Today, the tool we have in our hands most of the time make it much easier to research anything. All you have to do is Google something on your smartphone and you've got the answer. Whether what we find is correct is the question. Sometimes it's hard to forget that not everything you read on the internet is true.
Current Day Research
I will never claim to know everything. In fact, there is a tremendous amount that I don't know that I have to research. Even for my romantic suspense novels. Settings, weather, crime, politics. There are several things I look up before and during the writing process. For The Gangster's Game, which is coming out in a few days, I had to do a substantial amount of research on how to get a license to be a therapist and a license to be a private investigator in the state of California. I also did research on trafficking.
Historical Research
Researching history is a lot more complicated than writing in the current day. It can pull you into a rabbit hole like you wouldn't believe. Fascinating things to learn from history, whether it's the beginning of time or 50 years ago. Currently, I'm researching my next book, set in the year 1702. Not a lot of data on this time of period, also known as Stuart England, which was 1603-1714 and began with James I, succeeding Queen Elizabeth I. It was a time of innovation and discovery, when England went through a transition from monarchy to parliament. It was also the Golden Age of Piracy, which is what my book revolves around! I have to research everything from historical dates, to fashion, to landmarks, to everything about pirates. And it. Is. So. Fun!! I love history.
The further back in history a person has to research, the harder it becomes because of a lack of data. But this also can be a good thing. Many historical facts have been stretched over the years. My novel, The Duke's Daughter, had real historical figures and I may have added some fictional happenings, but one thing that is not entirely clear is the battle of Hastings (Senlac as some refer to it). Some say King Harold took an arrow to the arrow, while others say that didn't happen. I shrug. Will we ever know?
When doing research, I first determine what I need to know before I begin writing and get that out of the way. But there's always something that pops up I might need to look into. What type of gun are they using? Are the ages and school level system the same in Italy as here in the U.S.? What level of crime can get you a prison sentence as opposed to a county jail sentence, or felony vs. misdemeanor? It seems there is always a question to everything, even the smallest detail needs to be accurate.