Overview of part I - Part I. Research and writing: from planning to production

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


Overview of part I
Part I. Research and writing: from planning to production

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

Overview of part I

We know how challenged you can feel when you start a substantial research project, whether it's a PhD dissertation, a BA or master's thesis, or just a long class paper. But you can handle any project if you break it into its parts, then work on them one step at a time. This part shows you how to do that.

We first discuss the aims of research and what readers will expect of any research report. Then we focus on how to find a research question whose answer is worth your time and your readers' attention; how to find and use information from sources to back up your answer; then how to plan, draft, and revise your report so your readers will think your answer is based on sound reasoning and reliable evidence.

Several themes run through this part.

You can't plunge into a project blindly; you must plan it, then keep the whole process in mind as you take each step. So think big, but break the process down into small goals that you can meet one at a time.

Your best research will begin with a question that you want to answer. But you must then imagine readers asking a question of their own: So what if you don't answer it? Why should I care?

From the outset, you should try to write every day, not just to take notes on your sources but to clarify what you think of them. You should also write down your own developing ideas to get them out of the cozy warmth of your head into the cold light of day, where you can see if they still make sense. You probably won't use much of this writing in your final draft, but it is essential preparation for it.

No matter how carefully you do your research, readers will judge it by how well you report it, so you must know what they will look for in a clearly written report that earns their respect.

If you're an advanced researcher, skim chapters 1—4. You will see there much that's familiar, but if you're also teaching, it may help you explain what you know to your students more effectively. (Many experienced researchers report that chapters 5—12 have helped them not only explain to others how to do research and report it, but also to draft and revise their own reports more quickly and effectively.)

If you're just starting your career in research, you'll find every chapter of part 1 useful. Skim it all for an overview of the process; then as you work through your project, reread chapters relevant to your immediate task.

You may feel that the steps described here are too many to remember, but you can manage them if you take them one at a time, and as you do more research, they'll become habits of mind. Don't think, however, that you must follow these steps in exactly the order we present them. Researchers regularly think ahead to future steps as they work through earlier ones and revisit earlier steps as they deal with a later one. (That explains why we so often refer you ahead to anticipate a later stage in the process and back to revisit an earlier one.) And even the most systematic researcher has unexpected insights that send her off in a new direction. Work from a plan, but be ready to depart from it, even to discard it for a new one.

If you're a very new researcher, you may also think that some matters we discuss are beyond your immediate needs. We know that a ten-page class paper differs from a PhD dissertation. But both require a kind of thinking that even the newest researcher can start practicing. You begin your journey toward full competence when you not only know what lies ahead but can also start practicing the skills that experienced researchers began to learn when they were where you are now.

No book can prepare you for every aspect of a research project. And this one won't help you with the specific methodologies in fields such as psychology, economics, or philosophy, much less physics, chemistry, or biology. Nor does it tell you how to adapt what you learn about academic research to business or professional settings.

But it does provide an overview of the processes and habits of mind that underlie all research, wherever it's done, and of the plans you must make to assemble a report, draft it, and revise it. With that knowledge and help from your teachers, you'll come to feel in control of your projects, not intimidated by them, and eventually you'll learn to manage even the most complex projects on your own, in both the academic and the professional worlds.

The first step in learning the skills of sound research is to understand how experienced researchers think about its aims.