Where to get started in open source research?

[stable beacon]

Not entirely sure if this is the right place to post… If anyone has any resources please link them below!

[pastel ginkgo]

Not really a resource but the first bit I always reference is find something you find interesting. You are applying open source collection or analysis too something else, it isn't just a thing by itself. Finding an area you want to apply it too will narrow down which resources are actually relevant to you among some other benefits than jumping in with just OS work in mind.

For example a majority of the resources, processes, techniques etc for equipment identification is going to be worlds different than the same tools for say identifying and monitoring criminal enterprises.

[round pumice]

I second this. There are tons of sites out there that are literally just pages upon pages of tools, which I found super overwhelming at first. It’s better to find a topic/field within open source investigations, and build from there. Develop your own way of doing things so that it fits your specific needs.

Also means you can generally be more specialised, which is a good thing for later down the line looking at organisations that do similar stuff as careers.

[fresh anchor]

Hi! I wrote an article answering this exact question:

https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2021/11/09/first-steps-to-getting-started-in-open-source-research/

[pastel ginkgo]

I forgot 1. in this was basically what Morsaki and me referenced

[timber plinth]

The Basel Institute offers a free online course for OSINT newbies. It’s from January, so possibly not overly outdated:
https://learn.baselgovernance.org/enrol/index.php?id=79

[timber plinth]

What are the open source research gaps / areas in need of development or where can we find them? I’ve created pilot projects for years in international development, and currently look for a problem I can help solving. For example, Hannah mentioned the need for survivor-centric approaches to investigating atrocity crimes in her Bellingcat article. But there’s so much more.

[pastel ginkgo]

Anywhere you think it can be applied it most likely can

[timber plinth]

So rather than looking for an area that needs development within open search research, you look for a general problem that can be solved with the help of OSINT?

[pastel ginkgo]

Kind of reverse, I think you should find an area that interests you, that you'd want to help develop it in

It'd be easier to create a list of the like 8 areas it is used most frequently, because pretty much everything outside that is heavily untouched in the public space

[round pumice]

I guess it still really depends

[pastel ginkgo]

For example you mentioned doing some stuff related to international development, there's at least 10 ways you can apply OS methodology to that in entirely different ways.

All would come with their own nooks and crannies in terms of applicable processes, which tools would be feasible to use, etc

[round pumice]

Yeah, I mean, regions are never just one thing. People use OSI to look at things like financial crime, climate change and disinformation, on top of the more typical war crimes stuff.

I guess you need to answer two questions. What do you want to look at? And where do you want to look at it?

[pastel ginkgo]

This is why I note too seeing it as a methodology is really important because you can honestly apply it to any field which has either an A) R&D function or B) informative function (whether internally informative or externally)

There's some really crafty teams at major finance companies now for example which actually use OSINT cycles for their market research

That has nothing to do with crime, conflicts, harm, exploitation, etc

[scenic pulsar]

This is really interesting ^^^ I'm also slightly overwhelmed by the amount of resources out there. Could anyone give recommendations for using OSINT to look at organised crime gangs in the UK, please?

[pastel ginkgo]

Thanks for asking super niche area in the public space that doesn't get touched on from that frame a lot. Unfortunately there's not a lot of country-specific recommendations there, but there's plenty touching on using OS methodologies to target OC groups, members, and affiliate persons/orgs.

https://www.fivecast.com/blog/countering-transnational-organized-crime-with-osint/

https://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/Law-Enforcement/Criminal_Intelligence_for_Analysts.pdf

Are two quick good reads that mention it

If you want to dig into general resources look into the field of "Criminal Intelligence" and also "Law Enforcement Intelligence" (Isn't directly LEI but LEI has lots of good resources touching on it too)

If there's something specific you want to look into also I can do a live run with you and show you some processes etc

[timber plinth]

@scenic pulsar Maybe this free online course is a thing? It has a pretty good overview using OSINT for all sorts criminal investigations:

https://www.myosint.training/courses/careers-using-osint-skills

[timber plinth]

Thanks, those questions really helped. I’ve figured international justice and intelligence is my thing and then accepted into introductory Russian studies 😍.

[timber plinth]

Thanks! That’s super-interesting in regard to international justice and intelligence, as Hannah mentioned the need for survivor-centric methodology in her article on SGBV.