How I Do Research for My Articles: My Simple Research Process
Updated: Sep 13
Researching an article is not just about finding information on Google and starting to write.
I first try to understand the problem, find out what real people are talking about, compare different sources, and then decide what the article should actually focus on.
Here is the research process I followed for one of my recent articles and what I learned from it.
Introduction
When I first started writing articles, I thought the main challenge was writing the article itself.
But after working on my recent article about YouTube video ideas, I started to understand something important:
Choosing and researching the topic can be just as important as writing it.
I didn't want to simply choose a topic that sounded interesting to me and start writing.
I wanted to know what YouTube creators were actually struggling with.
So before writing, I started looking at YouTube comments, Reddit discussions, and later Google Trends to understand the topic from different angles.
This helped me move from “What should I write about?” to a better question:
What problem are people actually trying to solve?
That is what I want to share in this article.
I Start With a Problem
For my YouTube research, I wanted to understand the problems creators face when deciding:
What their channel should be about
What videos they should make
What topic they should choose next
Whether people will actually be interested in their idea
Why their videos get little engagement
At first, it would have been easy to search for something like “YouTube video ideas” and create a list.
But I didn't want to make another random list of ideas.
I wanted to understand why creators were looking for video ideas in the first place.
So I started looking at what real creators were saying.
I Looked at YouTube Comments
The first place I looked was YouTube.
Instead of only watching videos, I looked through the comments to find questions and problems from creators.
I found comments where people were:
Asking how to find a channel idea or niche
Asking what topics they should cover
Saying they had started a channel but didn't know what to do with it
Talking about low engagement even after putting effort into their content
Saying they preferred simple and useful videos instead of too much editing
These comments were useful because they showed me that the problem was bigger than just I need some video ideas.
Some creators were not even sure what direction their channel should take.
That made me want to look deeper.
I Used Reddit to See If the Same Problem Appeared Elsewhere
After looking at YouTube, I checked Reddit.
I wanted to see whether the problems I found in YouTube comments were also being discussed by creators in other communities.
I found discussions from creators asking about things like:
Finding video ideas
Finding a channel idea
Deciding what content to make
Starting a new channel
Getting advice about their content
Some of the discussions I looked at included:
Reddit discussions:
I wasn't looking for one perfect answer.
I was looking for patterns.
If people on different platforms are asking similar questions, that tells me there is a real problem worth exploring.
Then I Started Seeing the Real Problem
This was probably the most important part of my research.
At first, I thought the problem was:
Creators need more video ideas.
But after looking at the comments and discussions, I saw something bigger.
Creators were also asking:
What should my channel be about?
What should I post next?
Will people actually care about this?
That changed the direction of my research.
The problem wasn't simply a lack of ideas. It was uncertainty about which ideas were actually worth making. That gave me a much stronger direction for the article.
Instead of creating a huge list of random YouTube ideas, I focused on helping creators think about finding and choosing video ideas that people actually want.
That eventually became my article:
What Should I Post on YouTube? How to Find Video Ideas People Actually Want.
Why I Want to Use Google Trends Too
After getting feedback on my previous article, I also understood that I should not stop at YouTube and Reddit.
I should also look at Google Trends.
The reason is that different research sources can show different things.
Reddit can show what people are discussing.
YouTube comments can show what people are asking about.
Google Trends can help me look at search interest around a topic.
For example, if I'm choosing between “YouTube video ideas” and “YouTube Shorts ideas,” I can compare both in Google Trends to see how their search interest changes over time.
This doesn't tell me which topic will definitely perform better, but it gives me another useful piece of evidence before I choose my angle.
Using these sources together can give me a better picture before I decide whether a topic is worth writing about.
So going forward, Google Trends will also become part of my research process.
I don't want to choose a topic only because it sounds interesting to me. I want to understand whether there is an actual audience problem or interest behind it.
I Compare Different Sources Instead of Trusting One
This is something I want to keep doing with my future articles.
Different sources show different sides of a problem.
YouTube comments show me:
What people are saying
Reddit shows me:
What people are discussing in more detail
Google Trends shows me:
How search interest changes over time
These sources don't replace each other, but they work better together.
For example, if I find people asking about YouTube video ideas on YouTube and Reddit, I can then use Google Trends to explore whether related topics have search interest and whether that interest is stable, rising, or seasonal.
That gives me more confidence before I decide what the article should focus on.
What I Learned From the Research
This experience changed how I approach writing. I used to think research started after choosing a topic, but now I see it can help me choose the topic itself.
For example, I could have written about “YouTube Video Ideas.” But after looking at real creator discussions, I found a more specific problem: creators don't just need ideas but they need help deciding which ideas are actually worth making.
My process now looks like:
Find a problem → Check real conversations → Look for patterns → Check search interest → Compare the information → Find the strongest angle → Start writing
I don't expect every article to follow these steps exactly. Some topics may need more research, while others may need less.
But this gives me a clear starting point and helps me focus on what people are actually looking for, rather than choosing a topic just because it sounds interesting.
FAQs
How do I research a topic for an article?
Start by identifying the problem you want to explore. Then look at places where people are already discussing it, such as YouTube comments and Reddit. You can also use Google Trends to understand search interest and related topics.
How can I find good topics to write about?
Instead of only looking for popular keywords, look for problems people are repeatedly asking about. YouTube comments, Reddit discussions, and Google Trends can help you find questions, interests, and patterns that can become stronger article topics.
How can I use Google Trends for content research?
Google Trends can help you compare search terms, see how interest changes over time, explore regional interest, and discover related or rising searches. For YouTube-related topics, you can also look at YouTube search rather than only Web Search.
Is Reddit useful for researching blog topics?
Yes. Reddit can be useful for finding real questions, opinions, experiences, and problems from people discussing a particular topic. I use it mainly to look for patterns rather than treating one Reddit post as proof of a trend.
How do I know if an article topic is worth writing about?
There isn't one tool that can guarantee that a topic will perform well. I look for a clear audience problem, repeated discussions, signs of interest, and a specific angle that I can actually provide useful information about.
Ready to Research Your Next Article?
Good content starts with understanding the problem before trying to solve it.
If you're working on your next article, don't just search for a topic and start writing. Look at what people are asking, check real discussions, compare your findings, and use tools like Google Trends to understand what people are interested in.
Start researching, find the real problem, and then write something people actually want to read.
Nice Blog.