What are the different types of research done for print media?

Different types of research for print media are no different than any other type of research and include the following:

1. Eyewitness accounts - these are ideal.
2. Archive digging - Lexis-Nexis and micro-fiche.
3. Second-hand accounts - a source who was not there but close to someone who was
4. Library entrenchment - search the stacks of your local library for professional periodicals and non-fiction books related to the topic.
5. Government Archive Retrieval - due to the Freedom of Information Act, this is now easier to accomplish...depending on the topic you may need a court order and [opinion] if a given government does not want you to have a file, document or other media from their archives; be vigilant. Pester them; yet do not expect anything more than a heavily-redacted, partially deleted or obfuscated copy. Report it as such if you suspect this (Redacted copies have big blackout marks on them. Like the opposite of a highlighter.
6. Forensic Accounting: Tax records - you won't find any obfuscation or redaction there!
7. Go under-cover: per SPJ Ethics, this should only be used if NO OTHER MEANS to obtain information pertinent to the public good are available. It's just like CI's in Special Investigation Units in law-enforcement agencies across the United States. You'll become a different person - get a job at the company you are investigating; join the gang need info on. The benefits lead to monuments of Journalism that change society a la "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair. Beware: if you blow your cover...it could be curtains. I personally do not recommend going UC.
8. The Rumor-Mill - again, to be avoided, but sometimes this system is the only way to even approach the truth. REMEMBER - "the telephone game," third, fourth, fifth-hand accounts get geometrically unreliable per degree of separation from the source. In your report: QUALIFY that the material is "speculation" ...again, per SPJ Ethics. Never report rumor as truth. Note I did NOT SAY "never report rumor" if that's all you got than go w/ it, especially if you work in broadcasting where deadlines dictate that if you have zilcho - you "havey no story," Sumthin always better than nuthin'