How much time do you spend on researching your topic?

1. 80

   Tashaonthetownposted 9 years ago

   When looking for information on a hub topic it is good to make sure that the information is accurate and that you have done your homework because there is nothing worse than reading an article that has false information.
   This takes the reader away from your site as they feel that it is fictitious or phoney.
   Do you spend time on research and is it just online or do you physically go out and act like a journalist by researching through the correct channels?
   If you do research how long does it take you to write a good hub that you can walk away from feeling good?
   For me sometimes it takes an entire day and then I get despondent with the lack of traffic or I read it and find that I have misspelled a word or line which makes me wonder how I wrote it so quickly.

   replyreport
   1. 90

      lions44posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I spend 3-6 months researching (much of it rewriting too).  Probably spend a week or two just on the opening paragraph.  But it depends on the type of hubs you write.  If you're doing How Tos or recipes, it might take you just a couple of weeks.  The type of Hubber is the deciding factor.

      replyreport
   2. 81

      abdussalaamposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      How much time do I spend on researching a topic? How long is a piece of string?

      replyreport
   3. 82

      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      some hubs, it took me a year, easy hubs, took me 3 months, anyway, writing is a big problem because I am lazy to type out, I write with pencil

      replyreport
   4. 69

      Ruth Angelposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I spend an adequate amount of time researching, proof reading and revising my Hubs before I post them. Hence the lack of Hubs here of late. I've currently only fully composed 3.

      replyreport
   5. 70

      brakel2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It depends on the hub. I know it is quicker to write what you already know and not spend a lot of time on research. However, some subjects pique my interest, and I spend an enormous amount of time on research. When I was new, one hub took a month, a little at a time, to research and write. It is my most popular hub. Writing challenges are quick to write for me. One hubber, who is skilled in a specific niche, can write her hubs quickly. I have fewer hubs due to time spent on research, and It makes one wonder if it is worth the time.

      replyreport
      1. 91

         DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         For the mere pennies we make here, I think not. 
         By that I do not mean to imply "quantity over quality," but merely to do what is quicker, and write what you already know, with a few side trips to update possibly old information.
         I make every effort to write well, and produce quality hubs; but I'm not going to spend hours, days, and weeks trying to research and write about something with which I am unfamiliar.

         replyreport
   6. 0

      RTalloniposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      What you are going through is normal.  Perseverance in it will be rewarding on several levels.  One thing about HubPages is that it is a super opportunity to learn and grow as a writer.  It's up to you to be your own best critic as you learn what kind of research works for you.
      
      On research, authoritative sources never waste your time.  You'll always learn more than you think by taking the time to find and use them.

      replyreport
   7. 70

      AshtonFireflyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I typically only write about subjects in which I have years of personal experience, insight, or research.
      
      If I am to write about something with which I am unfamiliar (or even very familiar), I use online articles (NOT wikipedia), personal accounts, forums, news articles, books, statistics, videos, pamphlets...everything relevant.

      replyreport
2. 60

   Niecey Docposted 9 years ago

   I'm only working on my second hub just now, but so far I have spent days on each one. Intense days. I'm hoping that in time I will grow to be more efficient. If nothing else though, this is great practice for bigger writing gigs in the future.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      RTalloniposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      You are correct on all counts. Research will become more efficient and it is excellent practice for future writing.

      replyreport
3. 81

   Duane Townsendposted 9 years ago

   According to the topic, it can take me a few hours to several days to research a topic.

   replyreport
4. 59

   Tjphilz5posted 9 years ago

   My first few hubs took me about 3 hours each to write, and when I asked for feedback everyone told me to take my time and do more research and make sure the writing sounds good. So the last few I have done took me at least a day to complete from research to final draft. I now have a whole notebook full of article ideas and the research done on each topic so in theory it takes days if you consider that I'm working on some topics all month now and haven't even started writing the articles just continue to get information and writing an outline out for the actual article.

   replyreport
5. 86

   Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years ago

   I don't spend a lot of time researching a topic for a hub, since I normally write hubs about things I know.  I do research on a topic because I need to know something, and in that case, I might write a hub about it, and will do additional research to make sure I have the facts straight.
   
   My hubs do take a long time to write though, because I generally have to make or do the thing I am trying to teach, and have to take photographs along the way.  That is a kind of research too.

   replyreport
6. 66

   Glen Kowalskiposted 9 years ago

   If I'm writing an article on fishing-a topic I'm very familiar with- then it takes about a day to write.  Several hours researching keywords (not that it helps me lol) and a I'll read the competition. Then a few hours looking at my log books and maybe looking up some additional facts online.  Then I write my first draft and leave it for a few hours.  Then I proof-read and rewrite as needed.  Finally I'll spend an hour or more finding suitable images with attribution links.   Then another round of revisions and finally it is ready for publish.
   
   If I'm writing on something I know less about it takes a significantly longer.  I may research a topic for days or even weeks taking notes (I even go so far as to email experts in the field in with questions) before writing the articles.  Most of those articles are ghost written for other websites but I will be doing a few here soon. 
   
   I guess the point is it takes as long as it takes.  When you think you have done enough research spend a few more minutes/another hour or so and then you should be good.  You will know if your article is researched enough or not.

   replyreport
   1. 61

      Kiss andTalesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Yes I totally agree, also people need be sure that infomation they once learned long ago as a child is accurate and updated,
      Example If you want to be a teacher or professor , you could not just learn basic reading and writing, you would have to keep up
      In many books if education, you would have to adjust to what people also are using as the majority in cpmputers, because now everthing
      Has a computer connected somewhere even files.

      replyreport
   2. 81

      abdussalaamposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You style of research and writing sounds like mine.

      replyreport
7. 91

   Faceless39posted 9 years ago

   My average is about 10 hours per hub of getting and amalgamating research. Then however long it takes to write it. If I push I can do one a day.

   replyreport
8. 91

   DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years ago

   I can whip out an article in a day or less, sometimes two days. 
   
   You see, the thing is, Hub Pages encourages us to write about things we know.  If I have to do a lot of research in order to write an article, that means I don't know much about the topic, and all I will be doing is re-wording things I've read in the research process.
   
   This can be regarded as "spun" content, and is a no-no here.
   
   So, I write about things I know, and can write off the top of my head, with a few trips down the Internet Highway to verify some aspect or another that might have gone out of date, or to provide relevant links.
   
   Some topics I have thought of, started to write, and then just either decided against them, or thought I maybe did not have quite enough of a grasp of the information, and those have sat, unpublished for months to over a year.  Out of 300+ hubs, about 15 or so are in that category.
   
   Now, the e-book I'm working on for my poems, and a novella series I've just started are another matter.  Those will probably take me months to a year or more...and I'm in no rush. 
   
   But Hub articles?  Much like writing a 1,000 word essay in English class.  No sweat.  But then again, writing, for me, was always my preferred form of expression, and came easily to me, as I was very shy in my youth, and would rather write than speak in front of people.

   replyreport
9. 80

   passionatelearnrposted 9 years ago

   more than 12 hours.but it depends on the topic

   replyreport
10. 61

    Kiss andTalesposted 8 years ago

    Very true but people read and reseach the subject .but coming to their own final conclusions ,the point are those conclusions accurate.  Well it does not have to be, because another can read and get a different conclusion. This is the problem with religion ,one truth , but many beliefs.
    Why because people live what they believe .
    Which means if that is discluding the bible as a guide to live their life the way they want to live it, it will be done.
    But on the other hand those that believe in the words have a different experience
    and they will not let their treasure go.
    But the key to this all is being granted to inter onto the thoughts of God,  he grants the power to accurate understanding  not based on human opinions. Which is totally out of this world.

    replyreport
11. 70

    Anna Marie Bowmanposted 8 years ago

    It all depends on the Hub I'm writing.  If it's a movie hub, it can take weeks of movie viewing to gather enough material, taking notes, and all that.  If it's a recipe, it can take a few days of tweaking a recipe to get it the way I want, keeping track of ingredients, etc.  Some, only take a day or two if it's something I know quite a bit about.

    replyreport
    1. 0

       RTalloniposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       Yes indeed, it does depend on the type of hub.  The topic can mean there are variables in the time required to get a hub posted.

       replyreport
12. 95

    agilitymachposted 8 years ago

    This topic has just come back up, so I thought I'd post my 2 cents.
    
    It took me 40 years of research.   I write what I have done for 40 years, so pretty much 40 years of daily experience and research.  Writing about what you are already an expert at makes the research much less daunting.

    replyreport
13. 87

    Sherry Hewinsposted 8 years ago

    Some hubs take me just a couple of hours. Often a lot of the time is spent on the formatting and finding photos and such. The longest I ever worked on a Hub was two weeks. It was a craft project that took a lot of time to do, and also to photograph.

    replyreport
14. 89

    Sneha Sunnyposted 8 years ago

    It depends on the topic I'm writing about. Some hubs take more time than others. It takes less time if I'm writing about something I've good knowledge on. If I don't have deep knowledge about what I'm writing then that takes more time to research. It really depends.

    replyreport