Oh come now, you're doing the mod a disservice. Yeah, you do have to accumulate research points by exploring and scanning everything you find---but that's the intended purpose of the changes to the research system, and I quite enjoy it.
Just a few tips (I don't doubt you know at least some of these, but I'm sure they'll be helpful to someone):
- When you scan something new, use the "U" key in NEI to list all the things you can craft with it, and scan those. Then go in the other direction, and scan the things it came from. Gold Ingot = Gold Ore, Gold Ingot, Gold Nugget, Gold Block... plus a full set of gold armor, since you can smelt it back to ingots when you're done.
- If there are certain primal aspects you're constantly running low on (Ordo, for me), take note of the "kinds" of objects that tend to carry it, so you can be extra-vigilant for opportunities to accumulate more.
- Whenever you "don't have the knowledge for" something, put a sample of one in a "Mystery Chest" so you won't forget to rescan it later. (There's a bit of a research bottleneck that stops you from scanning even some very common objects, until you reach the Nether and are able to unlock a few important aspects there.)
- Periodically run your cursor over your inventory while holding "Shift", so you can see what items you haven't scanned---not fifteen minutes ago, I was shocked to discover I hadn't ever scanned an Ordo Shard (!)
- Definitely make sure you scan everything you make that comes from ThaumCraft itself, since all those items carry TONS of aspects. A lot of the higher-end vanilla items carry a ton of aspects too, like Enchanting Tables and Bookshelves.
- And don't forget to scan mobs (pro tip: put a Pumpkin on your head so you can look at an Enderman long enough to scan him).
- Don't spend too many aspects at the research table. Plan out your moves in advance, clear the dummy runes out of the way, and only then deactivate your runes and move them into place.
