Wikipedia is incredibly comprehensive. It’s unlikely that you are going to use the search engine for strictly academic purposes, and therefore, it is irrelevant that some of its entries may be questionable (as anyone can create a post). Conversely, Wikipedia is of benefit to you for this exact reason – its entries are current, constantly updated, and broad. Wikipedia entries are notably straightforward and simple. They can give you a brief but informative introduction to what would otherwise be a complex topic or process. These summaries may lead you to your next research questions.

Wikipedia also provides a wealth of other resources to continue gathering information – it provides sections under each entry titled “References” and “External Links”. If you haven’t found the information you need from the article, it is extremely likely you will do so now. For example, I searched “7/11 convenience stores”. Although the information I wanted wasn’t in the actual article, I clicked on the link “7/11 Global Sites Index” at the bottom of the page, and was transferred to a page that gave me exactly what I wanted. Wikipedia provides access to sites that you might otherwise spend countless hours trying to find.

There is little that isn’t on Wikipedia. Do yourself a favor and start your research here. It’s a tool I constantly use.

“This article is courtesy of Stephen Key’s “Invention And Product Ideas” blog on allbusiness.com. Also note that Stephen¹s inventRight.com web site gives free tele-seminars every other week teaching inventors how to sell their ideas.

Stephen Key is a successful inventor who has licensed his ideas for over 25 years. Several of his products have been endorsed by celebrities such as Michael Jordan and Alex Trebek, and sold in retailing giants such as WalMart, Walgreens and Disney stores and theme parks worldwide.

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