As a professional investigator, I specialize in research, so most people assume I spend my days asking questions and running online searches. They picture me completing the search and sending results to my clients. Found it. Now I’m done. Move on to the next search.

But, as you’ve heard me say, there’s more to research than just finding, and search is just a small part of my work. First, there’s lots of preparation involved – understanding what clients want and need, recognizing limitations, knowing sources, and more.

Once you’ve run your online searches, conducted your interviews, or recorded your observations, though, what’s next? The last part is what I call the Action phase. It’s time for reviewing results and adding the meaning.

What does that look like? Whether you’re conducting an investigation or researching any type of strategic information, this final stage of research generally includes three components: