[HJFudge]

Not the best player around, so take with a grain of salt.

I'd say that your research strategy should NEVER be general. There are some general rules of thumb to follow in certain situations, but in order to use magic effectively you have to take into account who is around you and what kind of enemy you are likely to be facing.

If you are near an aggressive player, going for research/magic boosters or Site Searching magic is a risk because if they decide to attack you early and have researched some nice battle spells it doesnt matter if you have the long term advantage of better research/more gem income because you will be dead.

On the other hand, if you are good at 'keeping the peace' you can get a decided gem income and research advantage by going for those paths first.

Everything depends on your neighbors, your nation, and your overall strategy.