Hunting is a small part of the writing process itself. First, you begin with what you know—your writing draft. Next, you interview people who know the subject—experienced others and experts. Through open-ended questions, they can provide you with productive leads to follow up on that can save you enormous amounts of time. With information in hand, develop your thesis—the statement you propose to prove in your writing. Your thesis will be a guiding light for you and the reader. With thesis in hand, head for companies, associations, and libraries to find more sources of information.
Use notecards or notesheets to record information. Don’t forget the critical identification information on each card, and pay attention to accuracy and detail. By having a systematic method to take notes from your sources, you will make your research a much more manageable process.
Use these steps in the hunting process and your work will be more systematic and, in the end, easier.