The Wadsworth Guide to Research

Susan K. Miller-Cochran, now Executive Director of General Education at The University of Arizona, helped shape the writing programs at The University of Arizona from 2015–2020 and North Carolina State University from 2007–2015. Prior to that, she was an English/ESL faculty member at Mesa Community College in Arizona. Dr. Miller-Cochran served as president of the Council of Writing Program Administrators (2015–2017). Her work focuses on the intersections of technology, second-language writing and writing program administration. A widely published and popular presenter, Dr. Miller-Cochran is also a co-author with Rochelle L. Rodrigo on the "Cengage Guide to Research" (Cengage Learning). She received both her Master of Teaching English as a Second Language (MTESL) and her Ph.D. in English, with a concentration in Rhetoric/Composition and Linguistics, from Arizona State University. Rochelle (Shelley) Rodrigo is currently Visiting Professor at The University of Arizona. Previously, she was Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and (New) Media at Old Dominion University. She was a full time faculty member for nine years in English and film studies at Mesa Community College in Arizona. Dr. Rodrigo researches how "newer" technologies better facilitate communicative interactions, more specifically teaching and learning. As well as co-authoring THE CENGAGE GUIDE TO RESEARCH, Shelley was also co-editor of RHETORICALLY RETHINKING USABILITY (Hampton Press). Her work has also appeared in Computers and Composition, Teaching English in the Two-Year College, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, Journal of Advancing Technology, Flow, as well as various edited collections.

Part I: PREPARING FOR RESEARCH. 1. Why Research? Recognizing Research Contexts. Reflect: How Have You Conducted Research Before? Identifying Research Purposes. Reflect: How Do Research Processes Compare? Considering Elements of the Rhetorical Situation. Reflect: How Do Rhetorical Situations Compare? Entering a Conversation. Techno Tip: Listen to Conversations in Progress. 2. Research and Writing Processes. Processes and Rhetorical Situations. Myths about Writing and Research Processes. Writing Processes. Foundations in Classical Rhetoric. Invention. Researching. Drafting. Reflect: How Do You Write Best? Peer Review. Techno Tip: Conduct Peer Reviews. Revising. Editing. Techno Tip: Read Your Writing Out Loud Proofreading. Reflect: What Are Your Writing Idiosyncrasies? Publishing. Research Processes. Disciplinary Approaches. Write: Discover Disciplinary Patterns and Conventions. 3. Identifying a Topic. Analyzing the Writing Situation. Taking Advantage of Kairos. Write: Identify Kairos. Considering the Rhetorical Situation. Write: Analyze the Rhetorical Situation. Generating Topics. Write: What's Important to You? Write: Generate Topic Ideas. Write: Consider Audience and Purpose. Techno Tip: Use Technology to Explore What You Already Know. Exploring and Narrowing a Potential Topic. Techno Tip: Use the Internet to Explore a Possible Topic. Reflect: How Can I Make a Topic Manageable? Write: Focus Your Research Topic. Developing a Research Question. Write: Write a Research Question. Situating the Writer in the Research. Reflect: What Is the Writer's Place in the Rhetorical Situation? Your Knowledge of Your Topic. Write: Take an Inventory of What You Know. Research in Progress: Writing a Research Proposal. The Assignment. Features of a Research Proposal. Staring Your Research Proposal. Examples of Research Proposals. Example 1: Tsz Lee Can I Have a Clone? Example 2: Megan Trevizo, Is Breast Always Best? Part II: CONDUCTING RESEARCH. 4. Finding Resources through Secondary Research. Conducting Research. Identifying the Information You Need to Find. Primary and Secondary Research. Conducting Primary or Secondary Research. Reflect: Should You Conduct Primary or Secondary Research? Locating Resources. Specific Search Terms. Internet Search Engines. Expanding and Focusing Search Terms. Write: List Alternative Key Terms. Write: Develop a List of Search Terms. Search Engines and Web Directories. Techno Tip: Refine Your Search Results. Types of Resources. How Texts Change over Time. How Texts Are Reviewed. Library Resources vs. Internet Resources. Techno Tip: Edit and Review the History of a Wikipedia Page. Static Resources. Books. Write: Search the Library Catalog. Websites. Audio and Video Files. Microfilm and Microfiche. Syndicated Resources. Periodicals. Write: Search for Resources in Periodicals. Podcasts. Blogs and RSS Feeds. Techno Tip: Set up RSS Feeds. Dynamic Resources. Email Lists and Newsgroups. Social Networking Sites. Online Communities. Wikis. Write: Search for a Variety of Resources. Developing a Research Plan. Reflect: What's Your Plan? 5. Conducting Primary Research. Observations. Including Observation in Your Research Plan. Conducting an Observation. Write: Practice Observing Your Subject. Techno Tip: Record Your Observation. Interviews. Including Interviews in Your Research Plan. Conducting an Interview. Write: Draft Interview Questions. Techno Tip: Conduct Interviews Online. Surveys. Including a Survey in Your Research Plan. Conducting a Survey. Write: Draft Survey Questions. Reflect: Is the Survey Valid and Reliable? Distributing Surveys and Collecting Responses. Techno Tip: Consider Online Survey Services. Ethical Considerations. Techno Tip: Gather Data Online. Interpretation of Data. Analyzing Quantitative Data. Analyzing Qualitative Data. Presenting the Results of Primary Research. Write: Decide What Type of Primary Data to Collect. Reflect: What Does Your Research Plan Look Like Now? 6. Reading Resources Rhetorically. Rhetorical Reading. Reflect: Are You Reading Purposefully or Rhetorically? Write: Choose Resources to Read. Considering Context. Write: Situate a Resource Rhetorically. Annotating Resources. Write: Annotate a Resource. Techno Tip: Search Electronic Documents. Summarizing. Reflect: How Do You Write a Summary? Write: Summarize One of Your Resources. Paraphrasing. Write: Paraphrase One of Your Resources. Selecting Potential Quotations. Write: Take Detailed Notes on a Resource. Starting to Evaluate Your Resources. 7. Tracking and Evaluating Data. Verify. Copy. Techno Tip: Register with a Social Bookmarking Application. Write: Track Bibliographic Information. Techno Tip: Track Bibliographic Information Online. Evaluating Credibility. Respond. Evaluating Validity. Write: Evaluate Validity. Fill the Gaps. Write: Trace a Line of Research. Write: Make Cover Sheets. 8. Understanding Plagiarism and Integrating Resources. Copyright. Fair Use. Ideas Versus Words. Plagiarism. Blatant Plagiarism. Careless Plagiarism. Integration of Resources into Your Argument. Introduction of the Source. Write: Introduce Secondary Resources. Incorporation of the Data. Quotations from Resources. Summarizing and Paraphrasing Revisited. Interpreting the Resource. Documenting the Resource. What to Cite. How to Cite. Write: Decide Which Citation Style to Use. In-Text Citations. Write: Practice In-Text Citations. Full Bibliographic Citations. Techno Tip: Use the Online Resource Center to Check Your Citations Research in Progress: Writing a Review of Research.The Assignment. Features of Reviews of Research. Starting Your Review of Research. Examples of Reviews of Research. Example 1: Tsz Lee, Should All Forms of Human Cloning Be Banned? Example 2: John Lewis, Will Distance Learning Replace Traditional Instruction? Part III: REPORTING ON RESEARCH. 9. Constructing an Argument. Reporting vs. Arguing. Reflect: Is It Reporting orArguing? Write: Define the Rhetorical Situation. Responding to the Research Question. Write: Create a Cluster Map. Developing a Thesis. Write: Draft a Thesis Statement. Using Qualifiers. Reflect: Can You Recognize Qualifiers? Supporting an Argument. Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. Ethos. Write: Develop Your Authorial Ethos. Pathos. Write: Develop Emotional Arguments. Logos. Offering Evidence. Determining Warrants. Write: Understand Your Warrants. Providing Counterarguments. Including Rebuttals. Write: Develop Rebuttals. Write: Construct an Argument. 10. Selecting and Incorporating Evidence. Developing Project-Specific Evaluation Criteria. Audience and Purpose. Reflect: Are You Addressing Your Audience's Wants and Needs? Timeliness, Relevance, and Other Criteria. Write: Develop Evaluative Criteria. Resources as Evidence. Write: Evaluate Types of Resources. Matching Reasons with Evidence. Write: Draw a Cluster Map. Techno Tip: Create Clusters on the Computer. Write: Find Additional Resources. 11. Sharing the Results. Arrangement of Your Argument. Common Argument Patterns. Evaluation. Comparison and Contrast. Definition. Proposal. Cause and Effect. Common Presentational Patterns. Least Important to Most Important. Most Important to Least Important. Chronological Organization. Write: Develop an Outline. Introductions and Conclusions. Reflect: Are You Grabbing Your Audience's Attention and Motivating Them to Action? Write: Draft an Effective Introduction. Write: Develop Closure. Write: Identify Possible Frames. Putting Everything Together. Write: Draft Your Final Argument. Techno Tip: Use Document-Sharing Technologies. Methods of Delivery. Academic Essays. Alternative Modes of Delivery. Techno Tip: Develop Your Presentation. Write: Decide Which Presentation Mode Is Appropriate. Research in Progress: Writing a Researched Argument. The Assignment. Features of a Researched Argument. Your Researched Argument. Examples of Researched Arguments. Example 1: Tsz Lee, Therapeutic Cloning: A Significant Promise for Future Success in the United States. Example 2: Kelesia Bomar, Lowering the Voting Age in Arizona. Part IV: FORMATTING YOUR RESEARCH. 12. MLA Citation Style Guidelines. Paper Formatting. Title Page. Spacing and Margins. Headers and Page Numbers. Section Headings. Visuals. Tables. Figures. Citation Guidelines. In-Text Citations. Quotations and Paraphrases. Long Quotations. Summaries and Multiple Resources. MLA in-Text Citation Nuts and Bolts. Write: Practice In-Text Citations. Full Bibliographic Citations. Techno Tip: Format a Document in MLA Style. MLA Citation Examples. Static Resources.Syndicated Resources. Dynamic Resources. Static Resources. Write: Practice Full Bibliographic Citations for Static Resources. Syndicated Resources. Write: Practice Full Bibliographic Citations for Syndicated Resources. Write: Practice a Full Bibliographic Citation for Streamed Resources. Dynamic Resources. MLA Style: Some Common Errors. 13. APA Citation Style Guidelines. Paper Formatting. Title Page. Spacing and Margins. Headers and Page Numbers. Section Headings. Visuals. Tables. Figures. Citation Guidelines. In-Text Citations. Quotations and Paraphrases. Long Quotations. Summaries and Multiple Resources. In-Text Citation Nuts and Bolts. Write: Practice In-Text Citations. Full Bibliographic Citations. Techno Tip: Format a Document in APA Style. APA Citation Examples. Static Resources. Syndicated Resources. Dynamic Resources. Static Resources. Write: Practice Full Bibliographic Citations for Static Resources. Syndicated Resources. Write: Practice Full Bibliographic Citations for Syndicated Resources. Write: Practice a Full Bibliographic Citation for Streamed Resources. Dynamic Resources. APA Style: Some Common Errors. 14. CMS Citation Style Guidelines. Paper Formatting. Title Page. Spacing and Margins. Headers and Page Numbers. Section Headings. Visuals. Tables. Figures. Citation Guidelines. In-Text Citations. Quotations and Paraphrases. Long Quotations. Summaries and Multiple Resources. In-Text Citation Nuts and Bolts. Write: Practice In-Text Citations. Full Bibliographic Citations. Techno Tip: Format a Document in CMS Style. CMA Citation Examples. Static Resources. Syndicated Resources. Dynamic Resources. Static Resources. Write: Practice Full Bibliographic Citations for Static Resources. Syndicated Resources. Write: Practice Full Bibliographic Citations for Syndicated Resources. Write: Practice a Full Bibliographic Citation for Streamed Resources. Dynamic Resources. CMS Style: Some Common Errors. 15. CSE Citation Style Guidelines. Paper Formatting. Title Page. Spacing and Margins. Headers and Page Numbers. Section Headings. Citation Guidelines. In-Text Citations. Name-Year In-Text Citation Method. Citation-Sequence In-Text Citation Method. Citation-Name In-Text Citation Method. Long Quotations. Summaries and Multiple Resources. Write: Practice In-Text Citations. Full Bibliographic Citations. CSE Citation Examples. Static Resources. Syndicated Resources. Dynamic Resources. Techno Tip: Formatting a Document in APA Style. Static Resources. Syndicated Resources. Dynamic Resources.CSE Style: Some Common Errors. Appendix. Invention Activities. Brainstorming or Listing. Using Brainstorming or Listing in Your Research Process. Journaling. Using Journaling in Your Research Process. Freewriting. Using Freewriting in Your Research Process. Looping. Using Looping in Your Research Process. Cluster Mapping. Using Cluster Mapping in Your Research Process. Outlining. Using Outlining in Your Research Process. Asking Journalistic Questions. Using Journalistic Questions in Your Research Process.

• Part I: PREPARING FOR RESEARCH.1. Why Research? Recognizing Research Contexts. Reflect: How Have You Conducted Research Before? Identifying Research Purposes. Reflect: How Do Research Processes Compare? Considering Elements of the Rhetorical Situation. Reflect: How Do Rhetorical Situations Compare? Entering a Conversation. Techno Tip: Listen to Conversations in Progress.2. Research and Writing Processes. Processes and Rhetorical Situations. Myths about Writing and Research Processes. Writing Processes. Foundations in Classical Rhetoric. Invention. Researching. Drafting. Reflect: How Do You Write Best? Peer Review. Techno Tip: Conduct Peer Reviews. Revising. Editing. Techno Tip: Read Your Writing Out Loud Proofreading. Reflect: What Are Your Writing Idiosyncrasies? Publishing. Research Processes. Disciplinary Approaches. Write: Discover Disciplinary Patterns and Conventions.3. Identifying a Topic. Analyzing the Writing Situation. Taking Advantage of Kairos. Write: Identify Kairos. Considering the Rhetorical Situation. Write: Analyze the Rhetorical Situation. Generating Topics. Write: What's Important to You? Write: Generate Topic Ideas. Write: Consider Audience and Purpose. Techno Tip: Use Technology to Explore What You Already Know. Exploring and Narrowing a Potential Topic. Techno Tip: Use the Internet to Explore a Possible Topic. Reflect: How Can I Make a Topic Manageable? Write: Focus Your Research Topic. Developing a Research Question. Write: Write a Research Question. Situating the Writer in the Research. Reflect: What Is the Writer's Place in the Rhetorical Situation? Your Knowledge of Your Topic. Write: Take an Inventory of What You Know. Research in Progress: Writing a Research Proposal. The Assignment. Features of a Research Proposal. Staring Your Research Proposal. Examples of Research Proposals.Example 1: Tsz Lee "Can I Have a Clone?" Example 2: Megan Trevizo, "Is Breast Always Best?" Part II: CONDUCTING RESEARCH.4. Finding Resources through Secondary Research. Conducting Research. Identifying the Information You Need to Find. Primary and Secondary Research. Conducting Primary or Secondary Research. Reflect: Should You Conduct Primary or Secondary Research? Locating Resources. Specific Search Terms. Internet Search Engines. Expanding and Focusing Search Terms. Write: List Alternative Key Terms. Write: Develop a List of Search Terms. Search Engines and Web Directories. Techno Tip: Refine Your Search Results. Types of Resources. How Texts Change over Time. How Texts Are Reviewed. Library Resources vs. Internet Resources. Techno Tip: Edit and Review the History of a Wikipedia Page. Static Resources. Books. Write: Search the Library Catalog. Websites. Audio and Video Files. Microfilm and Microfiche. Syndicated Resources. Periodicals. Write: Search for Resources in Periodicals. Podcasts. Blogs and RSS Feeds. Techno Tip: Set up RSS Feeds. Dynamic Resources. Email Lists and Newsgroups. Social Networking Sites. Online Communities. Wikis. Write: Search for a Variety of Resources. Developing a Research Plan. Reflect: What's Your Plan?5. Conducting Primary Research. Observations. Including Observation in Your Research Plan. Conducting an Observation. Write: Practice Observing Your Subject. Techno Tip: Record Your Observation. Interviews. Including Interviews in Your Research Plan. Conducting an Interview. Write: Draft Interview Questions. Techno Tip: Conduct Interviews Online. Surveys. Including a Survey in Your Research Plan. Conducting a Survey. Write: Draft Survey Questions. Reflect: Is the Survey Valid and Reliable? Distributing Surveys and Collecting Responses. Techno Tip: Consider Online Survey Services. Ethical Considerations. Techno Tip: Gather Data Online. Interpretation of Data. Analyzing Quantitative Data. Analyzing Qualitative Data. Presenting the Results of Primary Research. Write: Decide What Type of Primary Data to Collect. Reflect: What Does Your Research Plan Look Like Now?6. Reading Resources Rh