The Magic Box
You can start your search off in Google by treating it like a Magic Box that might give you exactly what you want if you ask it nicely.
Type your questions in to Google using natural language. For example:
- How many traffic accidents were there in Abu Dhabi in 2012?
- What are the demographics for the UAE?
- Water reports for the UAE
In many cases the results on the first page of a Google search like this will contain relevant information either as a direct click into what you want, or a link from a site (like a UAE government agency) that will lead you to what you want to find.
If you are looking for numerical data like statistics or charts and graphs, you can do your search in Google and then click on Images. Once on the images page click on Search Tools, then Color, and limit to White. Since most charts and graphs have a white background, it will move those kind of images up to the top of the results list.
2. If the Magic Box approach fails then you will have to take a more systematic approach to online research.
WikiHow has a good description of the steps you can take to do research online at http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Internet-Research.