How do I efficiently search for ICs?
To be honest, you're asking 'How do I understand a massive subject quickly so I can design a project' and the answer is 'you can't', as you probably gathered. Your best path is to contact an experienced electronics engineer who can work with you on what you're trying to do.

As a start, search/look for demonstration boards that may be similar to your application you're designing. Bear in mind that will just give you examples of what you're trying to do, not the knowledge to reliably do it yourself.

But to go from zero to connecting and using something like a PHY reliably isn't something you'll discover from the relatively short amount of browsing time that a thesis makes available.