive coverage
• Screenshot or archive pages in case content changes (use web.archive.org)
• Date-stamp your research sessions — web content changes frequently
• For controversial topics, seek sources from multiple ideological or institutional perspectives
• Build a personal library of trusted source domains by topic area

Common Mistakes

• Using only the first page of Google results (try different queries and go deeper)
• Accepting information without checking the original primary source
• Trusting a source based on professional appearance alone (design ≠ credibility)
• Failing to note the date of information (outdated data can mislead)
• Confusing correlation with causation in statistics found online
• Not recording URLs at time of research (links go dead)

Tips & Tricks

• Use Google's "Tools" filter to set a custom date range for recent content
• Append site:reddit.com to find candid user opinions and practitioner discussions
• cache:url in Google shows the cached version of a page if it's down
• Use related:domain.com to find websites similar to a trusted source
• For news, use AllSides.com to see coverage across left/center/right perspectives
• Browser extensions like Web of Science Unpaywall unlock paywalled academic PDFs

Related Skills

• literature-reviewer
• fact-checker
• summarizer
• citation-formatter