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# Best Practices: Research Methodology

## Core Principles

Quality research is the foundation of credible content. It involves systematic source discovery, critical evaluation, and structured synthesis.

- **Primary over secondary.** Original data, firsthand accounts, and official publications outweigh summaries and aggregations.
- **Triangulate claims.** Any key fact should be verified by at least 2–3 independent sources.
- **Date everything.** A statistic from 2018 may be misleading in 2025. Always surface the publication date.
- **Follow the chain.** When a source cites a study, find and read the original study — not the summary.

## Research Process

### Phase 1: Define the Research Question
- State the specific question being answered
- Identify what type of evidence is needed (quantitative, qualitative, expert opinion, case study)
- Define the scope: time range, geography, industry, audience

### Phase 2: Source Discovery
- Academic: Google Scholar, PubMed, ResearchGate, JSTOR
- Industry: Gartner, Forrester, McKinsey, Statista, Nielsen
- News: Reuters, AP, Bloomberg, industry trade publications
- Primary: original surveys, interviews, experiments, official reports
- Social: forums, communities (Reddit, Quora) for sentiment and pain points (not as citable fact)

### Phase 3: Source Evaluation — SIFT Method
- **Stop** — pause before sharing or using any source
- **Investigate the source** — who wrote it, who published it, what are their incentives?
- **Find better coverage** — look for the original source or corroboration
- **Trace claims** — follow citations back to their origin

### Phase 4: Synthesis
- Group findings by theme, not by source
- Note consensus vs. disagreement across sources
- Identify gaps in the existing research

## Structure

```
[RESEARCH BRIEF]
- Question:
- Context:
- Required evidence type:
- Date range:

[SOURCE LIST]
- Source 1: [Title, Author, Publication, Date, URL]
- Source 2: ...
- Credibility rating: High / Medium / Low

[KEY FINDINGS]
- Finding 1: [Claim] — Source: [Citation] — Date: [YYYY]
- Finding 2: ...

[GAPS AND CAVEATS]
- What the research does NOT address
- Potential biases in the sources

[SYNTHESIS]
- What the evidence collectively supports
- Recommended interpretation for the content piece
```

## Guidelines

- Reject statistics without a clear source. "Studies show..." with no citation is not evidence.
- Note the difference between correlation and causation in quantitative findings.
- For content, prefer the most recent data available — but note when a dated source is used.
- When expert opinions conflict, present the disagreement honestly rather than cherry-picking.
- Keep a research log for every project; it enables fact-checking and updates later.
- Wikipedia is acceptable for orientation — not as a primary citation.

## Source Quality Tiers

| Tier | Examples | Use For |
|------|----------|---------|
| 1 - Primary | Original studies, official data, direct interviews | Core claims, statistics |
| 2 - Expert | Industry reports, peer-reviewed journals | Supporting evidence |
| 3 - Reputable media | Reuters, NYT, Bloomberg | Context and news |
| 4 - Secondary | Blogs, influencers, aggregators | Leads to primary sources only |
