Are copyrighters supposed to do the research on a topic?

Say if told you i have a headline "What is the difference between product a and product b?"
Would a writer be expected to go out and do the research to write the article or would i have to provide details of what i want to include?

 

It would depend upon the agreement you have with the writer. Some customers provide me with a starting point (a few links), others do the research and send me their findings and most just give me the topic. Keep in mind, if you ask the writer to do more research they will probably ask for more money to write the piece.

ETA: I prefer doing the research myself. That way I know the information is accurate.

 

I can't imagine writing any article I didn't have to do some research for.

 

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF RESEARCH THAT ALWAYS SHOULD BE DONE

1. You need to see if the topic is defined enough. For example: Weight loss is not a topic, it gets lost as it has been written about 1,000,000 times or more.
Instead the topic "automatic weight loss by drinking green tea daily," receives extremely more interest.
2. Now you research the product. This is not cheating, but the best way, until you really know how:
A. Go to Google and enter: ezinearticles weight loss green tea
B. Choose the first 3 articles closely related, that are at least 12 months old. If you are making a comparison, you would do that twice.
C. Print these articles, and read them.
D. Set them aside, and write your article

Now you might have an article that is actually worth reading.

Also, you are making some rude postings, without knowing what you are talking about. Please stop, as it hurts those that want to learn.

--------------------------------------now this should answer your question, and have you start writing in the mid-range rather quickly. Never stop learning, I never do. ------have a good day ------------------------------------------------

 

Ok thanks for the advice but what do you mean i am making some "rude postings"?

 

What I am saying, is that opinions are great, but more effective when backed up with fact. This means when you are not the original person that made the post.
When the post gives actual proven information, do not be so quick to trash it. It is perfectly fine to either ask a question, or what you would do based on your experience. They are many good writers here.
Too many good posts get lost when they are trashed.
I did not make fun of your use of the word copywriting. The way your post was stated, it would have been better as writing copy.
Spelling and grammatical errors are fine in posting. In the actual writing of any of 10 forms of copywriting for a client it is not. Even dictionaries are out of date. When you typed in copywriting it was highlighted as not being spelled right.
I am certainly not perfect, but want you become better than I ever was. You do this by making posts, reading, learning, showing your methods. I am NOT on your case, just want you to know that any form of writing is not all that simple.
----------------------------------------------------anyway, have a good day---------------------------------------

 

What YMC said.

 

Hi,
I think the answer to "Who does the research?" is... yes.
I most definitely want any research the Client has done, and any other writings. This shows the direction the Client wants to take, what matters to the Client, the approach, etc.

Then I most definitely will fill in the gaps with my own research. This hones my knowledge on the topic, gives me the exact data I need, and so on. Because after all, I (me, myself) am the one writing the piece, in my own way (hey, I'm the expert in this area, right? That's why the big bucks).

So - there you go.
Dot

PS - I also always require the Client to provide me with the product I'm writing about.

 

Make it simple: If you know some details and have knowledge about the article topic share it with your writer, in that way you are guiding your write and will give you quality article but If you do't have knowledge about the topic writer is suppose to research for that.

 

1. A good writer should know to lead the customer into a more specific direction.

2. 3 articles from ezines as your sole source? Eeek! They are a secondary or even tertiary source. For a topic that I'm not familiar enough to write off the cuff...I start with Wikipedia and use it like an encyclopedia article (a place to get familiar with key players, terminology and a jumping off point) then I look for primary sources. Using other articles to write your own, IMHO, creates nothing really new. It might be in your writer's words but it's still the same information being presented.

As a disclaimer, I've nothing against ezines. But, if we are talking about researching an article properly, it would not be my first or even second choice of source material.

 

A good writer would do research. It helps if you can point him in the right direction though

 

YMC Of course what you say is true.

My point was only for a BEGINNING WRITER to see some of the higher quality articles . The more research you need, Google scholar, advanced search, etc. is then the starting point.
AFTER you learn to survive, then you learn how to make money. That is when research comes in.
-----------------It is always nice to see when someone does not take the easy way out, so my response was not directed at your methods, but at the original poster who has no method------------------------------------

 

if you want to write a good article research is always needed

 

"If you want to write a good article, research is always needed."

Short, and to the point.

 

To the OP's OQ: Both. If you have done research on your own it is a good idea to share it with your writer. The writer shoud, by no means, consider this his or her ONLY source for information and should take it as a jumping off point to do more research on his own (or her own).

Also: Ezine articles? Really? No no no. Over the last couple of years Ezines (which was a pretty good resource way back when) has turned into a directory of keyword stuffed traffic grabbing articles for affiliate marketers. The good articles are there, sure, but you have to spend a lot of time hunting to be able to find them. Even beginning articles shouldn't use Ezines as a first stop. Follow YML's advice and start with Wikipedia. Heck, start with an actual encyclopedia!

 

Good research comes from not only taking some guidance from the customer in terms of what sort of document this is going to be and who you are writing it for (your target audience) but also in being able to find good sources where you know you will be getting some genuine quotes / stats / whatever... research is much more than just looking at many sites for snippets of information - you need to know the important bits to quote and re-write and what sort of filler content you will be padding it out with.

At the end of the day, it must pass copyscape, be 100% unique and enticing. There is no point just saying "yes, I research al topics" then not know how to research.