Paranormal Investigations.

Rule #1 - NEVER investigate alone, not just for safety sake, but more importantly, for integrity's sake. ANY evidence can be falsified, so have a witness.  

Rule #2 - ALWAYS be respectful. Spirits/ghosts/entities are NOT there to entertain you or perform circus monkey tricks. Imagine that it was the spirit of your grandmother... would you appreciate people acting like a douchebag toward her? I didn't get along with mine and I'd still answer no.  

Rule #3 - Bring spares to the spare batteries. Whether it is an overactive EM field or an actual entity, batteries inevitably run out quicker than you think.  

Rule #4 - In the event that all the fancy equipment fails, go old school. A standard "disposable" camera can still be used to gather evidence. Don't be afraid to take notes manually. A pen and paper ought to be part of every investigator's tool kit.  

Rule #5 - YOU are the best piece of investigation equipment on site. Sure, fancy gadgets are fun to play with,  but at the end of the day, it is you that is doing the communicating with whatever the subject of investigation is, not the toys. All of your senses, (and yes, the little hairs on the back of your neck) are crucial to what we are doing.  

Rule #6 - Question EVERYTHING. Crystals, mystical mumbo-jumbo and proton packs aside, we are gathering and compiling scientific data for the purposes of presenting to others. It is not our job to decide for others what they should conclude from our observations. While we can, and will, express our thoughts on the evidence, it is, and always should be, up to any who would review our work to make up their own minds.  

Rule #7 - TRY to document/record everything, even the "down time" during the investigation. Some of the best, clearest recorded EVPs I have been witness to were captured in between question sessions.  

Rule #8 - Avoid recreational and illegal intoxicants, both before and during investigation. Not only will they cloud one's perception and judgment, it also reflects poorly on the integrity of any data gathered.