Useful Research Links

[Cath]

I've gathered these together from the links that used to be up here in a sticky. Thanks to I_Shrugged and others for the links so far. If you want to add any more, please do!

Agriculture
http://www.fao.org/ - The Food and Agriculture Org of the UN

American
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/contents - Digital Archive of American Architecture
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/ - Index of the US Constitution
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/ - The Supreme Court

Animals
http://www.animalbehaviorarchive.org/loginPublic.do - Animal Behavior Archives at Cornell.
http://www.enature.com/home/ - Enature (most animal species)

Art
http://www.artrenewal.org/ - Excellent art by the masters.
http://www.cordair.com/ - Quent Cordair Fine Art
http://www.gandygallery.com/art/index.htm - Fine Realist art
http://www.metmuseum.org/ - The Metropolitan Museum of Art
http://www.nymuseum.com - New YorkMuseum
http://www.safran-arts.com - Bernard Safran's Fine Arts
http://www.sandrashaw.com/ - Sandra Shaw, sculptor
http://www.sculpturegallery.com/ - Everything sculpture
http://www.sfae.com/ - The San Francisco Art Exchange
http://www.si.edu/ - The Smithsonian Institution

Baby Names
http://www.babynology.com - Baby Names and more

Biographies
http://www.biography.com - Biographies
http://www.s9.com - More Biographies

Countries
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications...ook/index.htm - CIA World Fact book is a starting place for quick info

Crime
http://faculty.ncwc.edu/TOConnor/criminology.htm - The Criminology Mega Site

Dictionaries
http://www.britannica.com
http://www.dictionary.cambridge.org
http://www.dictionary.com
http://www.onelook.com
http://www.pacific-mall.comdictnary/index.htm - Online Dictionary List
http://www.rhymezone.com -Rhyming Dictionary
http://www.bartleby.com/61/ -American Heritage Dictionary
http://phrontistery.info/index.html - The Phrontistery (unusual Dictionaries)
http://www.yourdictionary.com
http://www.etymonline.com - Online Etymology Dictionary
http://www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml - Describe a Concept in one word

Financial
http://www.bloomberg.com/intro3.html - Bloomberg Financial
http://www.kiplinger.com/personalfinance/magazine/ - Kiplinger's Finance
http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html - Currency Calculator

Food and Drink
http://www.fao.org/ - The Food and Agriculture Org of the UN
http://www.wines.com/ - Wines

Fun
http://office.microsoft.com/en- - Microsoft Design Gallery (clip art, etc.)
http://www.afn.org/~afn15301/seussfiles/early.html - Early Dr. Seuss Stuff
http://www.crayola.com/ - Crayola Creativity Central
http://www.cyberfireworks.com/ - Virtual Fireworks
http://www.krittercards.com/ - Free online greeting cards with animal pics
http://www.snoopy.com/ - Peanuts comics and other strips
http://www.bored.com - for when you get really bored
http://www.snapbubbles.com/ - Virtual Bubble Wrap.

Grammar
http://www.grammarbook.com - The Blue Book of Grammar & Punctuation

History
http://www.historyplace.com - History
http://www.scopesys.com/today/ - look up any date in history.

Horses
http://www.fmwriters.com/Visionback/Issue10/themehorsesense.htm - Hilarious. Frequent writer faux-... um, mistakes.
http://www.fmwriters.com/Visionback/issue7/horsesforwriters1.htm - Another fmwriters article. Nice overview.
http://www.fmwriters.com/Visionback/Issue10/themehorsecom.htm - Communication. For writers
http://www.lifestyleblock.co.nz/articles/Horse_behaviour/06_horse_communication.htm -Communication: note- snicker=nicker
http://www.worlddressage.com/history.htm - History of dressage and some examples of warhorse development...
http://www.lipizzaner.com/airs.asp - Warefare
http://www.horseguild.com/Medieval_Horse_Breeds.php - Medieval Breeds. general and specific info, and terms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_gait - Gaits. basic intro, there's a piaffe animation to the right. Also mentions how fast and how long horses can gallop!
http://www.ahorse4me.com/Horse%20Gaits%20in%20Motion.htm - Gaits, animation.
http://www.equusite.com/articles/basics/basicsColors.shtml - Horse colors and markings
http://www.fmwriters.com/Visionback/Issue10/themefeedinghorse.htm - Nutrition. Site specific to writers

Industry
http://www.industrialinfo.com/index.jsp - Interesting Industrial Info

Language
http://www.blackmask.com/books82c/dcvgr.htm#1_0 - dictionary of the vulgar tongue (c1811).
http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/vm.htm - British / American word variants. Literary Resources
http://www.etymonline.com/ - on-line etymology dictionary.
http://www.freetranslation.com/ - translate different languages

Law
www.law.cornell.edu/constitution - Index US Constitution
http://supremecourtus.gov/ -Supreme Court

Libraries
http://www.thomas.gov/ -THOMAS searchable database at LOC

Literature
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit/ - Literary resources on the net
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/ - List of every winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature
http://thomas.loc.gov/ - THOMAS the searchable database at the LOC
http://www.dawcl.com/ - Database of Award Winning Children's Literature
http://www.kidlit.co.uk/index.htm - Searchable database of kid's lit characters.
http://www.literaryencyclopedia.com/ - The Literary Encyclopedia
http://www.literature.org/ - Online literature library

Medicine and Healthcare
http://familydoctor.org - AmericanAcademy of Family Physicians
http://health.yahoo.com/drug - Yahoo Drug Guide (info about popular prescription
http://healthyminds.org/ - American Psychiatric Association
http://library.umsmed.edu/h-hyp-tc.html - Health Hyperlinks (includes links to medical writing
http://medlineplus.gov - Medline (a good starting point)
http://nccam.nih.gov - NationalCenter for Compementary and Alternative
http://ncfs.ucf.edu/home.html - The National Center for Forensic Science
http://www.aacap.org/index.ww - AmericanAcademy of Child and Adolescent
http://www.aao.org - AmericanAcademy of Opthamology
http://www.aap.org - AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics
http://www.aapd.org - American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp?level - American Cancer Society
http://www.cdc.gov - US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr - Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (This has to
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ - Clinical Trials (list of studies enrolling patients. No
http://www.emedicine.com - Emedicine.Com (physician written articles for
http://www.forensicdna.com/ - Forensic Education and Consulting
http://www.labtestsonline.org/index.html - Lab Tests Online (describes various lab tests and gives
http://www.mayo.edu/ - The Mayo Clinic
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov - National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
http://www.nida.nih.gov/NIDAHome.html - National Institute on Drug Abuse (info on street drugs)
http://www.pharma-lexicon.com - Medical Abbreviation Dictionary
http://www.rarediseases.org - National Organization for Rare Disorders
http://www.reproline.jhu.edu/index.htm - Reproductive Health Online (associated with Johns
http://www2.niddk.nih.gov - National Institute for Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney
http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/ - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
http://www.forensicdna.com - Forensic Education and Consulting
http://www.ncfs.ucf.edu/home.html - The Natl. Ctr. For Forensic Science

Military
http://www.af.mil/ - The US Air Force

Miscellaneous
http://www.gallup.com/ - The Gallup Organization (Polling, etc.)
http://www.howstuffworks.com/ - How Stuff Works
http://www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml - describe a concept in one word.
http://www.sca.org/ - The Society for Creative Anachronism
http://www.typingtest.com/ - Free online typing test
http://www.filmhead.com/nanoexperts.html - Research any Subject
http://www.gallup.com - Gallup Org
http://www.mayo.edu/ - Mayo Clinic
http://www.crayola.com Crayola Creativity
http://www.govdeals.com/eas/index.cfm _GOV Deals
http://www.nada.com -Official Car Guide
http://www.familywatchdog.us -Natl. Sex Offender Reg
http://www.askanexpert.com/index.htm -Ask an Expert
http://www.pcphrases.com -Politically Correct Terms
http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg -Latterday Saints Genealogy History Database
http://www.shopgoodwill.com --Great Place for picking up Vintage Collectables
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1073341,00.html -TIME ‘s 50

Music
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/musicchild.htm - Lyrics to Kids' Songs

Museums
http://www.metmuseum.org -The Metropolitan Museum
http://www.si.edu - The Smithsonian Institution

Mythology and Folklore
http://webhome.idirect.com/~donlong/monsters/mons - encylopedia of monsters and mythical beasts
http://www.mythinglinks.org/home.html - Annotated Collection of World Mythology
http://www.pantheon.org/ - Encyclopedia Mythica (research myths)
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folklinks.html - Folklinks
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html - Folktexts: A library of folklore at Pitt.

Names
http://www.babiesonline.com/pregnancy/babynames/ - Names
http://www.babynology.com/ - More names and other baby stuff

Nature
www.enature.com/home/ -Enature (animal species)

People
http://www.biography.com/ - Biographies
http://www.s9.com/ - Biographies

Philosophy
http://www.iep.utm.edu/ - The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://www.philosophypages.com/ - Philosophy Pages

Quotations
http://miljokes.com/lqote.html - Famous Latin Quotes
http://wind.prohosting.com/~tqs/left.shtml - Author Index of Quotes
http://www.angelfire.com/md2/Ldotvets/Quotes.html - Quotes by Famous Americans
http://www.bartleby.com/100/ - Familiar Quotations (searchable by keyword)
http://www.brainyquote.com/ - BrainyQuote famous quotes
http://www.quotationspage.com/ - Another quotation site
http://www.quoteland.com/ - Quoteland

Religion
http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm - Sacred Texts
http://www.vatican.va/ --The Vatican Official Site

Research
http://filmhead.com/nanoexperts.html - research any subject.
http://scholar.google.com/ - Google Scholar (Beta)
http://www.digital-librarian.com/ - Interesting lists of links for research

Science
http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/ - 21st Century Science/Technology
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/ - Your weight on other planets
http://www.junkscience.com/ - Junk Science

Supernatural
http://www.afallon.com/europe.htm - Haunted Europe
http://www.magick7.com/ghosts/ghosts-and-spirits.htm - Descriptions of ghost and spirits throughout the world.

Technology
http://www.galttech.com/ - The Galt Download Zone (Fun Free and Shareware)
http://www.howstuffworks.com/index.htm -How Stuff Works

US Links
www.law.cornell.edu/constitution - Index US Constitution
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/ -CIA

Wine
http://www.wines.com -Wines

[Silver King]

Wow, what a great list! Thanks, Cath. :)

Thanks to I_Shrugged and others for the links so far.
I miss I_Shrugged. I wish she would come back...

[SHBueche]

Thanks, you have quite an exhaustive list going. Also, I'd like to add: profnet.com, an excellent free source to turn to for experts in many fields.

[Little Red Barn]

Mods, feel free to move, wherever is best -- didn't know where to put :D

[Soccer Mom]

We have a big sticky of links in the request and expert forum. These would be boffo moved to there. What a lot of work you put in Kimmi!

Wow and thanks!

[Little Red Barn]

Great Cath! Didn't know we had a sticky already :D

[Smiling Ted]

Let me add this link to the "Fun" section -

A List of Books That Aren't! Cryptobibliography!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_books#DC_Comics

[Smiling Ted]

Here's another one, where whistleblowers can anonymously post leaked documents:

http://wikileaks.be/wiki/Wikileaks

[Riley]

How about a general information site:

Http://www.allexperts.com

People who know a lot about a subject join the site as "experts" and most will answer your questions in a professional, intelligent, and informative manner. Some of them actually have degrees in the categories they answer in. Occasionally, an answer doesn't come through at all, or the answerer sounds like s/he was drunk when answering the question, but I recently asked some questions about solar flares and what I learned pretty much blew my mind away.

You can learn about diet, fitness, autos, geography, physics, astronomy, religion, etc.

To improve your chances of getting an answer, write as if you were writing a letter to a professional. You know, be courteous, specific, and not too greedy for answers. Most won't answer anything that has more than three parts to it.

[WittyandorIronic]

Here are some of my most useful sites.

http://libraries.mit.edu/help/virtualref/ - Collection of MORE online reference resources.
http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/drug-slang.aspx - Street slang, language, drugs
http://mit-vera.mit.edu/fmi/xsl/all.xsl?-db=Resource.fp7&-lay=RES_web&-max=100&-token.error=ro_search_error.xsl&Type=Database&Type.op=cn&-sortfield.1=Title&-sortfield.2=Interface&-sortorder.2=ascend&Hide=no&-find - Another general reference guide. Some of the links are MIT only, some are open to the public.

And a list of Regency England links I posted in the romance section. I thought I would repeat it here as well.

http://www.gaelenfoley.com/index-06history.html (LOTS of great links)
http://home.comcast.net/~dflawson/ (so much info it is almost confusing, lol)
http://www.ugoi.net/nonsense/name.html (general fun)
http://www.eclectics.com/allisonlane...cy_errors.html (always best to know what NOT to do)
http://www.regencylady.net/repository/ (lots-o-info)
http://heyerlist.org/slang.html (good language info)
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:...ient=firefox-a
(info on inheritance)
http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bcp16...c/kindred.html (table of kindred)
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/faq.html#common (great links)
http://www.chinet.com/~laura/html/titles01.html (great links)
http://janitesonthejames.blogspot.co...d-regency.html
(AWESOME money info)
http://www.likesbooks.com/regent.html
http://www.janeausten.co.uk/magazine...pid=364&step=4 (more money info, and their general site has more great info)
http://www.chinet.com/~laura/html/titles12.html (correct forms of address)
http://lesleyannemcleod.homestead.co...christmas.html (regency Christmas info, plays heavily into one of my stories)
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodle...ncy/marry.html (marriages)

[Smiling Ted]

Here's a link I just found that gives the basics of crime reporting for new journalists.

http://www.justicejournalism.org/crimeguide/chapter01/chapter01.html

[slcboston]

Came across this one today, a virtual plethora and cornucopia of all things Canadian (well, obscure Canadian things, mostly, but lots of indigenous and historical stuff):

Canada's Digital Collection (http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/E/Alphabet.asp)

[DamaNegra]

Here's a link to a list of menus from lots of restaurants across the US

http://www.allmenus.com/locations/selected_cities/

[scope]

Keep them coming---I love it!!!

[Bmwhtly]

The Times (the UK newspaper) have plugged their archives into the interweb.
Bits of their newspaper from 1785 to 1985.
Archives here. (http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/archive/?OTC-HPtoppuff&ATTR=archive1782)


Some of the more interesting bits (these link to the actual article's published at the time of the events):

Jack the Ripper. (http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1888-10-01-06-008&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1888-10-01-06&pageId=undefined) October 1888

Britain declares war on Germany. (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/system/topicRoot/Britain_declares_war_on_Germany/) September 1939

The Moon Landing. (http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1969-07-25-01-001&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1969-07-25-01) July 1969

[Eirin]

Terms for groups of animal, birds and insects to be found here:

http://http://www.hintsandthings.co.uk/kennel/collectives.htm (http://www.hintsandthings.co.uk/kennel/collectives.htm)

"A crash of elephants" seems so very appropriate. I'm also fond of "a quiver of cobras".
Or how 'bout "an implausibility of gnus"?
"A gang of elk" or a "business of ferrets"?

Very useful, this stuff :D

[Juliette Wade]

I just found a great chemistry site called the Periodic Table of Videos. It has videos about each element and has a great sense of humor - useful for anyone using chemistry in a story for any reason.

http://www.periodicvideos.com/#

[Tachyon]

Chirag Mehta's created a cool tool called "Tip of My Tongue" to help you when you've got the perfect word on the tip of your tongue but just can't recall it:
http://chir.ag/projects/tip-of-my-tongue/

[Linda Adams]

Some more additions ...

Fashion
Black Tie Guide: http://www.blacktieguide.com/

Government
Searchable site for U.S. Government: http://www.usa.gov

Military
Since only the Air Force was originally listed--

Army: http://www.army.mil (http://www.army.mil/)
Navy: http://www.navy.mil (http://www.navy.mil/)
Marine Corps: http://www.usmc.mil (http://www.usmc.mil/)
Coast Guard: http://www.uscg.mil

Names
Social Security: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/ - This site lists popular first names by year dating back over 100 years. Great for historical novels!

Newspapers

Links to all the newspapers in the U.S.: http://www.newspaperlinks.com/home.cfm

[Willow_way]

I need some help on research and don't know where to post here. In my novel a key element is a piece of jewelry. It was popular in the 60 and 70"s. It is two half hearts and when the hearts are apart each one has a saying on it. One half was worn by each of the lovers. The saying was something about even though they were apart. Then when the two halves are put togeher the saying on the halves jioin to make another saying. Does anyone know what these hearts said and what they said when they were joined or where I can find out.

[Suse]

I've just found an extensive encyclopedia resource with links to websites. It's user-generated, so I can't say how accurate it is, but it's a potentially a decent basic starting point for research.

You can search for your term on this page: http://key-phrase.com/Glossaries/

Or you can use the search box on the right-hand side of this page: http://www.keywen.com/ Hint: the left box only works if you are Russian, as I found out after ten minutes of scratching my head.

[Smiling Ted]

Here's where the Wikipedia editors act as reference librarians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk

[Perks]

What a great thread. I've been here for years and didn't know this was here.

[DavidZahir]

Some fun links:

Victorian Sexual Slang (http://www.mookychick.co.uk/lists/victorian-slang-sexual-terms.php) (warning: nudity) :e2slap:
1811 Dictionary of Profanity (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/5402)
British Military History Sites (http://www.lotsasites.com/topic?topic=britmil)
Victorian Wars Forum (http://www.victorianwars.com/index.php?sid=c99180756e3f18ea8dec26ee232beea0)
Eras of Elegance (http://www.erasofelegance.com/index.html)

[TheMindKiller]

http://www.godchecker.com

Amazing website that collects a whole lot of information on a whole lot of gods. Check it out, it's just fun to peruse but even better for writing!

[DavidZahir]

British Money Converter by Year (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/default0.asp#mid)

[Rachel Udin]

Names:

Behindthename.com and surname.behindthename.com

Mostly Euro-centric names.

[alhefner]

Lions and tigers and bears...oh my!

Useful info on various predators (the wild critter kind) that can be found in the United States:

Predator biology (http://www.predatormastersforums.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=2&page=1)

In case your tale is set in the wilderness!

[dreamcatcher]

Psychology for fiction writers:

archetypewriting.com (http://archetypewriting.com/index.html)

[Snitchcat]

The other side of Hong Kong, the tourist destination (aptly named blog post!):

http://www.theasiamag.com/places/hong-kong-murder-in-our-chungking-mansions-hotel

[UrbanAmazon]

I've found this site not only useful for fact-checking, but also for just browsing through to find inspiration in the weird and wonderful - http://atlasobscura.com/ Atlas Obscura, as they call it, is a compendium of strange, mysterious, delightful, or downright creepy places around the world, showcasing both natural and man-made locations, modern and ancient. Most listings include photographs, details on how to access or visit each spot, and a Google Maps location.

Anyone looking for any post-apocalyptic potential settings or abandoned military bases might be able to use this article as a starting point - http://www.cracked.com/article_19449_6-images-abandoned-weaponry-you-wont-believe-are-real.html Photos and reference links through the article.

In fact, I'd like to recommend http://www.cracked.com overall, though I find it usually functions best as a starting point for research, not a source on its own. Common topics or lists have included military history and heroism, nature, weird science, and pop culture. They tend to link to their sources and other references, though the language gets more than a little profane and they do tend to be biased toward sensationalism. (Complete understanding if you determine that this would be better listed elsewhere.)

[ShannonR.]

I know this is an old thread, but here are some sites I've found informative:

Religion, Sociology
www.Religioustolerance.org (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/www.religioustolerance.org)-ReligiousTolerance.org, with information about basically every religion, practice or belief out there. Also a lot of information about the various conflicts that have gone on in the name of religion, urban legends, news items, etc.

Beliefnet.com (http://absolutewrite.com/forums/www.beliefnet.com)-Beliefnet, forums about pretty much everything, as well as articles about religion, spirituality, politics and other things.

About.com has articles about pretty much any subject you can think of, written by people who know what they're talking about.