wondering about the research that one has to do before actually writing about a topic, subject, I am no expert in any field, but want to share some info I gather, research on the net, and express my opinions etc kind of, so how to go about researching a particular subject?
Lets say, I want to write about travelling? now how should I research travel, for articles to write, for blog to design etc?
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Rather than thinking of a topic, then asking how to research that topic, it would make more sense to write about the subjects you are already familiar with - at least, to begin with. We’ve all got topics that we are particularly enthusiastic about. In general, it’s easier to write in interesting and engaging ways about those topics, rather than ones that you know nothing about.
Eventually, you will want to branch out and find new things to write about. But while you’re starting out, the best advice is to stick with what you know.
Mike[/FONT]
You should do research on other blogs / articles / sites similar to what you want to write, just search in G for similar keywords, and you`ll find plenty. Good luck!
Hi PK – the great thing about the Internet is that you can quickly become an expert in anything in a very short time if you put your mind to it. Choose almost any topic research of two or three hours, make notes, and you will probably know more than 90% of the population.
The fewer the number of people interested in that topic, the more this will be true.
If you want to write travel articles or create a travel site then simply go and have a look at travel websites check out lonely planet and the rough guide websites. Gather together the information on a particular place, and your spin, and there are the main elements of your own article or site.
If you want to have a website then host your own one by installing WordPress. For an expert this is a 5 to 10 minute job – for a new, just google it it’s pretty easy. Hosting your own WordPress site will cost you around about $10 for a domain name, and may be $70 a year for hosting (Hostgator).
If you want to go free, then grab yourself a blog at WordPress.com and get going there.
I hope these suggestions help.
Best wishes, Malc
Good question pk,
When I write blog posts, I generally put in 3-5 hours of research unless I already have a lot of direct knowledge on a topic. Even if I know a lot about something, I may reach out to other thought leaders in order to collaborate on a piece. This gives the content much more weight and also gives readers far better content. Things like this often take weeks to put together.
The internet is undoubtedly a valuable resource but don’t let it supplant other forms of primary research like interviews, content found offline, or your own testing and hypothesis. When you are thinking about how much time to put into generating content for your website, it really comes down to what your goals are. If you just want to create a site where you can generate a fair amount of traffic in order to monetize it, then just looking around online for a little bit before each post should suffice. If you want to become a thought leader and an authority in your niche, you will have to put in a lot of hours.
Here is a good post on SEOMoz about how to blog successfully about anything,
Hope that helps you,
Shawn
When I research, I generally look for 3 to 5 (minimum) sources. Wikipedia is a good research source, but not the written text so much. Look to the links below for external sources.
Start bookmarking sites that have good information on multiple subjects: Colleges (.edu) , encyclopedias, the deep (invisible) web, the Internet Archive, government agencies (for things like statistics), independent research centers like PEW research.
While commercial sites will have some good info, generally their information is slanted on the ‘pro’ side of things.
You can get a lot of good info from researching a topic and several articles with different spins. For instance, I once wrote a bunch of articles on skiing. My research allowed me to write an article each on top resorts, ski gear, and skiing for beginners. So don’t think that three hours research is too much. The more you research, the better you will understand your topic and you may be surprised at how one piece of information can take you into a whole new idea!
Great, now I have one more question, when would one know that the research is comprehensive or at least good enough for the article, to keep the audience come to your blog, say.
Write an article, and make it good. Really, really good.
Then come back here and ask what forum members think. Ask for honest advice: and be prepared to receive it!
Keep at it until you have a fantastic article.
Now you have an idea of what is required: or of whether you have the skill set necessary.
Go away and write more. And then get visitors to you site and get them to share your brilliant content.
So it’s the old “test, test, test”. But I am sure people here will help.
Research paper is always consider as a difficult task. But when it is about to write on traveling it is so xciteful to write on it because you will write about to interesting places & the moment when you enjoyed in your journey. But if you find any difficulty you should avail the online service to save your time & freshness of your mind.
while gathering sources for research the best sites to get data from would often times end in .edu or .gov (and of course there’s pew research and many respectable websites which don’t have such an extension.)
offline sources like magazines and books would also make a nice addition - makes your article seem more valid.
maybe you could start with free blogs / content platforms then get your own site when you’re a little more confident.