From one point of view, ''one of my secrets in collecting relevant materials for a research paper'' is a careful planning of the experiments I conduct trying to identify and control as much as possible the sources of error and bias.
A good review of literature will go a long way in crafting a nice paper. The use of referencing software such as Mendeley or Endnote helps to take note of important points and ideas from articles being reviewed. By the time you finish the review, you must have gathered sufficient information and ideas. However, given that writing is an art, the logical presentation of your paper rests on you as an author.