Researching Companies
Research is a very important of investing. In addition to researching things like software and brokers, you should look into the specific companies you are interested in investing in.
Some things to include in your research are: what multiple of earnings is the company trading at as compared to other companies in the industry; how has the stock done recently, is it at a high or low - this info is usually found through technical analysis; find out how much times the book value or times sales is the company trading as compared to other companies in the same industry; are they being sued; do they have good products with a recognizable brand name; what is management like. These are just a few things you can look into.
The SEC and EDGAR both have a wealth of information that can be used when researching companies.