As a tech marketer - I am always looking for the fastest, cheapest yet reliable research in order to create competitive intelligence internal documents, stats for blog posts, etc.
Some people live by the "if it isn't on the first page, it doesn't matter" when it comes to leveraging search engines as a research tool.
However, often when we are looking for value, we have to realize that anything REALLY worthwhile these days from a content perspective is typically gated behind a web form, or nestled inside a blog post.
So, expect to spend a few hours in order to get through all the form gates, and also make sure you're using as specific and direct search terms as possible - then getting more generic if results are not ideal.
Some other tips:
-Have a few "burner" email addresses setup with gmail or hotmail, etc. - these allow you to get content when filling out forms to get White Papers, Reports, Case Studies, etc. without your primary inbox getting stuffed with marketing emails.
-In the form fill process, if available put "student" or "researcher" as typically sales reps pass by these "leads" when the form gets dumped into the CRM queue.
-Don't forget specialty search sites and tools like Wolfram Alpha for more "numbers" derived searches.
-Also, like your question here - always seek the wisdom of crowds in addition to machine learning algorithms!
Hope this is helpful! Search on!
