This is a brief overview of some of the icons in the game, what they mean, in the order you are likely to encounter them. The main thing to watch out for is the rate that danger is increasing or decreasing, and secondarily, the rate at which you are gaining or losing cash. You can think of research as the score for now, but there is much to be done with further development!
Get cash. This is how you get started, but be careful spamming it, as it does increase danger.
Hire agents. This is currently the best way to reduce danger. It does cost a steady amount of money though, so make sure you're ready to handle it.
Open savings accounts. The simplest way to get more cash, takes a fair bit to open them, but steady income.
Go on expeditions to retrieve SCPs. Fairly dangerous, takes some time to complete, and you get something new. (Eventually, this will hopefully be one of the stronger aspects of the game. For now, there is only one SCP available.)
You'll probably run into the bank fairly quickly. Very useful to get some cash going, but be careful, you need cash to get more cash when using the bank(s).
After you've completed a few expeditions, you'll have a more dangerous research option available. ;)
By now, you've probably had some agents die. If you don't want to have to worry as much about replacing them, it's a good idea to set up management for that. Remember, you can turn it on and off any time.
If you see this, you might be in danger. It only shows up when danger is increasing too quickly to be controlled by agents. Use it sparingly to save yourself, as it has a severe downside the more you use it.
And the last thing I'll cover for now, you can use convicts to take on the dangerous aspects of things. Cheaper than agents, that's for sure. ;)