to add to the above mentioned there is the vast amount of kknolage to be found on these fourms and various youtube youtube videos, even tho some arnt very explanitory usually they have at least a tidbit of usefull inside and its that little bit that can make a world of difference
Reduction method... Begin by solving the centers, then pair up the edges, then solve it like a 3x3 cube. You might then run into 2 problems. One is you might have 1 edge pair that is flipped -- this is described as a OLL parity that you would need to figure out. The other problem is a PLL parity where only 2 "pieces" need swapping. (By "pieces" I regard 1 edge pair as 1 "piece".) Again, this you should be able to figure out. Search here or use Google for more info.
absolome, youtube is a great help, I forgot what tut I used, I'll try to look it up
I think it was by Thawst or RobH0629 (because those are the two top results and I don't look that far in a search engine)