Thorough Research Quotes

My perception is that I'm a guy who really does a lot of homework surrounding any project that I do.

I research every possible bit of information I can find. Then I use about a tenth of it. But I have to know all the information first; otherwise, I'm not going to convince myself, and if I can't convince myself, then I'm not going to convince the reader.

My inclination, as an old-school, classically trained journalist, is not to go with a story unless I have it hard. It's not good enough to say something based on rumors that were flying around.

The Blood of Heroes is surely the best account to date, one that presents plenty of new insights while acting as a corrective-or at least an alternative viewpoint-to previous accounts....Donovan combines that vital blend of authoritative scholarship with the vivid writing necessary to make an oft-told tale seem fresh.

I investigate more directly. I tend to ask a lot of questions and don't feel satisfied until I have the answer.

I want to get a gold star. And I know that there are places that I need to go in order to get the story right. I'd rather do it right than have to do it twice.

I have been extremely cautious in selecting my films.

He that judges without informing himself to the utmost that he is capable, cannot acquit himself of judging amiss

To me, it's so much about doing your homework, going into a situation, getting to know the subject, making them feel comfortable, getting intimate access, getting access to all different aspects of people's lives so that I am essentially telling an entire story and not just a single image.

Before I start writing, before I have an idea of where and when the story happens, I research it thoroughly.

When I do form an opinion, I'm very aggressive about it. But I don't form that opinion until I've done a tremendous amount of work.

To have real issues to delve into, research-wise, always makes it a lot more satisfying to me. I can pull from a lot of resources and put them into my work and just have as much information as possible.

All my books take a long time to research. I spend several months researching before I start writing, and in the middle of writing I often have to stop and look up stuff. At my local library, I am one of the best customers! The research takes several months.

I think that if Essien Udom had something he didn't take it back far enough in history to get at the proper understanding of it.

I read everything I could find: books and online. Sometimes bigger revelations came to me through finer details or something that you wouldn't pick up just by surface reading.

All the moves I've made have come after I sat down with my family and my agent and thought what was the best move. I've never rushed into something, never gone anywhere where I wasn't sure 100%.

Don't commit to being a columnist unless you're willing to do it right. Report your behind off, so you have something original and useful to say. Say it in a way that will interest someone other than you, your family and your sources.

Any time you put on the mouthpiece of somebody that you're not, there's a professional responsibility to get it right. I did a great deal of research in both of those arenas.

You need to turn over every rock and open every door to learn your industry. This process never ends.

I did a lot of my writing as though I was an academic, doing some piece of research as perfectly as possible.

I don't believe that you can make decisions on anything without having all of the details.

A contemporary or near-future book is much harder because you can't fake the facts. There are people alive who know much more than you do about the subject. You have to really have your research together - and of course no one can know everything about a topic.

To me, it's so much about doing your homework, going into a situation, getting to know the subject, making them feel comfortable, getting intimate access, getting access to all different aspects of people's lives, so that I am essentially telling an entire story and not just a single one.