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 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
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
Wind Power, Revised Edition: Renewable Energy for Home, Farm, and Business
by Paul Gipe
from Chelsea Green Publishing Company
Wind energy today is a booming worldwide industry. The technology has truly come of age, with better, more reliable machinery and a greater understanding of how and where wind power makes sense--from the independent homestead to a grid-connected utility-wide perspective. Heightened concerns about our environment mean that this resurgence of interest in wind--a natural and widespread power source--is here to stay. Wind Power is the completely revised and expanded edition of Paul Gipe's definitive 1993 book, Wind Power for Home and Business. In addition to expanded sections on gauging wind resources and siting wind turbines, this edition includes new examples and case studies of successful wind systems, international sources for new and used equipment, and hundreds of color photographs and illustrations.
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
Advanced Excel for Scientific Data Analysis
by Robert De Levie
from Oxford University Press, USA
Combining an easy-going style with an emphasis on practical applications, this greatly expanded second edition is remarkable in scope and coverage. As reviews of the first edition noted, the term "advanced" in the title is not used lightly. Less than a third of its 700+ pages are devoted to least squares analysis, yet the reader will learn about many aspects of this ubiquitous method that are seldom found together in one volume: multivariate and polynomial centering, the statistical uncertainty in uncertainty estimates, how to use the covariance, singular value decomposition, the pros and cons of weighted least squares, moving equidistant least squares, nonlinear least squares, and imprecision contours.
There are lucid chapters on Fourier transformation, convolution and deconvolution, and digital simulation of ordinary differential equations. A new chapter is devoted to some common but often only crudely used mathematical methods, such as numerical differentiation, Romberg integration, and cubic spline interpolation. Another new chapter shows how to use linear algebra on the spreadsheet with Volpi's extensive matrix toolbox of custom functions and macros. A third, newly added chapter describes how to set up the spreadsheet to make it less error-prone, and how to get superaccurate answers in Excel. The substantially enlarged chapter on writing functions and macros now has a set of MacroMorsels to illustrate specific points that otherwise might trip up novice programmers, and a detailed description of Excel's extensive debugging tools. All this is presented in an easily digestible format, illustrated with many examples from the literature, and supported by a large collection of open-access (i.e., fully transparent and user-modifiable) custom functions and macros.
Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients
by David Hatcher Childress
from Adventures Unlimited Press
Popular Lost Cities author David Childress opens the door to the amazing world of ancient technology, from the computers of the ancient world to the "flying machines of the gods." Technology of the Gods explores the technology that was allegedly used in Atlantis and the theory that the Great Pyramid of Egypt was originally a gigantic power station. Childress also uncovers many other mysteries, including: *
the technology of ancient flight *
how the ancients used electricity *
megalithic building techniques *
the use of crystal lenses and the fire from the gods *
ancient evidence of high-tech weapons, including atomic weapons *
the role of modern inventors, such as Nikola Tesla, in bringing ancient technology into modern use *
impossible artifacts, and more, much more. Childress has done it again! From beginning to end, Technology of the Gods is filled with facts, keen observations and tales that challenge modern assumptions in a humorous, intelligent and compelling way that is quintessential Childress.
Ecological Models and Data in R
by Benjamin M. Bolker
from Princeton University Press
Ecological Models and Data in R is the first truly practical introduction to modern statistical methods for ecology. In step-by-step detail, the book teaches ecology graduate students and researchers everything they need to know in order to use maximum likelihood, information-theoretic, and Bayesian techniques to analyze their own data using the programming language R. Drawing on extensive experience teaching these techniques to graduate students in ecology, Benjamin Bolker shows how to choose among and construct statistical models for data, estimate their parameters and confidence limits, and interpret the results. The book also covers statistical frameworks, the philosophy of statistical modeling, and critical mathematical functions and probability distributions. It requires no programming background--only basic calculus and statistics.
- Practical, beginner-friendly introduction to modern statistical techniques for ecology using the programming language R
- Step-by-step instructions for fitting models to messy, real-world data
- Balanced view of different statistical approaches
- Wide coverage of techniques--from simple (distribution fitting) to complex (state-space modeling)
- Techniques for data manipulation and graphical display
- Companion Web site with data and R code for all examples
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