Looking for texts on principles of research methods

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.

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

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

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

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 (This is MLA)
Here (This is APA)

They're simple but a good start, Also, try this site here.

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

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.

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

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

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Originally Posted by Adam L

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

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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.

Sounds like you need structured writing resources.

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Originally Posted by jcustis

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.

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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

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

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Originally Posted by Schmedlap

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

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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

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

MarcT has returned.

I like the choosing what concepts to use section.

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Originally Posted by selil

MarcT has returned.

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: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).

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Originally Posted by selil

I like the choosing what concepts to use section.

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

Marc

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Originally Posted by Adam L

-- 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

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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.

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

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

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.