The Craft of Research

The act of research – whether in the natural sciences, social sciences, or humanities – undergirds so much of modern society. The skills help us think and then test those thoughts in light of outside information (data). Without a rigorous set of methods, this act can become mere people pleasing, but with a firm framework, it continues to transform the way the world lives. This book, an educational standard for almost three decades with five authors, clearly communicates research’s foundations to those learning the craft. It’s appropriate for the classroom and individuals starting careers.

All authors were or are professors of English, so this book has a natural leaning towards the humanities. Nonetheless, it attempts to address show more all facets of the academic enterprise. Because the authors are involved with language, it communicates cognitive nuances that might be missed by experts in a field. Its wording is eloquent, and organization, tight.

Like most academic works, this book heavily relies on concepts and classical works, yet it also uses relatable, conversational English to convey its message. It walks readers through steps including why to identify as a researcher, how to pursue the process, how to think carefully, and how to communicate findings. As easily imaginable, the authors do a superb job of enhancing readers’ personal writing style in the last chapter.

We live in an information age where thinking about the world has become the most important skill. Ironically, some question the value of an education even in an information-rich environment. If information is freely available, they ask, what do universities have to offer? This book offers a forthright answer. A college education and research training offer students the ability to think and process the world constructively. Especially suited for later later undergraduates and early graduate students, this book shines a clear path forward for individual careers and ultimately society’s advance. show less

I'm giving it two stars because it did have a handful of helpful points. But only a handful.

I'm working on a book and thought reading this might be a good foundation/review before doing so. I was wrong. I just wasted three months of my time.

The issues are many fold. Firstly the near rage inducing repetition. I could make a hefty list of all the things that were mentioned no less then 30 or 40 times. I wish I were exaggerating. I really do. 90% of the book is information I learned in and around forth grade, and even then it's presented poorly. The bias against research and exploratory research reaches the point of near violence. Everything is a rhetorical battle, not an honest presentation of facts and reason. If I had followed this book show more during my prior degree I would had done so poorly that I might have been asked to leave.

The STEM bias is carried over to the point of ridiculousness. Anything that cannot carry some dramatic point or solve some earth shattering problem is dismissed out of hand.

Which brings me to the next issue, the "problem". Not everything is a "problem". There is not always going to be a "problem". A great deal of writing is done for relevance to a topic, for the furtherance of understanding for those who work within a field. Or just because the topic is fun and it's fun to learn more about it. Yet the book is near silent on how to make a topic interesting, instead devoting the overwhelming majority of its bulk to "problems". Leading a non-problem reader to look at it and say "so what?"

Both these writing realities are utterly disparaged. If you intend to do either of these styles of writing avoid this book like the plague. It will only frustrate you.

As mentioned before, it does have a few useful points. However I can't help but feel the basic tips could have found in a book that wouldn't have turned out to be to frustratingly useless otherwise.

I did for find a writing guide mentioned in the bibliography that looks promising. If only any of the writers of this book had was it before writing this one. This book is time I'm never getting back. show less

As the quality of a book increases, the more difficult it becomes to me to write a deserving review. Why mention this here? Because I’m now faced precisely with this dilemma. This is a deserving book — but how do I describe my reaction to it?

Taking for granted Goodreads’ rating system of having each star to mean a different reaction on judging a book, in rating a technical manual with an intimidating title such as The Craft of Research with an enthusiastic “I really liked it” may seem a bit overblown; and I can understand that it does indeed seem strange.

But if you have ever been in that stressful and confusing situation of finding yourself a novice in academia, and with an urgent need of grasping that very hermetic craft of show more doing any research for a class or project, not knowing how to start, what to do, how to proceed, and leasf of all how to succeed in it, this book will sure come to you as a blessing!

From explaining what a research project is, to detailing each of its stages; from the breakdown of topics into questions and questions into problems; from the difficulty of finding sources and work with them consistently; from the making of an agument to writing it, and even revising it, all in great detail — this book covers it all.

If you, like me, go through it from cover to cover, you’ll find it provides you with a wealth of procedures and their explanations, as well as an excellent roadmap on how to deal systematically with such a complex task as doing research properly.

Assuming you went looking for this title because you’re burdened by such a research projet, stressed out by not knowing how, anxious by not having a clue how to deal with it, by the end of the book, you will feel much more at ease, more confident, and way more prepared to take up your task with competence, eager to succeed.

To sum it up: are you doing research? Don’t know how? Go get this book! show less

The 3rd edition of The Craft of Research is a product of its time and much of the advice is outdated.

The writing somehow manages to present simple ideas in an unnecessarily verbose way. The advice and examples provided are repetitive and don’t really provide value.

The question is who is the target audience for this book? The wisdom gleaned from reading it is so simple most kids who needed to write research papers have already learned the basic principles. Plus, the way these ideas are presented are so dry it would not hold anyone’s attention, and time would be better spent doing the actual research.

Also not sure why but the beginning of the book makes it seem like the authors are dismissive towards pure research as compared to show more applied research. show less

One of the two books that got me through my Master's program. I found it to be well written with helpful ideas.

The authors create the feeling that they are both knowledgeable and really understand what it is like to be a student, which reminded me of my uncle who works at CSU-Bakersfield. It also seems like they might work in different disciplines, however the author's note puts them all in English and Literature. This just further shows what a good job they've done being interdisciplinary.

A fairly good introduction on how to write research papers and reports. I got this while writing my masters thesis, have read through once, and will definitely come back to the relevant chapters when I start reviewing my draft. The explanations are quite good, and it formalizes some things I had mostly done intuitively until now.

So, if you are a researcher or a student tasked with writing a research paper, I can recommend this book, especially since it will not bankrupt you.