Yes, some of this is an anxiety thing for me. I need to know or I stress. But sometimes I just enjoy knowing. So part two question would be: why do you like knowing a lot, or why do you like just summarizing the knowledge?

For me, it depends on how relevant it is to me (for example, the dog melanoma, if I had a dog and the dog had melanoma), or how interested I am in the topic. I would research an art project because I like art and do a lot of crafty things, but I wouldn’t research engines for a 1964 Mustang because I am not interested in that topic.

For me the answer is simple, until you feel you understand it. Until you know what you are dealing with.

When it comes to medical things, if the treatment being suggested involves surgery, I would do a lot of research before agreeing to it, if I was lucky enough to be able to.

Medications I usually look up before I take them, but I don’t obsess about it, I just usually look at the insert information, and depending what it is, I might ask other people if they have experience with it.

If I get a new diagnosis of some condition I do research it, although it depends how dire it is or how sick it is making me for how much research I do.

Keep in mind I have a hard time trusting doctors.

Topics I’m just interested in I might Google a little, but I rarely go extremely in depth about any topic. Sometimes it randomly comes up again, like an informative TV show on the topic, or someone else brings up the topic, and it revives my desire to look into the topic again, but it’s still usually very short lived.

When I’m traveling somewhere, I research extensively – hotels, reviews, places to see, etc.

My answer is pretty similar to @jca2. Though I’d be reluctant to use the term “research,” which has academic connotations. To be clear, what I do is Googling around to learn more about something. It’s a far cry from actual research.

@jca2 That’s a good example. I do that too.

Okay so not really what I do then. You guys just do basic searches.

@SergeantQueen: It depends on what you call “basic.”

It depends on my level of curiosity and how long I want to wait until my computer downloads it.

Depends on what it is. If I’m looking up a recipe for corn bread or something not very far. If it’s a sensitive repair then rather deeply. A good portion of the “info” on Youtube now is either not quite right or even dangerously wrong. Over the last five years or so especially on Youtube content creators copy the info from other successful videos and provide the information as gospel with out any real checking. The result is often that bad information propagates to the most watched videos. Most people do a rough surface scan of things, especially politics and current events. We all do it, myself included. We don’t have super powers or endless amounts of time. You have to pick your battles. One of the biggest hurdles humanity faces right now is that in a sea of information there are far too few people or outlets who we trust to provide correct, unbiased information.

I have a combination of levels of searching; sounds like others do too. If it’s medical, I definitely do a lot of reading on good sites, then follow through by asking the doctors questions. I’ve spent literally hours in more than one day searching. I usually either get satisfied or exhausted and quit. Why do I do it? Mostly because it makes me feel safer, especially with medical knowledge or something else important. Now whether that sense of security is false or not, I don’t know, but I do feel better. I believe that some knowledge is better than none, which is why I stick to trusted sites like Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, and MD Anderson, etc.

I really liked @erebus9, @JLeslie and @gorillapaws‘s answers.

If it’s something I’m interested in, I will research fairly deep. I am curious about many things and I rarely stop at surface knowledge. I’ve been that way all my life. Now, when it comes to health/medical things, I find that research (even if necessary) causes my anxiety to increase (I’m a hypochondriac and have a fear of hospitals and medical procedures) so…yeah…

It really depends on how important it is to me and if knowing more may benefit me. When it comes to my husband’s or my family members’ health or my own, I really dive in. Medications and known treatments and holistic approaches even. I look into the side effects of all of them. When it’s something, like politics, I won’t dive too deep. You just end up buried in crap and in the end, only voting can help and getting information out, but you can’t make everyone vote the way you think they should. Though sometimes curiosity can take me into researching stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with me but for some reason I must know the answer.