A arte da pesquisa

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

'A arte da pesquisa' se dirige a pesquisadores estudantes, desde os mais inexperientes até os profissionais, cursando pós-graduação. Seu objetivo é orientar os pesquisadores iniciantes, intermediários e avançados quanto às complexidades do planejamento, organização e elaboração do processo de pesquisa. O sucesso de 'A arte da pesquisa' é uma prova de que as técnicas de fazer e relatar pesquisas não só podem ser aprendidas como também ensinadas.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Research, Reference, Academic, Education, Science

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever faced a blank computer screen and were at a complete loss of what you should write about for a 10-page research paper due the next week? Or maybe you knew what you wanted to write about but didn't know how to start? Or maybe you had all your sources, wrote out a draft and realized that no one cares if The Great Gatsby illustrates the three Aristotelian elements of a tragedy?

The Craft of Research helps students and researchers solve dilemmas like these and more. The authors dissect the anatomy of a research paper and create step-by-step stages that guide you all the way from choosing a topic to polishing your final product.

The major sections of this book address how to form a good research claim that your readers will care about; how to find and evaluate sources; how to support your claim with evidence, reasons and warrants; and how to prepare, draft and revise your paper. The authors use simple and clear language, and if that's not enough, they provide easy-to-understand visuals and diagrams to help make their point.

The authors also cover useful areas such as ethics (why you must always cite even when just discussing an idea of another writer's), the Internet (when it's acceptable to use web-based sources), and visuals (why 3-D graphs are a bad idea).

Sure, some of the advice they provide you may already know, but as the authors cover nearly everything to do with research papers (albeit in a generalized way), there's something for everyone. It's also nice to have a guide that will remind you of everything you learned in your freshman English classes. Clear, concise, and accessible, the Craft of Research is one of the best books on research.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really wish someone had given me this book back when I actually had to write research papers. It provides concrete, easy-to-follow advice on how to write more effectively. Even better, it avoids overly-technical language and preachiness. As a creative writer, I don't necessarily agree with everything in their brief chapter on style, but for the most part it is good advice, and it certainly works as a basic guideline for revising weak language. Perhaps it is an oversimplification, but the issue of style probably can't be covered in only 20 pages. This book is a good reference for writers of all levels, and would be perfect reading for a freshman or a first-year grad student (each would take something different from it, I think, in terms of the depth of their thinking about writing). It is accessible to non-student, non-writers as well, offering practical advice for businesspeople and other professionals.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm giving it two stars because it did have a handful of helpful points. But only a handful.

I'm working on a book and thought reading this might be a good foundation/review before doing so. I was wrong. I just wasted three months of my time.

The issues are many fold. Firstly the near rage inducing repetition. I could make a hefty list of all the things that were mentioned no less then 30 or 40 times. I wish I were exaggerating. I really do. 90% of the book is information I learned in and around forth grade, and even then it's presented poorly. The bias against research and exploratory research reaches the point of near violence. Everything is a rhetorical battle, not an honest presentation of facts and reason. If I had followed this book during my prior degree I would had done so poorly that I might have been asked to leave.

The STEM bias is carried over to the point of ridiculousness. Anything that cannot carry some dramatic point or solve some earth shattering problem is dismissed out of hand.

Which brings me to the next issue, the "problem". Not everything is a "problem". There is not always going to be a "problem". A great deal of writing is done for relevance to a topic, for the furtherance of understanding for those who work within a field. Or just because the topic is fun and it's fun to learn more about it. Yet the book is near silent on how to make a topic interesting, instead devoting the overwhelming majority of its bulk to "problems". Leading a non-problem reader to look at it and say "so what?"

Both these writing realities are utterly disparaged. If you intend to do either of these styles of writing avoid this book like the plague. It will only frustrate you.

As mentioned before, it does have a few useful points. However I can't help but feel the basic tips could have found in a book that wouldn't have turned out to be to frustratingly useless otherwise.

I did for find a writing guide mentioned in the bibliography that looks promising. If only any of the writers of this book had was it before writing this one. This book is time I'm never getting back.

[Ana Avila · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of helpful information. I gave it a full quick read, but I’m sure I’ll come back to several sections of this book in my future writing projects.

—

Las estrellas dejan mucho qué desear a la hora de evaluar un libro. La manera en que tú interpretas 1, 2, 3, 4 o 5 estrellas probablemente será muy distinta a la manera en que yo interpreto 1, 2, 3, 4 o 5 estrellas.

Aquí va la «traducción» del sistema de estrellas de Ana al español:

⭐️ - Malo
⭐️ ⭐️ - Me costó terminar
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ - Bueno
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ - Muy bueno
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ - Me cambió la vida / No pude soltarlo

[Timo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Main reason for me reading this book is that I soon have to start the process of writing my thesis. Honestly I didn't expect much of this book from "entertainment" or "easy read" level and was expecting something painfully boring albeit informative. However after starting to read this I soon discovered that not only this book has lots of tips about the planning and writing process, finding sources, how to refine arguments etc. it also does it in a way that is interesting and almost *gasp* fun to read.

Authors had put many of their own comments about the hardships they've met while writing to cheer up the reader. They had also used lots of text examples on how you should build up your argument from ground level, how to split it to different parts and make sure they all support the argument. There were tips about how to win a writers/researchers block and I personally liked the amount the authors put themselves and their experiences in the text.

Honestly though I have only read two books about how to write scientific text, one was a finnish one and compared to this book even if it had lots of information it was still really boring and hard to read. This book is definitely worth its surprisingly low price.

[Egypt Scholars Scholars · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Craft of Research

و هو كتاب قيم جداً و ذو علاقة وثيقة بهدف مجموعتنا و نتمنى من الجميع محاولة تحصيله و الاطلاع عليه.

يعد الكتاب مرجعاً منقطع النظير للباحثين من شتى المراحل و مختلف المستويات التعليمية و البحثية سواءً طلبة السنوات الأولى في الدراسة الجامعية أو حتى الباحثين المتمرسين أصحاب الخبرة.

يشرح الكتاب بأسلوب واضح و مفصل و مدعم بالأمثلة كيفية صياغة و كتابة الأطروحة البحثية، و كيفية تحفيز القارئ لها و إقناعه بأهميتها و بمعقولية الإدعاءات و الافتراضات المبنية عليها. كما يساعد الكتاب على تعلم مهارة توقع تساؤلات القراء التي قد تثور في أذهانهم أثناء القراءة و كيفية الإجابة على هذه التساؤلات في وقتها و مكانها المناسب.

كما يتضمن الكتاب عرضاً مفصلاً لخطوات و أدوات توثيق البحث العلمي و كيفية الاستعانة بالمراجع، و كيفية إعداد المسودة الأولى، ثم كيفية تنظيمها و تقويمها و تدعيمها بالرسوم التوضيحية و الأشكال البيانية ... و غيرها الكثير من المهارات الأساسية لكتابة و توثيق البحث العلمي.

[Eren Buğlalılar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mükemmel. Harika.
Lisans, lisansüstü herhangi bir araştırma yapıyorsanız mutlaka okunması gereken bir kitap. Araştırma konusunun formüle edilmesinden, taslağın oluşturulmasına kadar her aşama güzel örneklerle aktarılmış.

[Ashley Clubb · Rating 5 out of 5]

UVA really is awakening my inner academic. Reading about crafting research sounds boring, but this book wasn't! 5/5 because it really does teach you or refine your skills.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a crazy fascinating book. the plot is what got me. plod, plod, plod, and plod.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book at least four times and I am reading again even now for the fifth. This is a book that can be usefully reread every few years if one has the interest to present strong arguments, especially written research, and proposals. The book is one of my all time favorites for learning the writing craft.

I admit to coercing my High School-aged children to read it each summer once they reach the 10th grade. My goal is to help them assimilate this part of the writing process--which I believe is difficult to teach in the compressed time of a typical class. This book is used at the college level as a textbook, but it reads easily and is is a brilliant compilation by three committed and talented authors. This makes it surprisingly easy for most readers to cover.

The book is in its third edition now. I have carefully flipped the pages of the second and third editions and find there to be insignificant difference between the two; if so I would have immediately upgraded to the latest text. There is a big improvement between the first and second editions, however. We currently own four volumes in our home, and I think that my college kids might have swiped some of them when they left for school.

[Robin Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Craft of Research was recommended to me by a colleague who is focusing on research and rhetoric. It was a good overview of writing best practices and would be useful for undergraduate students or anyone who wants practical advice on writing research papers. I appreciated most its emphasis on writing and research as conversation. Often undergraduate students are afraid to interject their own ideas into their writing and produce research papers with too much summary. Students will be more likely to engage with their texts and produce original thought in their research papers if the research and writing process were framed as a conversation with other experts in the field rather than just a place to dump data or to repeat the right answer.

[jeni b · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my textbook for LIB 356: Research Methods of the Humanities. Informative and insightful.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty boring to read straight through, but a lot of helpful information.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my primary Research Methods textbook and I have to say it was a fantastic guide to writing research reports and papers.

[Scott Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The act of research – whether in the natural sciences, social sciences, or humanities – undergirds so much of modern society. The skills help us think and then test those thoughts in light of outside information (data). Without a rigorous set of methods, this act can become mere people pleasing, but with a firm framework, it continues to transform the way the world lives. This book, an educational standard for almost three decades with five authors, clearly communicates research’s foundations to those learning the craft. It’s appropriate for the classroom and individuals starting careers.

All authors were or are professors of English, so this book has a natural leaning towards the humanities. Nonetheless, it attempts to address all facets of the academic enterprise. Because the authors are involved with language, it communicates cognitive nuances that might be missed by experts in a field. Its wording is eloquent, and organization, tight.

Like most academic works, this book heavily relies on concepts and classical works, yet it also uses relatable, conversational English to convey its message. It walks readers through steps including why to identify as a researcher, how to pursue the process, how to think carefully, and how to communicate findings. As easily imaginable, the authors do a superb job of enhancing readers’ personal writing style in the last chapter.

We live in an information age where thinking about the world has become the most important skill. Ironically, some question the value of an education even in an information-rich environment. If information is freely available, they ask, what do universities have to offer? This book offers a forthright answer. A college education and research training offer students the ability to think and process the world constructively. Especially suited for later undergraduates and early graduate students, this book shines a clear path forward for individual careers and ultimately society’s advance.

[Suhaib · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books on research I have ever read–an essential for anyone going to grad school. It covers all the basics: how to craft your argument, connecting your claim with reasons and supporting them with evidence; acknowledging other scholars and responding to them; how to outline and draft; how to write your sentences. I am yet to find another handbook that can beat this one.

Here are some of the most helpful ideas:

1. Your claims need reasons that you must think up.
2. Your reasons need evidence that you must search for.
3. Acknowledging and responding to other researchers is a must, especially at the PhD level.
4. Do not filter your draft. Just keep writing without stopping.
5. Begin your sentences with the old, simple and familiar. Don't draft with this rule in mind. Keep it to when you revise.
6. End your sentences with the new, complex and unfamiliar. Again, does not apply to when you draft initially.
7. Turn your subjects into characters.
8. Turn your verbs into actions.

I think everyone going to grad school should read this book. It is simply indispensable. It keeps getting out of print for a reason.

[Quinn Dougherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stuff. Detailed notes on my lesswrong shortform here: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/kq8CZ...

When I found this sitting around the EA Hotel library, I thought to myself "hey I wanna be a researcher!" I tried to relate everything back to AI Safety, sometimes lazily or ineffectively. There are a few chapters I'd kinda like to type up notes to that I probably wont at least not right now.

Its full of high level, field agnostic advice. It's not often clear how it helps with e.g. a modern ML paper, but some ideas like sentence structure and thinking thru the reader roles and writer roles are applicable to that domain.

If you're interested read my shortform.

[maia]

this book had a lot of repetition of things i already knew after way too many years at university doing academic writing - but it was a quick and easy read to refresh argument building, reasoning, and engagement with the intended reader(s). there are definitely some chapters i will be coming back to in the future!

academic read - no rating.

[Michael Wu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent

[Jennifer DuBose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the practical approach by Booth. Felt like listening to a friend or mentor in academia who’s been through the thick of it and is giving you their advice. No frills, no lofty/white-tower theories.

This was required reading for a course I’m taking, but I can see myself referencing this a lot in the future as I continue my studies.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the second time I've read this book, and this time I was prompted to read it as both a researcher and a teacher of research/writing. There's more to recommend as the latter, as the view it presents to the former is needlessly simplistic for an advanced graduate student. That said, there are still plenty of lessons to be gleaned from books of this sort, and this one is particularly good for reminding its readers (at whatever level) to stay calm about the process of conducting and writing up research (this advice offered alongside practical guides for moving forward and not at all delivered in an irritating way). The biggest criticism of this text is that its desire to be wholly interdisciplinary prevents it from making specifically guided recommendations for writers in specific fields. But, as a broad strokes approach to tackling something inherently difficult, this book is clear and precise. For someone further on in their work, it even helps them to zoom out and remember the importance of such clarity.

[Aaron Downs · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors of The Craft of Research know how to write, and they know how to write well. Wayne Booth, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph Williams put their experience and skills together to guide writers, old and young alike, through the process of writing a good research paper. These authors help writers to think well, to research well, and to write well.

The research process is difficult, and is all the more when one does not know the direction in which to go, much less where to start. The Craft of Research discusses how to ask questions and find answers, to recognize (or even form) a problem, and then how to solve that problem through engaging sources, understanding and engaging sources, and assembling reasons and evidences in a research paper.

Although many writing books are difficult to read, the authors have assembled a readable, yet highly informative book on writing. I have found this book to be helpful in preparing to write papers for grad schools, but I am confident that undergrad, and even high school, writers would benefit from reading this book.

[Diamond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent read.

Glad I bought it, I'll definitely be referencing this again--multiple times throughout my graduate school career!

Highly recommend it.

[April]

Semester readings done!

[Simge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Çok büyük keyifle okudum. Sunduğu bakış açısı, verdiği örnekler ve yol gösterici önerileri ile araştırmaya ilgi duyan herkes, ama özellikle lisansüstü öğrencileri için, tam bir başucu kaynağı niteliğinde olmuş. Aslında keşke lisans düzeyindeki öğrencilere de kitaptan örnekler sunulabilse, belki o zaman araştırmanın önemi, aşamaları ve bazen bu aşamalardan geçerken kaybolmanın aslında ne kadar normal olduğu daha somut bir şekilde anlatılabilir öğrenciye. Bunu söylememin sebebi, araştırmaya lisanstan itibaren ilgi duyan azimli/çalışkan bir öğrencinin bile, lisansüstünde konu "araştırma"ya geldiğinde sudan çıkmış balık gibi hissedebileceğini bilmem. "Veri toplama" / "veri analizi" gibi durumlar için de bu durum oldukça geçerli görünüyor. Öğrencinin henüz erken aşamalarda araştırmaya alıştırılması gerekiyor, mesele sadece bir ödev üzerinden var olan bilgilerin özetini sunmak olmamalı ki onu bile layıkıyla yapabilecek durumda olmayan öğrencilerin olası varlığını düşününce bu durumun eğitim adına da ne büyük bir kayıp olduğu anlaşılıyor fikrimce.

[Timothy Crockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a very practical and helpful book, especially being a preacher and the amount of reading and researching that goes with the calling

The book is meant to be used as a resource and depending on where you are in your research project this book has the material you need to follow through from start to finish including the importance of the introduction, how to cite sources, and collating material the significance of the title and much more.

At the end of each chapter, there was a QUICK TIP which is more of an abbreviation of the chapter outlined so you don't have to run through the chapter again.

It is a book that is meant to be used as a resource. It will get marked, underlined, and highlighted for sure.

I would recommend this book to anyone who spends time in research particularly college students, authors, and even those in ministry.

[Nicole]

This books seems great for teaching the academic research essay, though I imagine it would sometimes be probably a bit over the heads of a lot of lower-div writing students. It's got so much composition AND rhetoric stuff packed in. I'm planning to use it for my soph-level academic research course; will need to supplement with Lamott's "Shitty First Drafts" and primary research methods, which I think could feed nicely into some more exploratory forms of writing, too.

[Nathan McBride · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be sure to read the 4th edition (2016). We all do research. Whenever we look up information to share it with people. But how do we know what information to believe, and how do we communicate it clearly?
This book is designed for students in higher education to write clear and effective academic projects. It uses clear examples and a smooth style. (The chapter on style is worth its weight in gold.)
280 pages.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

My college professor asked us to read this for homework. When I first picked it up, I expected it to disappoint me. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that the writing was accesible and not dense at all. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to enhance their writing skills and learn how to write an effective research paper.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to help with the writing and research process for academic papers and articles. It is written conversationally, straight forward and easy to understand.