Preface

A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, 7th edition - Kate L. Turabian 2007


Preface

Students writing research papers, theses, and dissertations in today's colleges and universities inhabit a world filled with electronic technologies that were unimagined in 1937—the year Kate L. Turabian, University of Chicago's dissertation secretary, assembled a booklet of guidelines for student writers. The availability of Internet sources and word-processing software has changed the way students conduct research and write up the results. But these technologies have not altered the basic task of the student writer: doing well-designed research and presenting it clearly and accurately, while following accepted academic standards for citation, style, and format.

Turabian's 1937 booklet reflected guidelines found in A Manual of Style, 10th edition—an already classic resource for writers and editors published by the University of Chicago Press. The Press began distributing Turabian's booklet in 1947 and first published the work in book form in 1955, under the title A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Turabian revised the work twice more, updating it to meet students' needs and to reflect the latest recommendations of the Manual of Style. In time, Turabian's book has become a standard reference for students of all levels at universities and colleges across the country. Turabian died in 1987 at age ninety-four, a few months after publication of the fifth edition. For that edition, as well as the sixth (1996), the Press invited editorial staff to carry out the revisions.

For this seventh edition, Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams have expanded the focus of the book. The new part 1, “Research and Writing: From Planning to Production,” is adapted from their Craft of Research (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003). This part offers a step-by-step guide to the process of research and its reporting, a topic not previously covered in this manual but inseparable from source citation, writing style, and the mechanics of paper preparation. Among the topics covered are the nature of research, finding and engaging sources, taking notes, developing an argument, drafting and revising, and presenting evidence in tables and figures. Also included is a discussion of presenting research in alternative forums. In this part, the authors write in a familiar, collegial voice to engage readers in a complex topic. Students undertaking research projects at all levels will benefit from reading this part, though advanced researchers may wish to skim chapters 1—4.

The rest of the book covers the same topics as past editions, but has been extensively revised to follow the recommendations in The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition (2003), to incorporate current technology as it affects all aspects of student writing, to provide updated examples, and to be easier to read and use.

Reflecting the close connection between the research process and the need for careful and appropriate citation form, “Source Citation” now appears as part 2 of the manual. In this part, chapter 15 offers an overview of scholarly citation, including its relationship not just to good research practices but to the ethics of research. Students using notes-bibliography style for citations (common in the humanities and some social sciences) should then read chapter 16 for a discussion of the basic form for citations and consult chapter 17 as needed for a wide range of source examples. Students using parenthetical citations—reference list style (common in most social sciences and in the natural and physical sciences) will find the same types of information in chapters 18 and 19. Both sets of chapters include updated examples and new coverage of how to cite online and other electronic sources.

Part 3, “Style,” addresses issues that occupied the first half of previous editions of the manual. Coverage of spelling and punctuation has been divided into separate chapters, as has treatment of numbers and abbreviations. The chapter on names, special terms, and titles of works has been expanded. The final two chapters in this section treat the mechanics of using quotations and graphics (tables and figures), topics that are discussed from a rhetorical perspective in part 1. Student writers may wish to read these chapters in their entirety or consult them for guidance on particular points.

The recommendations in parts 2 and 3 diverge in a few instances from those in The Chicago Manual of Style, but the differences are matters of degree, not substance. In certain cases, this manual recommends just one editorial style where CMOS recommends two or more. Sometimes the choice is a matter of simplicity (as in the rules for headline-style capitalization presented in chapter 22); other times it reflects what is appropriate for student papers, as opposed to published works (as in the requirement of access dates with all citations from online sources). The chapters on citation include new types of sources, such as Weblogs, that have emerged since 2003 and thus are not treated in the current edition of CMOS. These recommendations logically extend principles set forth in CMOS.

The appendix gathers in one place the material on paper format and submission that formed the core of Kate Turabian's original booklet. In the years since, this material has become the primary authority for dissertation offices throughout the nation. In revising this material, the Press sought the advice of dissertation officials at a variety of public and private universities, including those named in the acknowledgments section. While continuing to emphasize the importance of consistency, the guidelines now allow more flexibility in matters such as the placement of page numbers and the typography of titles, reflecting the capabilities of current word-processing software. The sample pages presented are new and are adapted from exemplary dissertations submitted to the University of Chicago since 2000. This appendix is intended primarily for students writing PhD dissertations and master's and undergraduate theses, but the sections on format requirements and electronic file preparation also apply to those writing class papers.

The guidelines in this manual offer practical solutions to a wide range of issues encountered by student writers, but they may be supplemented—or even overruled—by the conventions of specific disciplines or the preferences of particular institutions or departments. All of the chapters on style and format remind students to review the requirements of their university, department, or instructor, which take precedence over the guidelines presented here. The expanded bibliography, organized by subject area, lists sources for research and style issues specific to particular disciplines.