Do you do research for you writing and if so where?

Since I write fiction, I don't feel any need to do too much research. Sometimes I do a tiny bit to find a location to set my story, but really not much. FYI, I set a story in the suburban areas around NY (actually I picture it in north Jersey since I've been there a few times visiting relatives.) But I never name places if I can avoid it, or make the "landscape" so general that it could be there.

I have so many places I use for research. Books, actually, I do it the old fashioned way. :D I have a bunch of books on pretty much any subject I'd be writing about, and a quick trip to the library gets me anything I don't have already. If it's a quick little thing I need to look up, I'll try the internet. But since there's no required fact checking online, I'm a bit leery of using it as my main research guide.

I just serf for info. It seems the best unless I know I have a definate site I want to look for. I also like to use some books if I can.

I love to research a new writing project. Sometimes the learning process before the actual writing is my favorite part of the whole experience. Sinking down into the information until you feel like you've always known it. . . it's a wonderful feeling.

LOL- I spent about 9 hours today researching. But I write on material I know nothing about so research online to learn as much as I can before writing. I like wikipedia but I don't take what is there as gospel and always search for other sites - also have to make sure it is not just plagerized information, there is a lot of that goes on on the Internet. So far all of my writing assignments have been researched online except for one article. I needed some numbers for a graph and couldn't find what I wanted online so went and stood outside my local grocery store and did a "survey" of my own. It was great fun as I knew half the people from either church or through the schools (4 kids went through this school district). I had several people tell me if I needed help in the future just to give them a call.

for me it would actually depend as to what i am going to write.if what i have to write is about facts like annual reports,biographies,geography,etc., thats when i do research but if i am going to write poems,short stories,novels maybe then i purely rely on my emotions/feelings so that my work would have a personal touch in it.

I am constantly reading: books, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and I tend to get a lot of my ideas (jumping off points) from there. Often in a magazine, for example, they will provide some point of reference. Somebody said that, experts and such-and-such organization believe this. Then I go online and look for those groups or people. Often this is an excellent resource. So, when I go to the Internet for information, I usually have something very specific I am searching for. I am not sure I would rely directly on online information. Also there is just so much stuff out there, and I am easily distracted. You can spend hours on the Internet researching something and get very little usable information after hours spent online. Also I still find reading and researching much more comfortable with printed material. I get tired reading online for too long.