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jcustis
01-21-2008, 12:48 AM
I'm going to start delving deeper into research on a pet subject of mine, and really need to start referring to material that discusses prudent research methods in vogue today.

Most online degree programs offer a starter course on research methods, and I'd be obliged for pointers towards links or .pdfs that discuss the subject.

I've got an Elements of Style book handy, but if there are any tid bits regarding historical research citations, those would be appreciated as well.

My goals at ehis point are to produce an online article for the militaryhistoryonline.com page, and hopefully something with more substance (on the same subject) from there.

Adam L
01-21-2008, 01:04 AM
I have a few good suggestions, I just don't have time at this second. I'll get back to you a little later or tomorrow.

Adam L

Surferbeetle
01-21-2008, 01:50 AM
Jcustis,

There are probably more current versions around but I use the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (ISBN 0-87352-379-2) and Handbook of Technical Writing (ISBN 0-312-13289-1).

The librarian at your college will be able to walk you through pulling papers and other references off of their server in pdf or html form...it sure beats the old days of rummaging through the file cards and wandering through the stacks.

Steve

Dr Jack
01-21-2008, 02:30 AM
Here's a great little link to help with college writing:

http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/nb-home.html

For research methodology, I find this useful:

http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/pa765/statnote.htm

Adam L
01-21-2008, 04:09 AM
As Surferbeetle said there is MLA, but there is also APA. To decide which to use, take a look at citations in an article in a similar field.

Here are two good sites to start with.

Here (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/681/01) (This is MLA)
Here (http://owl.english.perdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01) (This is APA)

They're simple but a good start, Also, try this site here. (http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/research/)

I have to say that you shouldn't worry about whether something is in vogue today. Research is research, and it has always been such. Maybe some citations methods have changed, but the fundamentals haven't changed. I must ask what you meant by "prudent research methods."
I don't understand what you mean there.

Adam L

selil
01-21-2008, 04:23 AM
I must have been really off base. I looked at the original post and thought it might be about epistemology. I'm reading a book my Michael Ally "The Craft of Scientific Writing 3rd Ed." in about a week (32 books to read in the next 16 weeks). It's available via Amazon.

John T. Fishel
01-21-2008, 01:02 PM
What you want depends, in part, on the kind of research you want to do. Historians use different methods than anthropologists and they use different methods than political scientists, who use different methods than economists, who all use different methods than lawyers. While there are common elements to all research, some is more statistical than others. Most political science Research Methods courses are courses in statistics. When I taught political science research methods I did not focus exclusively on statistics or quantitative methods.

That said: there is a classic book on historical research methods my Jaques Barzun. I found a book by E. Terrence Jones (9 copies avalable from Amazon from $0.32) called Conducting Political rResearch veyr useful. A book by Gary King, Robert Keohane, and Sidney Verba called Designing Social Inquiry is well thought of. You might ask MarcT for suggestions regarding anthropological research.

Hope this is helpful. PM me if you want to discuss further.

Cheers

JohnT

slapout9
01-21-2008, 01:23 PM
Hi JC, here is link to the Air War College resources for student research papers, a lot of material here and all free i think.
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc-lttc.htm

jcustis
01-21-2008, 01:34 PM
I have to say that you shouldn't worry about whether something is in vogue today. Research is research, and it has always been such. Maybe some citations methods have changed, but the fundamentals haven't changed. I must ask what you meant by "prudent research methods."
I don't understand what you mean there.

Adam L

Put another way, my work has been all over the map. I have notes jumbled up in the margins of books, several dog-eared printouts from lord-knows-where, and a terrible catalogue (a sloppy excel sporeadsheet) of actions taken so far.

I'm trying to clean it all up, streamline the process so I am not wasting effort and can in turn actually write better, and want to do a better job of capturing the footstomps in the material.

Good links and references so far.

selil
01-21-2008, 02:02 PM
Sounds like you need structured writing resources.

Adam L
01-21-2008, 02:44 PM
Put another way, my work has been all over the map. I have notes jumbled up in the margins of books, several dog-eared printouts from lord-knows-where, and a terrible catalogue (a sloppy excel sporeadsheet) of actions taken so far.

I'm trying to clean it all up, streamline the process so I am not wasting effort and can in turn actually write better, and want to do a better job of capturing the footstomps in the material.

Good links and references so far.

What I think you have here is more of an organization problem if anything. I would suggest you try these two actions simultaneously:
-- Make an outline (fully annotated and cited) of your paper (I got the sense you were working on several, but I think you should choose one and get going.) Note: When I mean outline, I mean a heavy duty outline. I mean something that you could almost take out the bullet points, numbers, etc. and have a paper. This may seam difficult, but it really isn't. If you organize your research by applying it, the citations, as well as the paper, will all fall into place.
-- As you go along make a "catalog" on another document if you wish to organize all of your research. The odds are, that as you outline you will probably go back to source material, which will allow you to get momentum while accomplishing the tedious.

Getting started on a paper, or whatever the the project may be, is always hard. You most likely have a good idea of your paper in your head. Get out a first draft (always the hardest task.) Then you can fill in the gaps, re-write, edit, etc later. If you don't mind me saying, I think you are stalling a drop (as we all do.) I always find myself trying to organize and organize before I write, but in the end what I need to do is get started. Remember, research is the fun and easier part of it.

I hope I'm not going out on too much of a limb here, but I would strongly suggest you just give it a shot.

Adam L

Schmedlap
01-21-2008, 06:55 PM
This might seem amateurish, but it was helpful for me. I, too, am doing some independent research, but I am a biology major who never had to write any research papers in college. I did a few minor ones (5 whole pages) in high school, but that was before the internet age (or at least before the internet reached my rural little high school).

I came across the website below, created by a Western Civilization professor. It is written primarily for an undergraduate audience, but as another commenter noted, research is research. Aside from giving basic and familiar pointers, he recounts the process that he went through while doing his graduate thesis and his PhD dissertation.

Here is the link: http://www.historyguide.org/guide/guide.html#Table

jcustis
01-21-2008, 11:12 PM
This might seem amateurish, but it was helpful for me. I, too, am doing some independent research, but I am a biology major who never had to write any research papers in college. I did a few minor ones (5 whole pages) in high school, but that was before the internet age (or at least before the internet reached my rural little high school).

I came across the website below, created by a Western Civilization professor. It is written primarily for an undergraduate audience, but as another commenter noted, research is research. Aside from giving basic and familiar pointers, he recounts the process that he went through while doing his graduate thesis and his PhD dissertation.

Here is the link: http://www.historyguide.org/guide/guide.html#Table


Thanks to everyone for pointing me towards useful material. I even found a companion onine reference from Bowdoin College (rival of my alma mater, Bates College!): http://academic.bowdoin.edu/WritingGuides/

I even received several PM that have definitely shaped things...now I just have to start the business of reading and adhering to the precepts within...:D

marct
01-26-2008, 01:56 PM
You know, there's a distinct difference between "research" and "writing" and that has some interesting implications. There are thousands of different research methodologies, grounded in hundreds of different theories, but there are really only six major ways in which people write, so figuring out "how to do" research means you have to figure out a) how you write and b) what type of research you are doing for a given project.

BTW, the six ways to write comes from a lot of research done by Aviva Friedman at Carleton who used to be my boss when I was a writing tutor. They range from the build an outline and "research" to fill it in (1), all the way through to just sit down and write your final version (6). Personally, I come in at about 4.5 or so, usually producing one draft and sending it out for friends to rip apart, then re-writing the entire thing. Anyway, you need to figure out where you are in the scale from "I must have exact structure!" to "Don't bug me; it will appear".

What type of research you are doing on a particular project depends on a lot of variables. I'm tossing up a cheat sheet I hand out to my students to get them thinking about types of research. It's couched in terms of building operational models for a research process and figuring out which methodologies you can use.

Marc

selil
01-26-2008, 02:04 PM
MarcT has returned.

I like the choosing what concepts to use section.

marct
01-26-2008, 02:15 PM
MarcT has returned.

:wry: - I've been pulling one of those "work for 10 weeks flat out" things. I' on the downside of it now (only a workshop and 3 concerts this weekend, a book review next week, and a couple of supervised reading courses).


I like the choosing what concepts to use section.

Thanks. Feel free to suggest modifications, changes etc. - it's an ongoing work.

Marc

Granite_State
01-27-2008, 04:51 PM
-- Make an outline (fully annotated and cited) of your paper (I got the sense you were working on several, but I think you should choose one and get going.) Note: When I mean outline, I mean a heavy duty outline. I mean something that you could almost take out the bullet points, numbers, etc. and have a paper. This may seam difficult, but it really isn't. If you organize your research by applying it, the citations, as well as the paper, will all fall into place.

Adam L

Good advice, I'd say. I've done my papers from high school up to (but not including) my PhD like this. Big outline on anywhere from 1 to 10 sheets of legal pad, breaking it down into subject headings or chapters, with quick citations and the basics of the argument. Always made the actual paper move quickly once I had that to base it on.

jcustis
01-27-2008, 10:47 PM
If you had to interview a WW II veteran with cloak-and-dagger experience (of sorts) about his participation in various missions, what sort of questions would you pose to him?

I'm trying to get a sense of what others might want to know, as I know I stand where I sit on too many things. :D

Rob Thornton
01-27-2008, 11:21 PM
JC - what I'd be real interested in is finding the common ground between then and now. I'd say concentrate on the "people" end of it, vs. some of the other things that make his experiences seem less relative. Does that make sense? It will also require some analysis on your end, but I think you'll find it worth it.
Best, Rob

jcustis
01-28-2008, 12:19 AM
Check...Definitely intend to focus on the personal aspect of things as much as possible. I imagine some of the technical aspects can be difficult to recall.

John T. Fishel
01-28-2008, 02:11 AM
Since much of today's "tradecraft" is based on the WWII experience, I'd ask about that and, perhaps, his perception of its current applicability.

But, again, what is the purpose of your research?

jcustis
01-28-2008, 02:43 AM
But, again, what is the purpose of your research?

http://mikesadlerproject.blogspot.com/

I hope the Inauguration post at the bottom of the link can provide a concise description of my aims.

John T. Fishel
01-28-2008, 12:15 PM
JC--

You really have clarified what you are trying to do. Going back to my initial response to your original question, I'd recommend the most recent edition of The Modern Researcher by Jaques Barzun and Henry Graff of Columbia. It is history focused but has been updated significantly over the version I read to take account of modern research technology, so I'm given to undeerstand.

Clearly, you are not interested in "tradecraft" in the traditional sense. But you might try contacting the Imperial War Museum as astarting point.

Cheers

JohnT

jcustis
01-28-2008, 01:30 PM
Thanks JTF. I'm going to check out the 5th edition on hand at the Gray Research Center, and work my way in from there.

davidbfpo
01-28-2008, 05:23 PM
Before considering what you want to ask JAC read a little on witness memory and interviewing techniques. There are many police / law enforcement texts and trying to recall them (fading memory) they espouse using the cognitive method. People remember things in different orders to those posing the prepared questions. Even more so since it is a very long time ago you plan to ask about. I'd try some "props" to help, the map(s) and compass you cite.

davidbfpo

marct
01-28-2008, 06:12 PM
David makes a good point on object recall. One other method you might try is called the "life historical" and is (basically) a form of story-telling. It gets people to tell stories about key incidents in their lives or about other people and then analyzes the stories to figure out how people re-construct their memories. There's no really good text on the subject, although there are some bad ones :wry:. The two people I know best who use the method and use it really well are Andrea Doucet (http://www.carleton.ca/socanth/faculty/doucet.html) and Karen March (http://www.carleton.ca/socanth/faculty/march.html), both in the Sociology / Anthropology department at Carleton.

Marc

jcustis
01-31-2008, 03:47 PM
David,

That advice to get smart on interview techniques was absolutely spot on! The matter never crossed my mind before, but in the bit of googling I have done thus far, I can see why the material is important to grasp.

I'd checked on a couple of oral history sites, but they didn't even scratch the surface for techniques to pull out the memories.

Thanks for that.

Same with your paper Marc. Good stuff guys, and keep it coming.

Norfolk
02-10-2008, 03:24 AM
Well jcustis, try these links for qualitatative research methods (if you haven't got what you need already):

Marine Corps Historical Writing Guide, Revised Edition, 2004 (http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/PDF_Files/MCHC%20Writing%20Guide.pdf).

U.S. Army Guide to Oral History, 2006 (http://www.history.army.mil/books/oral.htm), by Stephen J. Lofgren

You obviously don't need any help with your interview technics though Jon, as your interview last year with the RLI vet was a great example of Semi-Structured (http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5307e/x5307e08.htm)/Cognitive (http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/gov/ntsb_cognitive_interview.pdf) Interview Techniques, which have recently been proposed for use by the U.S. Army (see Page 9) when developing Doctrinal and Operational Concepts (it seems that Structured Interviews, not surprisingly, made for less than informative responses):

Technical Report 1167, Concept Development for Future Domains: A New Method of Knowledge Elicitation, by Scott B. Shadrick et al. (United States Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, June 2005) (http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/tr1167.pdf)

Instructions for draft interview-guide for WP4 (http://www.ifm.dk/safmams/Downloads/WP4/Instructions%20for%20Interview%20Guide.pdf) - The third and last page is the best!


Cognitive Interviewing: A "How To" Guide (http://appliedresearch.cancer.gov/areas/cognitive/interview.pdf), by Gordon B. Willis et al.(Research Triangle Institute, 1999).

davidbfpo
02-10-2008, 12:38 PM
Jon and others,

Twenty-five years ago I went on a course on this then new technique and one of the best speakers was Ray Bull. He has moved on in the academic world and has published many texts on the method, plus their specialist application e.g. child witnesses.

I've Googled his name and the technique and this is thest, short explanation (also the first page of the hits):

http://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/SRU50.html

davidbfpo

jcustis
03-23-2008, 02:33 PM
Ran this requirement down...

Entropy
03-23-2008, 02:45 PM
If you're looking for organizational tools as well, this may be useful (http://www.gobinder.com/). It's particularly powerful when paired to a tablet notebook.

Lostcomm
03-30-2008, 01:00 PM
Try these. They're the assigned texts for my dissertation classes (and they're not bad):


Trochim, W (2001) Research Methods Knowledge Base Atomicdogpublishing.com ISBN: 1931442487

Zikmund, W (2002) Business Research Methods South-Western ISBN: 0030350840

-LC

Steve Blair
03-31-2008, 01:15 PM
Well jcustis, try these links for qualitatative research methods (if you haven't got what you need already):

Marine Corps Historical Writing Guide, Revised Edition, 2004 (http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/PDF_Files/MCHC%20Writing%20Guide.pdf).

U.S. Army Guide to Oral History, 2006 (http://www.history.army.mil/books/oral.htm), by Stephen J. Lofgren

You obviously don't need any help with your interview technics though Jon, as your interview last year with the RLI vet was a great example of Semi-Structured (http://www.fao.org/docrep/x5307e/x5307e08.htm)/Cognitive (http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/gov/ntsb_cognitive_interview.pdf) Interview Techniques, which have recently been proposed for use by the U.S. Army (see Page 9) when developing Doctrinal and Operational Concepts (it seems that Structured Interviews, not surprisingly, made for less than informative responses):

Technical Report 1167, Concept Development for Future Domains: A New Method of Knowledge Elicitation, by Scott B. Shadrick et al. (United States Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, June 2005) (http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/tr1167.pdf)

Instructions for draft interview-guide for WP4 (http://www.ifm.dk/safmams/Downloads/WP4/Instructions%20for%20Interview%20Guide.pdf) - The third and last page is the best!


Cognitive Interviewing: A "How To" Guide (http://appliedresearch.cancer.gov/areas/cognitive/interview.pdf), by Gordon B. Willis et al.(Research Triangle Institute, 1999).

There's also a section on the Library of Congress site dealing with veteran interviews here (http://www.loc.gov/vets/kit.html). It's simple, but it has some useful forms and interview methodologies.

You might also want to look at some basic historical writing/research sources like The Modern Researcher (http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Researcher-InfoTrac-Jacques-Barzun/dp/0155055291/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206969098&sr=1-5). Some of the reviews are whiny, but I think that's because some folks want a "one size fits all" approach to historical writing...and frankly there isn't one, at least not for more advanced writing and research. Many books focus mainly on the college essay and term paper, and your project is more than that.