When it comes to sport betting doing a good research is very important, those that always study a game very well and conduct a good research about the game and the players always end up winning more than those that don't conduct research, a friend of mine said he usually do not conduct research before playing a game because it never works for him, conducting a research don't mean you will always win the game you predicted but you have a higher chance of winning when you research.
Doing research will help you analyze historical data reveals pattern that can guide your predictions, there are history that will help you make good prediction, Research helps you rely on facts rather than emotions.
Betting without research means you are gambling blindly.
Same way it is possible to trade blindly when the trader did not do any research and or analysis of the market to find out the direction it is potentially headed.
I agree with all that you have said, research indeed is can be that one spice we need to turn the constant loses to a more often wins..
But however, research is not easy, it's time consuming, and for someone like myself who is not a serious bettor, research sometimes doesn't seem to be worth it, seeing that the amount of money I am putting on the line isn't something I will have to cry over if lost, so, this is one of the reasons why most gamblers likely will not want to spend several hours doing research only to at the end of it all, place a bet with just $2.
Researching before placing bets is best suited for the high stakes/rollers, they put alot of money on the line, and it's important for them to do every thing possible to ensure that the money is not lost.
But still, not a bad idea for shrimp bettors, only thing is, like I said before, the money spent on bet is most times not worth the amount of time spent on research, and It can be discouraging.