Research is an indispensable part of writing. When you’re writing fictions, a proper research arms you with the necessary details to make your story believable. When you’re writing non-fiction, doing a deep research is even more important. You need to get your facts straight, or else.

 

So, where do you go to get your research done? The internet is an obvious answer, but which part of the internet should you go to?

 

Forums

Let’s say you have a client with a newfound love for fig trees and you are asked to send in a 5,000 words article about planting and taking care of fig trees. The problem is you have the exact opposite of a green thumb. Even the plastic indoor plants you bought the other day are already withering.

 

Lucky for you, you don’t need a green thumb to write good articles on fig trees. There are many forums for that.

 

A forum is a goldmine for digging important and priceless information. In a forum, people ask questions about real problems that they have. The great thing is, other forum members who answer the problems may have different views and experience regarding the problems. This opens up the possibilities to write about the same problem from different perspectives.

 

Just search the forum for tips on how to grow fig trees and use those as the base for your writing. Another great thing about using a forum as a mean of research is that the solutions are real and applicable. After all, the ones who are asking and answering the questions are real people like you.

 

YouTube

When words aren’t enough to make you grasp the concept of something obscure to you, videos are the better solution.

 

Let’s pretend that after combing the forums you still don’t know how to plant and take care of fig trees. If that’s the case, then your next visit should be YouTube. You can watch complete growing guides, how to plant figs in pots, and many little tips on how to make the trees thrive.

 

Additionally, the comment section of YouTube will also serve as great complements for the videos. You can harvest many great questions and answers there, which can add more depth to your writing.

 

Library

Yes, the good old library. If it’s been ages since you went to a library, we encourage you to pay one a visit soon.

 

Despite the vast amount of information available online, libraries still have a thing or two for you. Libraries have come a long way ever since computers become the norm of human lives. You can access not only printed materials but also digital and multimedia content.

 

Go and visit a library near you and ask the librarian to help you find the material related to what you’re writing. Reference librarians are your best friends when you need to do in-depth research. Even when the information you need is not indexed, they can help you out. You’re bound to find some gold nuggets with their help

 

As an added bonus, libraries provide the right quiet atmosphere for you to write in. So bring your laptop or notebook along.