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    Craft of Research

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    cckan
    The document summarizes key points from chapters in the book "The Craft of Research" which provides guidance on writing research papers. It discusses developing a research topic and question, finding and evaluating sources, constructing an argument with claims, evidence and warrants, and revising by refining organization and style. The book advises starting early by writing as you research, outlining your argument, and seeing the first draft as a foundation to build upon through revision, rather than a final product.

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    Craft of Research

    Uploaded by

    cckan
    169 views7 pages
    The document summarizes key points from chapters in the book "The Craft of Research" which provides guidance on writing research papers. It discusses developing a research topic and question, finding and evaluating sources, constructing an argument with claims, evidence and warrants, and revising by refining organization and style. The book advises starting early by writing as you research, outlining your argument, and seeing the first draft as a foundation to build upon through revision, rather than a final product.

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    The document summarizes key points from chapters in the book "The Craft of Research" which provides guidance on writing research papers. It discusses developing a research topic and question, finding and evaluating sources, constructing an argument with claims, evidence and warrants, and revising by refining organization and style. The book advises starting early by writing as you research, outlining your argument, and seeing the first draft as a foundation to build upon through revision, rather than a final product.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    169 views7 pages

    Craft of Research

    Uploaded by

    cckan
    The document summarizes key points from chapters in the book "The Craft of Research" which provides guidance on writing research papers. It discusses developing a research topic and question, finding and evaluating sources, constructing an argument with claims, evidence and warrants, and revising by refining organization and style. The book advises starting early by writing as you research, outlining your argument, and seeing the first draft as a foundation to build upon through revision, rather than a final product.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 7

    Summary of

    The Craft of Research


    Students are asked to write dozens of papers while they are in college. But where are they supposed
    to get the training to write solid, well-researched reports? The Craft of Research is a guide to
    researching, structuring, organizing, writing, and documenting any topic of interest. My research
    methods students (COMM 250) are required to buy it and read it. Here is a summary of the main
    points.
    Booth, W., Colomb, G., & Williams, J. (1995). The craft of research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Part 1: Research, Researchers, & Readers


    Chap. 1 Thinking in Print: The Uses of Research, Public & Private
    What is Research?
    Gathering information needed to answer a question
    Who does research?
    Most of us do (informal) research every day
    Why do research?
    Research by others determines most of what each of us believes about the world
    Why write it up?
    1. To remember
    2. To understand
    3. To gain perspective
    Why turn it into a formal paper? (and learn new rules for presenting the information?)
    1. It will give you new ways of thinking
    2. Since it is more demanding to write for other, your
    ideas and connections among them will be clearer

    Chap. 2 Connecting with Your Readers: (Re-)Creating Your Self and Your
    Audience
    Conversations among researchers:
    1. Research papers and term papers are conversations
    2. You must be aware of your audience
    3. What type of relationship do you want with them?
    4. You get to create a role for yourself and your reader
    Think about your readers:
    1. We know things about them:
    - they have their own interests and preconceived ideas
    2. Is your question is a live issue in your community or readers?
    3. Where do your readers stand in respect to your answer?
    4. What do you expect of your readers:
    1

    accept new knowledge


    change beliefs
    perform an action

    Writers and their common problems:


    1. Experts have the same problems as novices, but are better
    equipped
    2. Be aware uncertainties will arise
    3. Master your topic by writing about it along the way
    4. Control the complexities of your task
    5. Count on your teacher to understand your struggles
    6. Keep at it

    Part 2: Asking Questions, Finding Answers


    Three keys for working in groups:
    1. Talk together a lot
    2. Agree to disagree, then to agree
    3. Organize yourself into a team with a leader
    Three strategies for working in groups:
    1. Divide, delegate, & conquer
    2. Write side-by-side
    3. Take turns

    Chap. 3 From Topics to Questions


    The process of choosing what to research:
    1. Interests:
    Choose an interest in a broad subject area
    2. Topics:
    Narrow the interest to a plausible topic
    3. Questions Question that topic from several points of view
    :
    4. Problems: Define a rationale for your project
    Each step requires getting more specific. There are four perspectives on research topics that can
    help you narrow your interest to a research question:
    1. Identify the parts and whole of your topic and questions
    2. Trace the history and changes of your topic
    3. Identify its categories and characteristics
    4. Determine its value
    Making the case for the significance of a research question:
    1. Name your topic
    2. Suggest a question
    3. Motivate the question

    Chap. 4 - From Questions to Problems


    2

    The research cycle:


    Practical problems lead to research problems, and the answers are intended to help solve the
    practical problems.
    Practical problems:
    1. originate in the world
    2. Are based on some cost to society
    3. Are solved by taking action in the real world
    Research problems:
    1. originate in your mind
    2. Are based on incomplete knowledge or flawed understanding
    3. Are solved by gathering useful information
    Applied Research:
    1. The rationale for the research defines what you wish to DO
    2. The consequences of the research are tangible
    3. The research is applied because knowledge gained will be
    applied to solve an immediate practical problem
    Pure Research:
    1. The rationale for the research defines what you wish to KNOW
    2. The consequences of the research are conceptual
    3. The research is pure because knowledge is pursued for its own
    sake

    Chap. 5 - From Questions to Sources


    Three types of sources:
    Primary
    Materials that you are directly writing about; data
    Secondar Books and articles in which others report their research
    y
    Tertiary
    Books and articles that describe or synthesize the research of
    others
    NOTE: Your instructor disagrees with the above categories. Scholars in communication and most
    other social sciences generally agree on the following dichotomy:
    Primary
    First-hand reports of research (e.g., journal articles)
    Secondar Second-hand reports of the research of others (e.g.,
    y
    textbooks)

    Chap. 6 Using Sources


    Using secondary sources:
    1. One good source is worth more than dozens of mediocre sources
    2. One accurate summary of a good source is worth more than the
    source itself
    3

    Read critically:
    1. Evaluate your sources
    2. Take full notes
    3. Get complete bibliographical information
    4. Get attributions right
    5. Get the context right
    6. Get help ask others to review your ideas and writing

    Part 3: Making a Claim and Supporting It


    Chap. 7 - Making Good Arguments
    4 components:
    Claims
    Evidence
    Warrants
    Qualification
    s

    what the reader is asked to accept (believe)


    why
    why the evidence is (necessary &) sufficient
    limits on the claims

    Qualifications - (pay me now or pay me later)


    can qualify in the hypotheses
    can qualify after evidence doesnt fully support the hypotheses

    Chap. 8 - Claims and Evidence


    Anticipate the So What?! question
    The nature of claims - must be . . . (or readers will dismiss . . .)
    substantive
    contestable (non-intuitive, requires convincing)
    specific
    The nature of evidence - must be . . . (or readers will dismiss . . .)
    accurate
    at right level of detail (precision)
    sufficient
    representative (properly generalizable)
    authoritative (methods, literature citations, constructs, etc.)
    perspicuity (clear; plainly understood due to clarity of presentation; the proper level of
    detail/explanation)
    Evidence is esp. Important because readers predisposed to reject your claims will question your
    evidence carefully.
    OUTLINE YOUR ARGUMENT !

    Chapter 9 - Warrants
    Warrants:
    if X then Y
    Warrants - 3 criteria:
    describe the (general kind of) evidence
    describe the general kind of claim that follows
    describe the connection (cause/effect, correlation, intervening)
    Clear thinking required !!!
    false warrants
    unclear warrants
    inappropriate warrants
    inapplicable warrants

    Chap. 10 - Qualifications
    Be Reasonable! (In your claims)
    anticipate and address objections
    concede (if you cant rebut)
    stipulate limiting conditions
    limit the scope and certainty of claims & evidence

    Part 4: Preparing to Draft, Drafting, & Revising


    Chap. 11 - Pre-Drafting and Drafting
    Its easy to put off writing. But if you write as you go (as you read, organize, and plan) starting the
    first draft is much easier. You know you are ready to start the first draft if you have thought about:
    1. Your major research question
    2. A possible answer
    3. A body of evidence to support the answer
    4. The major warrants
    5. The objections you will have to rebut
    6. The objections you cannot rebut
    A plan for drafting:
    1. Write out your main point, then determine where to put it (typically, the last sentence of your
    introduction)
    2. Formulate a working introduction (but plan to write a final version of the introduction LAST!)
    3. Follow the intro with the information needed for readers to understand the rest of the paper
    4. Rework your outline. Try different approaches. Reliable approaches include:
    old to new
    shorter & simpler to longer & more complex
    uncontested to more contested
    5

    Some people write quick & dirty drafts, others need to write slow & clean, perfecting the paper
    sentence by sentence. Quick & dirty writing has several advantages:
    1. Going with the flow; getting ideas down as you think of them (not
    stopping to fix spelling and sentence structure)
    2. When the flow stops, you have other tasks to do
    Pitfalls to avoid at all costs:
    1. Straightforward plagiarism of words (quote the source!)
    2. Straightforward plagiarism of ideas (cite the source!)
    3. Indirect plagiarism of words (changing a few words is still
    plagiarism!)
    4. Become aware you are plagiarizing. One test:
    if your eyes are on the source work, not your paper or
    computer screen, as you type - you are probably plagiarizing
    The biggest difference between good and poor writing is the attitude about the first draft:
    poor writers see the first draft as a triumph they are near the end!
    Good writers see the first draft as a sketch now comes the equally important work of refining the
    paper

    Chap. 12 - Communicating Evidence Visually


    No summary is provided here since it requires accompanying examples. Please see the text.

    Chap. 13 - Revising Your Organization and Argument


    Again, keep the reader in mind.
    More important than punctuation and spelling is the big picture:
    how well do the major elements fit together?
    Does it tell a complete story?
    Four steps in analyzing and revising the organization of the paper:
    1. Identify sentences that clearly summarize your introduction, conclusion, and main claim
    2. Identify the major sections of the paper and the main point sentences for each
    3. Identify in the introduction your central concepts and be sure youve focused on them
    throughout
    4. Step back to examine the overall shape of your paper
    Revising your argument:
    1. Identify your argument
    2. Evaluate the quality of your argument
    Is the evidence clearly connected to your claim?
    Have you qualified your argument?
    Do you provide reasons and anticipate objections?
    What warrants have you left unexpressed?
    (What else must the readers believe before they accept your claims?)
    6

    Chap. 14 - Revising Style: Telling Your Story Clearly


    Three principles of clear writing:
    1. Stories and grammars (advice about making sentence subjects the main
    characters in your paper, avoid nominalizing verbs, etc.)
    2. Old before new (present new information after familiar information)
    3. Complexity last (present simple information before complex information)

    Chap. 15 - Introductions
    The structure of a good introduction:
    1. Provide context for your ideas
    2. State the problem
    Incomplete knowledge about some topic
    The consequences of that incomplete knowledge
    3. Provide a solution or response too the problem
    This is your main point and main claim

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