I write historical fiction and seem to be forever reading up on the period. Perhaps that's because I came to it rather late - I hated history at school and dropped the subject as soon as I could - so I have little background knowledge.
But how about other genres? Do horror and crime writers read medical textbooks and romance authors trawl dating sites? How easy is it to find the information you need to make your stories realistic? Are you a dogged researcher or fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer? Or do you just write what you know about?
I write on subjects I don't know, and what others don't know either... so would research really matter?
What I mean by this is, I write futuristic Novels and Fantasy novels, where no research is specifically needed; but still I do research of a sort. Since these settings are new, I do a sketch of, well... obviously a map, but also (This maybe extreme, but hey, I'm a geography student) the different climates of these regions, and because of that, what kind of culture there is; the food, the clothes, the festivals, religions, practises and habits, jobs.... all that, i look into when writing a novel, then I try to stitch it into the background (Still I'm not happy with the novel; I need to re-write it!!)
Research can mean so many things.
I'm writing a sci-fi novel that starts in London but is set mostly in Tokyo. I knew nothing about Tokyo before I started the book but now I feel I've been there. My book is set on the banks of Tokyo Bay for anyone who knows it, and I used everything from google maps to youtube to help me set the scene of my future landscape.
In addition my main character is female and i'm sure you guys can relate to how hard that can be. :) I found my self studying and taking characteristic from a few women in my life (partner, colleagues, family members) to help me create her.
In short I'm always researching.
I have been writing fantasy till now, so have had no chance of a research!! :)