"An easy-to-read guide with helpful hints for almost anyone who puts words to paper."

--San Francisco Bay Guardian

"A well-constructed, articulate reminder of how important fundamental questions of style and approach, such as clarity and precision, are to all research"

--Times Literary Supplement

"A practical guide to the process of doing research . . . a book to give to any student embarking on a research project."

--KLIATT, bimonthly magazine for librarians and teachers of young adults

"I recommend it to my students . . . and keep a copy close at hand as the first option offered to students who ask 'Just how should I begin my research?'"

--Business Library Review

"Highly recommended"

--Choice

Chicago University Press Web Site, February, 2003

Since 1995, more than 150,000 students and researchers have turned to The Craft of Research for clear and helpful guidance on how to conduct research and report it effectively . Now, master teachers Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams present a completely revised and updated version of their classic handbook. 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

Preface

I RESEARCH, RESEARCHERS, AND READERS

1 Thinking in Print: The Uses of Research, Public and Private
2 Connecting with Your Reader: (Re)Creating Your Self and Your Audience

II ASKING QUESTIONS, FINDING ANSWERS

3 From Topics to Questions
4 From Questions to Problems
5 From Problems to Sources
6 Using Sources

III MAKING A CLAIM AND SUPPORTING IT

7 Making Good Arguments: An Overview
8 Claims
9 Reasons and Evidence
10 Acknowledgments and Responses
11 Warrants

IV PREPARING TO DRAFT, DRAFTING, AND REVISING

12 Planning and Drafting
13 Revising Your Organization and Argument
14 Introductions and Conclusions
15 Communicating Evidence Visually

V SOME LAST CONSIDERATIONS

The Ethics of Research
A Postscript for Teachers
An Appendix on Finding Sources
General Sources
Special Sources
A Note on Some of Our Sources
Index