How to Start Research on Ethereum as a Beginner?

I’m a developer, just getting into this space. While I’ve worked on development, I’ve never done formal research in crypto before. I want to expand my knowledge and better understand the ecosystem from a research perspective.

Could you share some advice or resources for someone with development experience to get started with crypto research? I’m particularly interested in:

• Researching Ethereum protocols, scalability solutions, or DeFi.
• Understanding key academic or technical papers in this field.
• Tools, frameworks, or platforms commonly used in crypto research.

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!