Salary expectations: how do you answer? - what worked for you?

A recruiter asked for my salary expectations on a first call as I look for work as a recruiter. I also do not want to sell myself short. How do you research fairly?

Benefits matter too. A slightly lower rate with better coverage was better for me.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.