You shouldnt have to do a TON of research, from what I can tell there are the basics that will work if you follow them closely. I am just starting on my first grow so i may be way off...
keep your Ph at 5.8 for hydro 6.5 for soil
keep your air temp around 20 degrees celcius
medium temp around 22
ppm under 500 for first week than slowly climb to 800 and eventually to 1200 if your plants can handle it
let your soil become very close to dry before rewatering and give them decent soak but not waterlog
grow in a proper medium that allows air to move through and still hold a good amount of water, this will allow a 20% runoff without overwatering to leach out extra unused nutes
put a good amount of light on the plants, follow a chart to find proper distances and dont undershoot the lighting, MH for veg and HPS for flower
16/8 light cycle for veg and 12/12 for flower
keep the air moving and bring in fresh air for CO2 and oxygen
humidity levels should be kept down to avoid mold, 60% is good for veg and 40% is good for flower 90+ if rooting fresh clones
use clean water with low sodium and chlorine content, always make sure its at the right Ph, dont just use it straight from the tap
Now maybe I'm wrong and I really hope that I'm not, but from what ive read this is pretty much the proven way to grow so if you follow it very closely you should have a good result. Is there anything else that should be included there? that doesnt take alot of research and even an "idiot" can find that info with some effort. I think the trouble is people try to cut corners and dont follow that closely, I am on day 10 and already fucked up a bit by having my lights too far from seedlings, now they are stretch and floppy