Researching People: General & Nationwide Resources

General Searching Tips

When searching, remember that you may need to try different variations on the person's name to get results. Variations might include:

  • Alternative spellings of names (i.e., Jacqueline, which can also be spelled as Jacquelyn, Jacklyn, Jackeline, etc.)
  • Nicknames/full names (if searching for information about Jacqueline Smith, you might also search for information about Jackie Smith)
  • Middle names/middle initials (maybe your search for Jacqueline Smith returned no results, but a search for Jacqueline Q. Smith would)
  • Name changes (such as a married name)

Remember to use or not use quotes as needed. Searching for "Jacqueline Smith" will only pull up results where those two names are right next to each other (as compared to searching for Jacqueline Smith, which will pull up anything where the name Jacqueline and Smith appear, even if paragraphs apart).

Public Records

Other states will have their own equivalents to Iowa Courts Online, Iowa Land Records, Secretary of State Business Entities Search, and county assessor pages. Look at assessor, treasurer, secretary of state, and judiciary pages to find similar databases.

Newspapers

Professional Records and Information

If the person you are researching is a member of a profession overseen by a licensing board, you may be able to find information about the correct spelling of the person's name, their contact information, or even an address by contacting the relevant licensing board.

"Freemium" Online Resources

"Freemium" resources offer some information for free, but cost money to access detailed reports. Please read the Terms and Conditions of each website, playing close attention to the information it might be gathering about you, before entering your email, phone number, etc.

What About Google?

When searching for information about someone on Google, be sure to use quotes and Boolean connectors to get the most relevant information. If you need a refresher on Boolean operators, look here.

Google Web Search

Try searching for the person's name AND [name of city/state] to start. You can add other terms as necessary to improve the quality of your results. For example, if you want to find out the name of someone's spouse, it might help to add the word "obituary" to your search, since frequently obituaries will list family members of the decedent and the names of survivors' spouses.

Other Resources for Information

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