Stock market research can be broadly divided into main categories. The two main categories are technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Almost any type of stock market research will fit into one of these two camps or attempt to combine the two.

Fundamental analysis deals with evaluating the underlying value of the assets of a company and assigning a value to the underlying stock. Fundemental analysis involves examining income statements, cash flow statements, assets, and liabilities.

Technical analysis deals with the price of the stock itself. A follower of technical analysis believes that all that is known about the stock is already reflected in the stock's price. They seek to predict tendencies in how the stock will move based upon price and volume movement and derivatives of these measurements.

Most stock pickers tends to gravitate into one of these two camps. And with such divergent point of view, you may find it surprising that some try to combine the two. They take a look at the company and the stock. Countless stock selectors have enjoyed great success with either method or some variation. It seems as if there is always a Warren Buffett to champion the fundamentals and a William O'Neil to post big gains with technical analysis.

The technical analysis of stocks is a widely used method of stock market research. Someone that uses technical analysis uses the patterns made by recent stock prices on a chart in an attempt to predict the future movement of the stock. They may also use other indicators such and the volume of shares traded in order to predict stock price movement.

Many in the academic community lend no credence to this method. They compare it to trying to drive a car down the road by looking into the rear view mirror and trying to predict the road ahead. They see future price movement as a random event.

Technical analysts would counter this argument by saying that stock price patterns repeat themselves over and over again. They feel that all that is known about a stock is reflected in the stock's price. Therefore what they are really attempting to predict is the behavior of the crowd. Since human behavior never changes, how the crowd reacts in similar circumstances becomes predictable.

The fundamental analysis of stocks is a method of stock market research that attempt to determine the true underlying value of the company of assets that a stock represents. A fundamental analyst look at the company's balance sheet and income statement. They try to find companies whose stock price is undervalued. Champions of fundamental analysis include Benjamin Graham and his famous student Warren Buffett.

Fundamental analysts tend to employ valuation models in order to assign a price to the stock of a company. Different styles of fundamental analysis include: buying and holding stocks, buying based on value, and buying based on taking a contrarian viewpoint.

Fundamental analysts also delve into other factors affecting the value of a company such as: price earnings ratio and interests rates as well as the general economic outlook.