18 RESEARCH TOOLS FOR THE HEALTH WRITER

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES FOR THE HEALTH FREELANCE WRITER (Part 2)

You definitely just getting started if you think about just going on Google to get the information you need to make an article, you need to know the search tools for freelance writing. You are working at producing certain results, you not just anyone who wants to get information on a search engine. As a writer your objective must be focused and so must your search for information to write.

WHY YOU NEED RESEARCH TOOLS TO FIND INFORMATION?

1. As was said in an earlier post, health writing is aimed at stimulating a reader to make informed choices to improve their well-being, so your research resources for write-ups must be reliable and viable.
2. With knowledge of the different research resources you may have and how to use them. You’ll amaze clients and readers alike. Someone may say, "Woah! He sure must have gone to the last page of Google to get that information."
3. It is a good reward for a client to be impressed with your depth of research and the value of information included in your write-up.
4. Guess what. In-depth research doesn’t necessarily mean running in circles querying different phrases that mean almost the same thing on a search engine bar.
5. Remember that health writing is a noble responsibility as you may influence someone’s well-being out there. Seek out tools for accurate and updated health information.
6. A lack of streamline in your attempts at sourcing for information in the right place would lead to much clutter and information to process. So read along to know the tools to make information search easy. The search tools for effectively sourcing information are search engines and curators as listed below.

SEARCH ENGINES AND CURATORS

1. BibSonomy – It is a social bookmark and publication sharing system. You get to see bookmarks of users across the web and trending publication resources in use across the web. You can also join groups related to your interest where you can learn important resources. You also get some first-hand ideas on topics to write about.
2. CaptoMe – Metadata platform with rich biomedical content and information management tools for well-organized research.
3. ContentMine – The name says it. It is an effective resource for mining data from millions of evidence based literature.
4. Data Elixir – This is simply a weekly online science news letter to keep you informed. You can use this to keep track of trendings. It is also a good resource to search for reliable health information, the best data science news, resources and inspirations from around the web.
5. EvidenceFinder – This is a golden resource. When you query a Google scholar search and you see loads of publications. How do you know which is useful to you amongst the search results? Evidence finder helps curate little information in publications that is useful to you that the search engine probably didn’t recognize and presents those publications to you. It indeed proffers a smarter way to browse.
6. Google: It would be disrespectful not to mention this right. There are better and smarter ways to use Google though.
7. Google Scholar – This broadly searches for scholarly literature across disciplines and sources.
8. LiteracyTool – This site is an Educational web-platform that helps users discover, understand, and explore scientific topics of interest.
9. Scicurve – This is a useful tool for exploring new scientific trends. It makes systematic literature review interactive and comprehensive. You can use this to easily access updated and summarized data.
10. SciFeed – This feeds your E-mail with important new scientific advances matching your query using various data sources and publications.
11. Sparrho – It combines human and artificial intelligence to help you keep track of science in real time. Some people say it put google scholar to shame. Well, I don’t know about that but it’s a laudable resource.
12. Symplur – This empowers decision making because it gives real-time access to insights from over a billion healthcare social media data points. It is a healthcare social media analytics company and is definitely a laudable resource to know trending issues, innovations and find resources. A lot of things don’t hit publications or websites but just stay on social media. Symplur helps connect the dots using social media.
13. Wiki Journal Club – Here you get open, user-reviewed summaries of the top studies in health and medical research.
14. ELife – Open access to the most promising advances in science.
15. Wikipedia: You might think Wikipedia isn’t reliable but it is. It is a good starting point for information online especially when you use the citations provided at the end.
16. Encyclopedia Britannica: You don’t like Wikipedia right? Encyclopedia Britannica is more reputable. Get ready to pay for it although free use may suffice for basic researching needs.
17. Refdesk.com: This is a free web site indexing and reviewing quality, credible, and current Internet reference resources. This resource can reduce the need for the tons of Web-based resources out there, making it easier for you to get the information you need.
18. Internet Public Library: Search for information about the arts, business, entertainment, health, science, and more.

FINAL WORDS

I recommend that you have a dedicated bookmark folder for your freelancing tours across the web. Once, you come across a search resource that you find useful, bookmark it. You don’t want to bother your head in an attempt to recall a valuable resource you once used. Another way to do this is to always include references in the article so you can easily locate such references later. In freelance writing you want to save as much time as you can and gain as much time as possible, using good research tools to find information and keeping track of them is needed to make that possible. Good luck. Do you think I missed something out? Comment below.

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES FOR THE FREELANCE HEALTH WRITER (Part 1)

You want to climb up the ladder in freelance health writing but you don’t know where to start from. Or you may know where to start, perhaps you saw an advert for a writing job and you want to jump "write" in, No! pump your brakes and learn a little about the best resources for freelance health writers. There are diverse online resources for freelance health writers. Resources for research, learning to write better, finding good jobs. Knowing the 101 of essential resources for the health freelance writer is necessary so the journey can be worthwhile and you avoid too many detours.

This is the first in the series and I'll start with 3 things here

PRESENTATION

As a health freelance writer, you have to present yourself professionally and in an appealing manner. Health freelance is a field that has a lot of competition so a first glance at you may determine whether a client stays on you or immediately looks elsewhere. The competition is intense and you only do well if you know your onions.

1. LinkedIn: Go to your LinkedIn profile; make one if you have none and update it. Make sure to include your skills and present some work you have done in a concise manner. Trust me, some job boards may want to see what you have here. A lot of jobs are gotten online these days; it has been predicted that by 2020, 50% of the US work force would freelance on the web and LinkedIn is a good tool to assess online job seekers.
2. Quora: Quora is a resource you could use to present yourself credibly. People would ask questions and you get the opportunity to contribute intelligibly on this network. While it is not a place clients look for writers but many contributors on Quora are involved in the online estate, consciously or subconsciously they are on a search for people they can work with.
3. Your Curriculum Vitae: Update your CV, you’ll probably get no job without working keenly at creating a good CV.

GET SUPPORT

It is beneficial to find writer groups, established personalities you can draw inspiration from, websites you can learn from

1. LinkedIn Writer Groups: there are diverse writer groups on LinkedIn. You can get to listen to other writers and learn from their experiences
2. Facebook Writer Groups
3. Media Bistro
4. Freelance Writers Den by Carol Tice
5. Creative Revolt: I put this up as every freelance writer can get very good inspiration from the resources here. Jorden Roper the owner of the blog is also a very dynamic personality who would set every freelance writer on their feet.
6. Health Writers Hub: this is arguably the leading freelance writing resource specifically tailored for health writers.
7. Best Fiverr Writer: “Wink” Health writing is one that must be done with utmost skill, knowledge and ardour. Best Fiverr Writer is a resource for making the best out of every health writer.

GET YOUR SAMPLES

You want to write for a company but they want to see what you’ve done before that has been published. Do not fret as there are companies that are open to some excerpts you may have. Just ignore the meagre money you may be paid:

1. Try the alternative press: research on alternative press. Some of them may be open to accepting news writers. Just contact them and tell them your idea if they’ll like a write-up
2. Ask Friends and Family: someone you know is about starting a business, ask to write up something for the website or blog
3. Write for Non-profits: such organizations are always open to writers and who knows, your writing may be key to improving their business and it turns to a good paid work.