The Craft of Research, Third Edition (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

Contents......Page 6
Preface: The Aims of This Edition......Page 12
Our Debts......Page 16
I RESEARCH, RESEARCHERS, AND READERS......Page 20
PROLOGUE: BECOMING A RESEARCHER......Page 22
1 Thinking in Print: The Uses of Research, Public and Private......Page 28
1.1 What Is Research?......Page 29
1.2 Why Write It Up?......Page 30
1.3 Why a Formal Report?......Page 32
1.4 Writing Is Thinking......Page 33
2.1 Creating Roles for Yourself and Your Readers......Page 35
2.2 Understanding Your Role......Page 37
2.3 Imagining Your Reader’s Role......Page 39
✩ Quick Tip: A Checklist for Understanding Your Readers......Page 45
II ASKING QUESTIONS, FINDING ANSWERS......Page 48
PROLOGUE: PLANNING YOUR PROJECT—AN OVERVIEW......Page 50
✩ Quick Tip: Creating a Writing Group......Page 53
3 From Topics to Questions......Page 54
3.1 From an Interest to a Topic......Page 55
3.2 From a Broad Topic to a Focused One......Page 58
3.3 From a Focused Topic to Questions......Page 59
3.4 From a Question to Its Significance......Page 64
✩ Quick Tip: Finding Topics......Page 68
4 From Questions to a Problem......Page 70
4.1 Distinguishing Practical and Research Problems......Page 71
4.2 Understanding the Common Structure of Problems......Page 73
4.3 Finding a Good Research Problem......Page 81
4.4 Learning to Work with Problems......Page 83
✩ Quick Tip: Manage the Unavoidable Problem of Inexperience......Page 85
5.1 Knowing How to Use Three Kinds of Sources......Page 87
5.2 Locating Sources through a Library......Page 89
5.3 Locating Sources on the Internet......Page 94
5.4 Evaluating Sources for Relevance and Reliability......Page 95
5.5 Following Bibliographical Trails......Page 99
5.7 Using People as Primary Sources......Page 100
✩ Quick Tip: The Ethics of Using People as Sources of Data......Page 102
6 Engaging Sources......Page 103
6.2 Record Complete Bibliographical Data......Page 104
6.3 Engaging Sources Actively......Page 106
6.4 Using Secondary Sources to Find a Problem......Page 107
6.5 Using Secondary Sources to Plan Your Argument......Page 111
6.6 Recording What You Find......Page 114
✩ Quick Tip: Manage Moments of Normal Anxiety......Page 120
III MAKING A CLAIM AND SUPPORTING IT......Page 122
PROLOGUE: ASSEMBLING A RESEARCH ARGUMENT......Page 124
7.1 Argument as a Conversation with Readers......Page 127
7.2 Supporting Your Claim......Page 129
7.3 Acknowledging and Responding to Anticipated Questions and Objections......Page 131
7.4 Warranting the Relevance of Your Reasons......Page 133
7.5 Building a Complex Argument Out of Simple Ones......Page 135
7.6 Creating an Ethos by Thickening Your Argument......Page 136
✩ Quick Tip: A Common Mistake—Falling Back onWhat You Know......Page 138
8.1 Determining the Kind of Claim You Should Make......Page 139
8.2 Evaluating Your Claim......Page 141
✩ Quick Tip: Qualifying Claims to Enhance Your Credibility......Page 146
9.1 Using Reasons to Plan Your Argument......Page 149
9.2 Distinguishing Evidence from Reasons......Page 150
9.3 Distinguishing Evidence from Reports of It......Page 152
9.4 Evaluating Your Evidence......Page 154
10 Acknowledgments and Responses......Page 158
10.1 Questioning Your Argument as Your Readers Will......Page 159
10.2 Imagining Alternatives to Your Argument......Page 161
10.3 Deciding What to Acknowledge......Page 162
10.4 Framing Your Responses as Subordinate Arguments......Page 164
10.5 The Vocabulary of Acknowledgment and Response......Page 165
✩ Quick Tip: Three Predictable Disagreements......Page 169
11 Warrants......Page 171
11.1 Warrants in Everyday Reasoning......Page 172
11.2 Warrants in Academic Arguments......Page 173
11.3 Understanding the Logic of Warrants......Page 174
11.4 Testing Whether a Warrant Is Reliable......Page 175
11.5 Knowing When to State a Warrant......Page 181
11.6 Challenging Others’ Warrants......Page 183
✩ Quick Tip: Two Kinds of Arguments......Page 188
IV PLANNING, DRAFTING, AND REVISING......Page 190
PROLOGUE: PLANNING AGAIN......Page 192
✩ Quick Tip: Outlining and Storyboarding......Page 194
12.1 Avoid Three Common but Flawed Plans......Page 196
12.2 Planning Your Report......Page 198
13.1 Draft in a Way That Feels Comfortable......Page 206
13.3 Quote, Paraphrase, and Summarize Appropriately......Page 207
13.4 Integrating Direct Quotations into Your Text......Page 208
13.5 Show Readers How Evidence Is Relevant......Page 209
13.6 Guard against Inadvertent Plagiarism......Page 210
13.7 The Social Importance of Citing Sources......Page 214
13.8 Four Common Citation Styles......Page 216
13.9 Work through Procrastination and Writer’s Block......Page 218
✩ Quick Tip: Indicating Citations in Your Text......Page 219
14 Revising Your Organization and Argument......Page 222
14.2 Revising the Frame of Your Report......Page 223
14.3 Revising Your Argument......Page 225
14.4 Revising the Organization of Your Report......Page 226
14.6 Let Your Draft Cool, Then Paraphrase It......Page 228
✩ Quick Tip: Abstracts......Page 230
15.1 Choosing Visual or Verbal Representations......Page 232
15.2 Choosing the Most Effective Graphic......Page 233
15.3 Designing Tables, Charts, and Graphs......Page 235
15.4 Specific Guidelines for Tables, Bar Charts, and Line Graphs......Page 239
15.5 Communicating Data Ethically......Page 245
16.1 The Common Structure of Introductions......Page 251
16.2 Step 1: Establish Common Ground......Page 254
16.3 Step 2: State Your Problem......Page 256
16.4 Step 3: State Your Response......Page 260
16.5 Setting the Right Pace for Your Introduction......Page 261
16.6 Writing Your Conclusion......Page 263
16.7 Finding Your First Few Words......Page 264
16.8 Finding Your Last Few Words......Page 266
✩ Quick Tip: Titles......Page 267
17.1 Judging Style......Page 268
17.2 The First Two Principles of Clear Writing......Page 270
17.3 A Third Principle: Old before New......Page 279
17.4 Choosing between Active and Passive......Page 281
17.5 A Final Principle: Complexity Last......Page 283
17.6 Spit and Polish......Page 286
✩ Quick Tip: The Quickest Revision Strategy......Page 287
V SOME LAST CONSIDERATIONS......Page 290
The Ethics of Research......Page 292
A Postscript for Teachers......Page 296
Appendix: Bibliographical Resources......Page 302
Index......Page 332