The basics
It can sometimes take years to learn the intricacies of charting, so you might be better advised to buy an off-the-shelf system.
We have links to several reasonably priced, well constructed software packages.
And there are many books on the science such as an Investor's Guide to Charting, Technical Analysis Plain & Simple and Technical Analysis for Dummies.
But before you shell out hard earned cash, take a look at the basics.
Nowadays, chart data is available to both retail and professional investors - a far more level playing field than applies to company research.
Technical analysis takes the emotion and gut instinct out of share buying.
It suggests that while history may not repeat itself exactly, patterns do emerge.
And by following these patterns we can to some extent extrapolate and predict the future.