The Value of Creating a Research Archive for High-Quality Content

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Photo by Brittany Guest, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; illustration by the author.

Verify, Verify, Verify

1. Do not assume information found in online databases is 100 percent accurate.
   
2. Pick up the telephone, do a Skype chat or G+ Hangout interview with credible sources.
3. Record your interviews--only if the other party agrees (get the agreement on tape).
   
4. Look for gaps in your content and fill it.

Save, Save, Save

1. Back up your research, interviews and notes.
   
2. Keep copies of your original articles.
   

Got more? Please share your research resources for content producers, writers and/or journalists. I will loop back to this topic with your recommendations.

Imagine you have been hired to write an article about a topic for an industry with which you are unfamiliar. How do you 
accomplish this assignment quickly, accurately and generate original, high-quality content that you can, in fact, call “your own"?

Just as a good night’s sleep is the foundation of excellent health, solid research is the bedrock of high-quality content.
 
Maintaining an archive of research resources is the smart move for all writers, before and after the deadline. Building your research treasure trove does not have to be overwhelming. Just begin with what you already have and add to it as you come across new resources that help you get the job done.

Jump-start your research list with these online resources:

• Previous versions of websites, http://archive.org/web/web.php
• Library resources: Your public library card is a gateway to an ocean of online databases, online newsletters, and face-to-face (human) reference experts. Some library users have FREE access to the following databases: ReferenceUSA, Hoover’s Business Information and Standard & Poor’s and much, much more!
• U.S. Census Bureau Data--American FactFinder, http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
  
• National Center for Charitable Statistics, http://nccs.urban.org/index.cfm
  
• List of Consumer Goods Related Trade Associations, http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/ocg/assoc.htm
• Federal Trade Commission, http://www.ftc.gov/
• National Archives, http://www.archives.gov/research/
• WebWire® List of News by Industry, http://www.webwire.com/industries.asp