Whether or not one is a Laurel in the SCA, there needs to be a clear understanding that the research is never really done.  Modern science provides a rapidly moving target in some fields, with newer, better, research being added daily to our understanding of the past.  We have to be willing to flex with new methods of research and reframe our understanding with each new discovery.

Do you remember the time when we thought that the aprondress was a ubiquitous female Viking garment that was essentially a tabard type thing?​  Yes, I am talking about the "tea towel" version of the aprondress that is two rectangular panels with straps and brooches.  This garment is far from functional and, honestly, makes little sense.

Now the reigning theories point towards closed garments (rather than flaps or wraps), with narrow looped straps for the most part.  

We also now understand that the aprondress might not have been worn by all women, or in all locations, or at all periods of time in the Viking Age.  The garment fell out of fashion earlier in some areas, such as Denmark.  In other areas it might only have been for the wealthy (those who could afford brooches).  And my personal opinion is that it was also not a work garment, but something for more special occasions (again, making it a status garment).  (I talk a bit about these ideas in my article HERE.) 

These are not the only ways in which research changes.  You can look at my Egtved bibliography HERE and see that new ideas about her origins were published, but there was a rebuttal to that science shortly after.  

When starting a new endeavor, it is critical that we look for current information as one could easily waste time with decades old ideas that have been pretty well debunked.  That being said, it is also often well worth the time to read older works as well, because there might be other details in those pages that are not included in a more specific modern article.

Another very recent examples of this is one that a friend (Countess Gwendolen in the SCA) alerted me to the fact that the most recent issue of ATN (Issue 62, available HERE) is now available.  Here Karina Grömer has an article that re-examines two formerly-though-to-be Bronze Age linen twills from Hallstatt.  They have been carbon dated now to the 15th-17th century CE.  

This knowledge drastically changes our view of Bronze Age Hallstatt textiles. These were the only linen examples we had (there is one disintegrated blob that possibly contains wool and a bast fibre, but this removes two of the three twills from the catalog of Bronze Age Hallstatt textiles (the third is wool).  This means that tabby weave really is your best choice in fabric for the period.  It also removes the only example of stem stitch from the period (which means sticking with hem/overcast and buttonhole are still your best options for sewing).

​Sometimes we think we have the academic article that will help prove a point we want to make, provide the perfect foundation from which to expand our work, or just help fill in the gaps the way other things have not previously done so.  We might get lucky and have this item show up on a service like Academia.edu in all of its intellectual glory, just waiting for us to hit ‘download’ but sometimes it is not that easy at all. 

Academia.edu is a fantastic start, but not everything is posted there in full (or at all).  You can also try services such as ResearchGate, Google Scholar, or JStor as well.  If that fails, look for the author’s site (or their page of an institution site) online as sometimes they have links there for their articles.  If the article is older, sometimes writing to them will also help, as they can sometimes freely send out a PDF for the piece.  (Note that if you do not pay for Academia.edu you cannot fully search the site, but you can often get to the thing you need by using the researchers name, or the name of the paper, and "academia.edu" in a google search.)
 
You can also search the publisher’s website.  Sometimes they offer things for free (occasionally even whole books), or at least for a reasonable fee for a chance to read it for 24 hours.  If the article is part of an academic book rather than a journal, you might even find it accessible, at least in part, via Google Books.  (Hint, if you cannot view all of the pages for something, grab a sentence from the last page you could view and search for it again in a different browser or on a different device.  Sometimes that will let you see more of the document.)
 
Sometimes, just typing in the title of the article and “PDF” will take you to a page that has a download for the item.  Be careful here though in making sure that this is a legitimate source as there are sometimes sites, often foreign, that are just looking to hijack your computer with malware or a virus. 
 
If you have access to a university library, they can usually source needed items for you as well (and sometimes that can even happen through your local library, especially using ILL for books that are not journals).
 
Another option is to try to search for other items by the same author.  Often, as part of their body of work on a subject, a researcher will write about the topic from several different directions, or include various parts of the information in short articles.  You might even try looking for that person's dissertation or thesis online if it was on the same subject.  It is possible that the knowledge you seek is located in more than one place, in more than just that one article that you think you need.  It is also quite likely that you will learn something you didn’t even know you wanted to know by looking at the bigger picture.
 
Also, do not hesitate to network with others who share your interest.  Often it is likely that someone else has already pulled that piece and they might be willing to send you a copy.  Fellow researchers tend to love to geek out when others share their interests and there is so much more we can learn together!