Researching Content and Knowing When to Stop

Research is so much easier now than it was before the Internet became available. Much of your information content can be done on the Web. However, the Internet is so deep and wide that it's easy to get lost in webpage after webpage, looking for the information you need.

The following are some research tips for those who are looking to create useful content:

Define your content sharply

If your research topic is broad, your job is significantly harder than it is when you can get more specific. Doing research on "apples" will take months and years, while research on "diseases that specifically affect Granny Smith apples" is much more focused, and the research is not nearly as daunting.

If your knowledge on the broad topic is sketchy at best, then checking out the broader topics will be necessary until you come across an angle you can use to cut away the information you don't need. When Leonardo da Vinci was asked how he made his carvings, he indicated that the statue was already in the stone, he just cut away everything that wasn't the statue. Your content is out there in the ether. It's your job to cut away all the unnecessary information to find the content you need.

When to go deeper into your research

Once you find the topic that needs researching, your research should start to center around questions. When you're scanning through other content, take notice of what information isn't there. What questions are coming to your mind when you think of the specific topic? What would be useful to your market? Getting those questions answered will peel away all other information that isn't useful to you, and get you closer to what you need.

Remember that your market has questions; sometimes even questions they haven't put into words yet. The more questions you can anticipate, the more knowledgeable and credible you will be to your market, and the more useful your content will be.

When to get offline when researching

Not all valuable content is on the Internet. It's time to go offline to do your research when you're unable to find a credible answer in the different websites you go to. The key word here is credible. If you want your content to be taken seriously, it has to be reliable and credible.

Reliable and credible content doesn't come from someone who throws up a website and claims they know what they're talking about, when they have no specific expertise and no credible organization as their sponsor. Anyone can put an opinion on the Web. When you can't find reliable sources to answer your questions, step away from the computer and pick up the phone or visit the library instead.

When to stop research

There does come a time when research becomes procrastination. If it's time to write, but you're still doing research, it's time to sit down and produce content. Researching to specific questions will go a long way towards reducing the tendency to procrastinate. It also helps to set deadlines when the content has to be ready. If you get into your topic and you're finding lots of interesting information, make a note to yourself to continue your research...AFTER the specific content you need is produced.