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SIXTH EDITION

.. J··Y ION

The Curious Researcher

A Guide to Writing Research Papers

Bruce Ballenger Boise State University

Longman

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For Rebecca, who reminds me to ask, Why?

Publisher: Joseph Opiela Executive Editor: Suzanne Phelps Chambers Editorial Assistant: Erica Schweitzer Senior Supplements Editor: Donna Campion Senior Marketing Manager: Susan Stoudt Production ]Ilanager: Eric Jorgensen Project Coordination, Text Design. and Electronic Page Makeup:

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The author and publisher are grateful to the many students who allowed their work to be reprinted here. We would also like to acknowledge the following copyright holders for permission to use their materials in this book:

p.63-Gabe Palmer/Corbis p.145-Oliver Lassen/Zefa/Corbis p.169-Jim Cornfield/Corbis

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ballenger, Bruce P.

The curious researcher: a guide to writing research papers/ Bruce Ballenger.--6th ed.

p. em. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-205-74526-5

1. Report writing-Handbooks, manuals, etc. manuals, etc. I. Title. LB2369.B246 2009 808'.02-dc22

2. Research-Handbooks,

2008028929

This book includes 2009 MLA guidelines.

Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States.

345678910-V069-121110

Longman is an imprint of

PEARSON ISBN 13: 978-0-205-74526-5 www.pearsonhighered.comISBN 10: 0-205-74526-1

.......

www.pearsonhighered.comISBN
-

Contents

Preface xx

Introduction: Rethinking the Research Paper 1

E X ERe I S E 1 Collecting Golf Balls on Driving Ranges and Other Reflections 1

Learning and Unlearning 4

Using This Book 4

The Exercises 4

The Five-Week Plan 5

Alternatives to the Five-Week Plan 6

The Research Paper and the Research Report 7

Discovering Your Purpose 7

How Formal Should It Be? 9

When "Bad" Writing Is Good 10 :1:

Thinking Like an Academic Writer 10

"Essaying" or Arguing? 11

The Research Essay and Academic Writing 13

Becoming an Authority by Using Authorities 15

"It's Just My Opinion" 15

Facts Don't Kill 16

E X ERe I S E 2 Reflecting on "The Bothersome Beauty of Pigeons" by Bruce Ballenger 17

The Question Habit 25

v

vi Contents

Chapter 1 The First Week 27

The Importance of Getting Curious 27

Learning to Wonder Again 27

Getting the Pot Boiling 28

E X ERe I S E 1. 1 Building an Interest Inventory 29

Other Ways to Find a Topic 33

What Is a Good Topic? 35

Checking Out Your Tentative Topic 35

Making the Most of an Assigned Topic 36

EX ERe I S E 1.2 The Myth of the Boring Topic 37

Developing a Working Knowledge 39

Research Strategies 40

E X ERe I S E 1. 3 Seeing the Broad View 40

The Reference Librarian: A Living Source 46

Narrowing the Subject 47

Circling the Lighthouse 47

From Landscape Shots to Close-Ups 48

E X ERe I S E 1. 4 Finding the Questions 48

E X ERe I S E 1. 5 Finding the Focusing Question 50

EX ERe I S E 1.6 Finding the Relationship 51

Possible Purposes for a Research Assignment 52

E X ERe I S E 1. 7 Research Proposal 53

Reading for Research 55

EX ERe I S E 1.8 Ways of Reading to Write 55

Reading Rhetorically 57

Reading Like an Outsider 58

Contents vii

Chapter 2 The Second Week 61 Developing a Research Strategy 61

Google VB. the Library 62

A Complementary Research Strategy 64

Find Sufficient Information by Using the Best Search Terms 65

Controlled Language Searches Using Library of Subject Headings 65

Boolean Searching 67

Magic Words on the World Wide Web 68

Find Varied Sources 70

Primary vs. Secondary Sources 72

Objective vs. Subjective 72

Stable or Unstable? 73

Find Quality Sources 73

When Was It Published? 73

Why Journal Articles Are Better Than Magazine Articles 74

Look for Often-Cited Authors 75

Not All Books Are Alike 75

Evaluating Online Sources 76

A Key to Evaluating Internet Sources 77

Developing Focused Knowledge 81

What About a Thesis? 82

Suspending Judgment? 82

What Do You Presume? 82

What Are You Arguing? 83

Library Research Techniques 85

Finding Books 85

Understanding Call Numbers 86

viii Contents

E X ERe I S E 2. 1 Library Investigations 87

Coming Up Empty-Handed? 89

Checking Bibliographies 89

Interlibrary Loan 89

Finding Magazine and Journal Articles Using Online Databases 90

Finding Newspaper Articles with Online Databases 93

Advanced Internet Research Techniques 94

Types of Search Engines 95

E X ERe I S E 2. 2 Research on the Internet 96

Living Sources: Interviews and Surveys 99

Arranging Interviews 99

Finding Experts 99

Finding Nonexperts Affected by Your Topic 101

Making Contact 101

Conducting Interviews 102

Whom to Interview? 102

What Questions to Ask? 102

During the Interview 104

Notetaking 104

The E-Mail Interview 105

Finding People on the Internet 105

Making Contact by E-Mail 106

The Discussion Board Interview 106

Deciding What to Ask 107

Planning Informal Surveys 107

Defining Goals and Audience 107

Types of Questions 108

Survey Design 110

Avoid Loaded Questions 110

Ayoid Vague Questions 110

-- Contents ix

Drawbacks of Open-Ended Questions 110

Designing Your Multiple-Choice Questions 111

Continuum Questions 111

Planning for Distribution 112

Conducting Surveys 112

Distribution 112

The Internet Survey 113

Chapter 3 The Third Week 115 Writing in the Middle 115

Becoming an Activist Notetaker 116

EX ERe IS E 3.1 Getting a Word in Edgewise 118

EX ERe I S E 3.2 "Say Back" to a Source 121

Recognizing Plagiarism 121

I Read What You Said and Borrowed It, Okay? 122

Why Plagiarism Matters 124

Sources Are from Mars, Notetakers Are from Venus 125

Paraphrasing 126

E X ERe I S E 3. 3 Paraphrase Practice 126