The Craft of Research, Third Edition (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)
by Wayne C. Booth
from University Of Chicago Press
Now, seasoned researchers and educators Gregory G. Colomb and Joseph M. Williams present an updated third edition of their classic handbook, whose first and second editions were written in collaboration with the late Wayne C. Booth. The Craft of Research explains how to build an argument that motivates readers to accept a claim; how to anticipate the reservations of readers and to respond to them appropriately; and how to create introductions and conclusions that answer that most demanding question, “So what?”
The third edition includes an expanded discussion of the essential early stages of a research task: planning and drafting a paper. The authors have revised and fully updated their section on electronic research, emphasizing the need to distinguish between trustworthy sources (such as those found in libraries) and less reliable sources found with a quick Web search. A chapter on warrants has also been thoroughly reviewed to make this difficult subject easier for researchers.
Throughout, the authors have preserved the amiable tone, the reliable voice, and the sense of directness that have made this book indispensable for anyone undertaking a research project.
Practical Research: Planning and Design (8th Edition)
by Paul D. Leedy
from Prentice Hall
Written in uncommonly engaging, lucid, and elegant prose, this book is an “understand-it-yourself, do-it-yourself” manual designed to help readers understand the fundamental structure of quality research and the methodical process that leads to genuinely significant results.
It guides the reader, step-by-step, from the selection of a problem to study, through the process of conducting authentic research, to the preparation of a completed report, with practical suggestions based on a solid theoretical framework and sound pedagogy. This book will show readers two things: 1) that quality research demands planning and design; and, 2) how their own research projects can be executed effectively and professionally. For researchers and research analysts in any discipline.
The Craft of Research, 2nd edition (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)
by Wayne C. Booth
from University Of Chicago Press
Skillfully done, research can be the solid cornerstone of your term paper (or dissertation, essay, or article); inadequately executed, it can cause your whole project to crumble and fall. Yet essential as research is to the ultimate success of your work, performing it is not an innate talent. The precepts, steps, and skills of solid research are readily acquired if you spend some time with The Craft of Research before you start on your outlines and thesis statements. Written by three distinguished professors in 1995, published by the University of Chicago, and winner of the 1995-96 Critics' Choice Award, The Craft of Research teaches how to plan, carry out, and report on research for any field and at any level. Aimed at assisting student researchers, from raw beginners to accomplished graduate and professional students, the book shows how to choose a topic, plan and organize research, and how to draft and revise a report of findings such that a convincing solution is offered to a significant problem.
The Craft of Research is more than just another instruction manual getting you from topic to outline to notes to report. Recognizing that good research is rarely a simple, sequential procedure, but is instead a complex and intricate process, it discusses the subtle ways in which asking questions about your topic can influence how you draft your report, how a quality introduction can send you back to the library, and how the process of drafting can highlight flaws in your argument that need to be addressed. Clear and explicit, sophisticated and practical, The Craft of Research encourages high standards of scholarly achievement, and spells out the steps by which to get there. --Stephanie Gold
Like its predecessor, this new edition reflects the way researchers actually work: in a complex circuit of thinking, writing, revising, and rethinking. It shows how each part of this process influences the others and how a successful research report is an orchestrated conversation between a researcher and a reader. Along with many other topics, The Craft of Research explains how to build an argument that motivates readers to accept a claim; how to anticipate the reservations of thoughtful yet critical readers and to respond to them appropriately; and how to create introductions and conclusions that answer that most demanding question, "So what?"
Celebrated by reviewers for its logic and clarity, this popular book retains its five-part structure. Part 1 provides an orientation to the research process and begins the discussion of what motivates researchers and their readers. Part 2 focuses on finding a topic, planning the project, and locating appropriate sources. This section is brought up to date with new information on the role of the Internet in research, including how to find and evaluate sources, avoid their misuse, and test their reliability.
Part 3 explains the art of making an argument and supporting it. The authors have extensively revised this section to present the structure of an argument in clearer and more accessible terms than in the first edition. New distinctions are made among reasons, evidence, and reports of evidence. The concepts of qualifications and rebuttals are recast as acknowledgment and response. Part 4 covers drafting and revising, and offers new information on the visual representation of data. Part 5 concludes the book with an updated discussion of the ethics of research, as well as an expanded bibliography that includes many electronic sources.
The new edition retains the accessibility, insights, and directness that have made The Craft of Research an indispensable guide for anyone doing research, from students in high school through advanced graduate study to businesspeople and government employees. The authors demonstrate convincingly that researching and reporting skills can be learned and used by all who undertake research projects.
New to this edition:
Extensive coverage of how to do research on the internet, including how to evaluate and test the reliability of sources
New information on the visual representation of data
Expanded bibliography with many electronic sources
The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual, A Student's Guide to Techniques
by James W. Zubrick
from Wiley
* Praised by students and faculty for its clarity, use of humor, and appropriate amount of detail.
* Emphasis on safety in the lab encourages students to maintain safe practices.
* Succinct coverage of information makes it ideal for quick reference in the lab.
* Short sections with targeted information make information easier to find and comprehend.
Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods
by Michael Quinn Patton
from Sage Publications, Inc
"On dissertation proposals on which I have served, Patton is by far the most cited qualitative research text."
Ian Baptiste, Penn State University
The book that has been a resource and training tool for countless applied researchers, evaluators, and graduate students has been completely revised with hundreds of new examples and stories illuminating all aspects of qualitative inquiry. Patton has created the most comprehensive, systematic, and up-to-date review of qualitative methods available.
"I am dazzled by the extent of the material that this book describes and clarifies. Patton has shifted the focus of the text to qualitative inquiry in general, which includes qualitative evaluation. New examples from his own work and that of others serve to clarify and deepen understanding of qualitative research topics and processes. New discussion of many current issues and debates in qualitative scholarship (autoethnography, ethical issues of informed consent and confidentiality, focus group/group interviews, computer-assisted analysis, the complexity of creating criteria for judging the quality of qualitative research, etc.) will bring readers up-to-date with the variety in perspectives about (and the variety within) qualitative inquiry. Most of the chapters in the book have been substantially reorganized in ways that augment the reader’s understanding. When anyone asks me about conducting qualitative inquiry, I will say: ‘Get Patton’s book’."
Corrine Glesne, author of Becoming Qualitative Researchers
The Third Edition has retained and expanded upon the exhibits, which highlight and summarize major issues, guidelines, the summative sections, tables, and figures as well as the sage advice of the Sufi-Zen master, Halcolm. This revision will help readers integrate and make sense of the great volume of qualitative works published in the past decade.
"Clearly, this is a vastly improved, much more comprehensive, cogently systematic, and timely review-a tour de force, one might say-of the field of qualitative research, in terms of the theoretical, conceptual, methodological, and normative dimensions/foundations of qualitative research. This is one of the strengths of the volume. It seeks to bring together theory and practice/methods without overburdening one or the other--this is as rare as it is commendable, not to mention extremely useful, not only for the professional researcher, but for the "non-professional" as well."
Lester Edwin J. Ruiz, New York Theological Seminar
New to this Edition
- Integrates and makes sense of the great volume of qualitative works published in the past decade
- Offers strategies for enhancing quality and credibility of qualitative findings by presenting a new framework for differentiating five contrasting and competing sets of standards for judging the quality and utility of findings
- Unravels the complexities of mixed methods and triangulation
- Explains the new issues and approaches to fieldwork as well as providing detailed analytical guidelines, including software and computer-assisted options
- Explores, compares and contrasts 16 different theoretical and philosophical approaches to qualitative inquiry
- Examines alternative interviewing strategies and approaches, including focus group interviews, group interviews, and cross-cultural interviews
- Identifies the latest Internet resources
Pedagogical Features to Enhance the Reader’s Understanding of the Material:
- Exhibit Boxes: Summarize and illuminate major points within chapters
- Chapter Opening Stories by Halcolm: Use wit and humor to engage the reader in reflecting upon the puzzles and lessons of qualitative research
- Foundational Questions: Orient the reader to the "meat" of the material being presented
- End of Chapter Appendices: Provide excerpts of detailed examples of particular techniques, such as open-ended interviews, case studies, etc.
- Comparison Tables: Organize, compare and contrast different approaches, strategies, and paradigms
- Original Cartoons: Created from the book’s material, illuminate and poke fun at chapter concepts
The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story
by Richard Preston
from Anchor
The dramatic and chilling story of an Ebola virus outbreak in a surburban Washington, D.C. laboratory, with descriptions of frightening historical epidemics of rare and lethal viruses. More hair-raising than anything Hollywood could think of, because it's all true.
A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus. The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the
appearance of rare and lethal viruses and their "crashes" into the human race. Shocking, frightening, and impossible to ignore, The Hot Zone proves that truth really is scarier than fiction.
From the Paperback edition.
Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry (2nd edition) (Thin Book Series)
by Sue Annis Hammond
from Thin Book Publishing Company
An Easy To Read Introduction To The Theory Of Change Management That Focuses On What Works. --This text refers to the paperback edition of this title
Evaluation: A Systematic Approach
by Peter H. Rossi
from Sage Publications, Inc
"Evaluation: A Systematic Approach, now in its seventh edition, has assumed the role of a true classic in its domain."
-- LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE RESEARCH
Since Peter H. Rossi, Mark W. Lipsey, and Howard E. Freeman first published Evaluation: A Systematic Approach, more than 100,000 readers have considered it the premier text on how to design, implement, and appraise social programs through evaluation. In this completely revised Seventh Edition, the authors include the latest techniques and approaches to evaluation as well as guidelines to tailor evaluations to fit programs and social contexts.
This bestselling text covers the full range of evaluation topics, including:
- Framing evaluation questions
- Uncovering program theory
- Studying implementation
- Designing impact assessments
- Assessing program costs and benefits
- Understanding the politics of evaluating
With decades of hands-on experience conducting evaluations, the authors provide scores of examples to help students understand how evaluators deal with various critical issues. They include a glossary of key terms and concepts, making this the most comprehensive and authoritative evaluation text available.
Thoroughly revised, the Seventh Edition now includes:
- Substantially more attention to outcome measurement
- Lengthy discussions of program theory, including a section about detecting program effects and interpreting their practical significance
- An augmented and updated discussion of major evaluation designs
- A detailed exposition of meta-analysis as an approach to the synthesis of evaluation studies
- Alternative approaches to evaluation
- Examples of successful evaluations
- Discussions of the political and social contexts of evaluation.
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(20060125)Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (2nd Edition)
by John W. Creswell
from Sage Publications, Inc
"Creswell's Research Design is an accessible and useful book that stimulates students through walk through experiences, use of exercises, and production of actual writing samples. It is a book that models the types of issues that best suit different approaches and allows students to understand when to use mixed methods. Furthermore, its focus on theory and paradigms is done in a way that helps students decode their meaning."
--MARTHA MONTERO-SIEBURTH, University of Massachusetts, Boston
"One of the most formidable challenges of research design is stating your purpose. Creswell's approach takes the guesswork out of the process."
--STEVE GUERRIERO, Organization & Management, Antioch New England Graduate School
The Second Edition of the bestselling Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches offers a unique comparison of three key approaches to inquiry. This comparison begins with preliminary consideration of knowledge claims for all three approaches, a review of the literature, and reflections about the importance of writing and ethics in scholarly inquiry. The book also addresses the key elements of the process of research: writing an introduction; stating a purpose for the study; identifying research questions and hypotheses; using theory; defining, delimiting and stating the significance of the study; and advancing methods and procedures for data collection and analysis.
Key Features:
- Provides a clear presentation of how to implement a mixed methods design in your proposal or plan as well as show how to implement qualitative and quantitative approaches
- Presents the ethical issues that may arise in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies
- Offers extensive writing tips to help get your research plan started in the right direction
- Contains the latest developments in qualitative inquiry-including advocacy, participatory, and emancipatory approaches
This book is ideal for readers who seek assistance in designing a full research study or planning a proposal for a scholarly journal article, dissertation or thesis. The book is an invaluable reference on the basics of research design as well as an effective text for graduate courses in Research Methods, Research Design, and related topics. The book serves a broad audience of social and human scientists in fields of marketing, management, criminal justice, psychology, sociology, K-12 education, higher and post-secondary education, nursing, health sciences, urban studies, and family research.
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Reading Statistics and Research (5th Edition)
by Schuyler W. Huck
from Allyn & Bacon
Discusses how statistics can enhance the professional lives. Uses excerpts from over 500 recent articles-presented and discussed-to help consumers of research understand, critically evaluate, and apply statistics to the everyday lives of teachers and administrators. Softcover. DLC: Statistics.
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