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Why Research?: Notes From The Craft of Research by Booth, Colomb, and Williams

Research involves gathering information to answer a question and solve a problem. Writing up research helps organize thoughts and allows one to join the conversation of other researchers. Academic writing joins a community of shared values where the writer explains their arguments and guides the reader through their conclusions with valid evidence and logic. The social contract between writer and reader involves the writer identifying a gap in knowledge, showing why it matters, and providing new answers with good evidence, while the reader agrees to evaluate the report based on the community's standards.

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59 views11 pages

Why Research?: Notes From The Craft of Research by Booth, Colomb, and Williams

Research involves gathering information to answer a question and solve a problem. Writing up research helps organize thoughts and allows one to join the conversation of other researchers. Academic writing joins a community of shared values where the writer explains their arguments and guides the reader through their conclusions with valid evidence and logic. The social contract between writer and reader involves the writer identifying a gap in knowledge, showing why it matters, and providing new answers with good evidence, while the reader agrees to evaluate the report based on the community's standards.

Uploaded by

Laert Velia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 11

WHY RESEARCH?

Notes from The Craft of Research by Booth,


Colomb, and Williams

WHAT IS RESEARCH?

Research: gather[ing] information to answer a


question that solves a problem (Booth, Colomb,
Williams 10).
Example

Problem: I need to find my textbook so that I can keep up


with assigned readings
Question: Where can I obtain a copy?
Research: Browse the library, local bookstores, ask the
instructor, look online to find a copy.

WHY WRITE UP YOUR RESEARCH?


Remember: writing helps you remember what
you think and discovered
Understand: writing helps you organize your
thoughts and understand a concept, historical
event, or discovery better
Test your thinking: writing helps you find
problems or weaknesses in your thoughts so you
can change your thinking or find better
arguments to support your ideas/claims
Joining the Conversation: by writing the
research, you join a conversation of researchers
around the world who enjoy learning new things
(11-13)

ACADEMIC WRITING

Joining a rhetorical community of shared values


(Booth et al. 14).
Write

for the reader


Format your writing so the reader understands your
citations, knows where to find information, and
knows that you have thought through your ideas and
anticipated their questions:
How have you evaluated your evidence?
Why do you think its relevant?
What ideas have you considered and rejected? (13)
Do you know what other people have said on the subject?

THINKING IN PRINT
Writing = Thinking
When you write, you have to guide your reader
through your arguments. You have to explain
why your conclusions are valid and logical.
This helps you think more clearly yourself.

CONNECTING WITH YOUR READER


We Write for Readers
Creating Roleswriting and reading as acting

Who

will read your writing? What do they know


about your topic? Why should they care about what
you have to say?
Who are you? What role to you play? Are you the
expert, the colleague, the friend? Are you respectful
of the other writers whom you use in your research?
Are you sarcastic and critical? (How will your
attitude as a reader of other writers influence how
other readers think of your writing?)

EXAMPLES:

1a. The control of cardiac irregularity by calcium


blockers depends on calciums activation of muscle
groups through its interaction with the regulatory
proteins actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and troponin in
the sarcomere, the basic unit of muscle contraction.
1b. Doctors can control irregular heartbeats with the
drugs called calcium blockers. When the heart
contracts, its muscles are activated by calcium. The
calcium in a heart muscle cell interacts with four
proteins that regulate contraction. The proteins are
actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and troponin. That
interaction happens in the basic unit of muscle
contraction, the sarcomere (17).

YOUR ROLE
NOT: I know less than you, but here is some
information on my topic. Please give me a good
grade.
Possible roles:

Ive

Found Some New and Interesting Information

Entertaining trivia

Ive

Found a Solution to an Important Practical


Problem

Government, medical, engineering, agricultural, and


business research

Ive

Found an Answer to an Important Question

Pure research solving conceptual problems; help us better


understand the world (18-20)

READERS ROLE
Writer/Reader Social Contract: Ill play my part
if you play yours (21).
Who is the reader?

Someone

Satisfied simply with interesting information

Someone

wanting a solution to a practical problem

How do we work more efficiently, make more money, end


poverty and war, solve global warming, build safer
buildings?

Someone

wanting to be entertained?

who wants to understand something better?

Finding the Truth; want good evidence to believe that what


you have to say is true; you need to show how your evidence
corrects a flawed understanding (21-24)

SOCIAL CONTRACT: REVIEW

Academic Research Writing


The

reader agrees to read a report that follows the


rules of the community

The report acknowledges the contributions of others,


identifies a problem and question, and gives a well-reasoned
answer or a better understanding of an issue

The

writer agrees to write a report that follows the


rules of the community

Show a gap in knowledge or understanding


Show why this gap is significantwhy does it matter
Show how the writer has found new answers to improve
human knowledge and fill part of that gap in The Truth
Give good evidence to believe this answer and show others
where the evidence can be found

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph


M. Williams. The Craft of Research. 3rd ed.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2008.

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