1. Be resourceful. The key to investing is knowledge: know anything and everything about the company and the factors affecting its performance. There are 2 excellent resources for your stock market investment:

a. The newspaper. Get the most-updated information on the country or the region's economy. These largely influence the health of the stock market. Aside from the economy, news on politics, society and weather can affect your stock market investment.

b. The Internet. From Stock Market 101 to How-to-Be-the-next-Warren-Buffet (Forbes Magazine's 2nd richest man in the world), everything is in the Internet. Thank God for search engines: type a word and a host of information awaits! Make sure to visit the website of the company you intend to invest in, to get the official information on their corporate set-up, financial health, historical stock performance.

2. Be analytical. Information on the Internet can be overwhelming, but not all are accurate. Carefully scrutinize everything. The devil is in the detail ? or the lack of it. If you do not find credible information to support one claim, then move on to the next site. One quick tip: use your bookmarks when researching. Skim first through each link on the list and bookmark the ones that are useful, for later reading. Once you have 3 or 4 bookmarked, start your detailed stock market research.

3. Be strategic. You have the data, you know which ones to use, now decide ? is this the right time to invest on this company? Use your data to calculate your next move. The goal is always to end up at the earning more than what you invested. At this point, reading expert advice, or better yet, paying for one, will definitely help.

4. Be patient. Hand-in-hand with being strategic is being patient. If you do not need the money immediately, it is best to let it hold for a longer time. Stock market investment gains average 10-12% over a 10-year period. Net, if you hold on to your stock for or about that long, chances are, you will realize such level of gains.

5. Be on your toes. At the extreme end of patience is complacency. A good investor is never one. Watch out for IPO's that have a bullish outlook. Use digital tools (like SMS stock alerts or Blackberry breaking news) to get news as they happen. Do all the necessary moves before the bell rings!

Follow those 5 advices on stock market research and zoom your way to a profitable future!