There are many different strategies when it comes to investing. All with their own advantages and disadvantages but they all have at least one common denominator which can make or break a strategy - research.
To start this off, I want to clear up that like with many other things, part of research is down to personal preference. The text below is the first step in the journey of getting into the correct mindset for researching well.
The ultimate goal of researching is to get usable, unbiased data.
- The first step always is to find sources. While looking for sources you absolutely have to differentiate sponsored content from actual reporting. Everyone likes to state how they hate the manipulative mainstream medias, and how you clearly won't choose the product you buy based on TV ads - yet when investing in a coin you take the word of a YouTuber who is knees deep into said coin. The same rules apply in both scenarios: look at who made the content, and why the content has been made. When you answer these two questions, you will be able to look at the content in a different light.
- While consuming the content you need to keep thinking critically. Look at the sources linked, is it a reddit thread or a well respected site? Find the facts, and the opinions inside of the content. You do not want to have anyone else think for you! See if you can connect it to the knowledge you already have, draw your own conclusion. Where can I place the new information, why is it important, and what can I do with it?
- Now let's say you found a few sources and identified the relevant background information. You consumed the content and have gotten important pieces of information. Now you have to do this with at least two other pieces of content covering the same topic, and look for any differences. If you can find a piece of information from multiple sources, it most likely is true.
It might seem a bit overwhelming at first, but by doing research the way described above, you will not be misinformed, and on top of that you will learn and build your own world view. The more you do it, the easier it gets, since your base knowledge is increasing.
