Table Of Content2
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The Research Process
What’s your next step? Use this guide to help you along the way.
Joining the Conversation
Getting Started Chapter 1
Exploring and Focusing Chapter 2
Developing Your Research Question Chapter 3
Working with Sources
Reading Critically and Actively Chapter 4
Evaluating Sources Chapter 5
Taking Notes Chapter 6
Engaging with Information, Ideas, and Chapter 7
Arguments
Managing Information Chapter 8
Avoiding Plagiarism Chapter 9
Collecting Information
Searching for Information Chapter 10
Collecting Information with Field Chapter 11
Research
Creating Your Document
Developing Your Thesis Statement Chapter 12
Developing and Organizing Your Chapter 13
Argument
Drafting Chapter 14
Using Sources Effectively Chapter 15
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Designing Documents Chapter 16
Revising and Editing Chapter 17
Presenting Your Work Chapter 18
Documenting Sources
Understanding Documentation Systems Chapter 19
Using MLA Style Chapter 20
Using APA Style Chapter 21
Using Chicago Style Chapter 22
Using CSE Style Chapter 23
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SIXTH EDITION
The Bedford
RESEARCHER
Mike Palmquist
Colorado State University
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For Bedford/St. Martin’s
Vice President, Editorial, Macmillan Learning Humanities: Edwin Hill
Senior Program Director for English: Leasa Burton
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Composition: Lumina Datamatics, Inc.
Photo Editor: Angela Boehler
Photo Researcher: Sheri Blaney
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Senior Art Director: Anna Palchik
Text Design: Claire Seng-Niemoeller
Cover Design and Illustration: William Boardman
Copyright © 2018, 2015, 2012, 2009 by Bedford/St. Martin’s.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as may be expressly permitted by
the applicable copyright statutes or in writing by the Publisher.
2 1 0 9 8 7
f e d c b a
For information, write: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 75 Arlington Street, Boston, MA
02116
ISBN 978-1-319-13047-3 (EPUB)
Acknowledgments
Art acknowledgments and copyrights appear on the same page as the art selections
they cover.
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Preface for Instructors
Alternative facts. Fake news. Political bubbles.
The presidential election of 2016 called attention in an unprecedented
way to the credibility and reliability of information sources. But the
concerns brought into focus by the election are far from new. In fact,
they’ve been with us for more than two decades. The rapid growth of
social networks and the proliferation of news and media providers that
adopt particular — and often radically different — stances on important
issues have made it all too easy to surround ourselves with people and
ideas that reaffirm rather than challenge our understanding of important
social, cultural, and political issues.
For this reason alone, it has never been more important to learn how to
locate relevant, credible sources, to evaluate competing ideas and
arguments, and to share our thoughts with others in a compelling, well-
supported manner. Knowing how to work with sources has become critical
not only to us as individuals but to our society as a whole.
Research writing, as a result, has become central not only to our
individual academic and professional goals, but also to the long-term
success of our society. And while that may sound like an exaggeration to
many of us (and certainly to many of our students), it is clear that
understanding how to work with information, share ideas effectively, and
argue for a particular purpose will only grow more and more important
over the coming decades.
This edition of The Bedford Researcher, like those that have come
before it, was written with the goal of helping writers strengthen their
ability to understand, assess, and contribute to ongoing conversations
about important issues. As past editions have done, it addresses the vast
amount of information available to writers, the expanding variety of media
and genres used by writers to share their work, the critical importance of
evaluating sources that — at first glance — appear to be “just like” the
sources in a library, and the demands of managing information effectively
and efficiently.
This edition also responds to continuing changes in how writers
participate in a complex and rapidly evolving information ecology. It
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recognizes the variety of ways through which writers connect with readers,
the role of social media, and the blurred lines between public and private
discourse.
Yet it also recognizes that many important aspects of source-based
writing remain unchanged. As was the case in the mid-twentieth century
— and, for that matter, in the centuries that preceded it — writers must
still consider their purpose and the needs and interests of their readers;
they must still make choices about genres and design; they are still shaped
by the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which they work; and they
must still grapple with limitations and take advantage of opportunities they
encounter as they work on their research writing projects.
Meeting these new challenges while maintaining a focus on the
fundamental relationships among writers, readers, sources, genres, and
contexts can tax even the most experienced writers. Our students, then,
face a doubly difficult task: learning the core principles of research writing
and mastering the technological context that has vastly complicated the
rhetorical situations in which they find themselves. As I’ve reflected on the
challenges facing our students, I’ve become convinced that students can be
most successful if we help them understand research writing both
conceptually and practically, combining a rhetorical framework with the
accessible guidance students need to help them navigate the world of
academic research writing.
In this edition, I’ve continued my efforts to improve The Bedford
Researcher, both as a classroom text and a resource for student
researchers. I’ve focused once again on the notion that academic research
is an act of “joining a conversation.” I’ve deepened my treatment of
researching in various disciplinary contexts, and I’ve added new coverage
of writers’ roles. I’ve also created a new chapter that focuses on genres —
including bibliographies, summaries, responses, syntheses and reviews,
and research proposals — that can play important roles both as ends in
themselves and as intermediate steps toward a wider range of research
writing genres.
Features
The Bedford Researcher is based on the premise that the decisions good
research writers make are shaped primarily by rhetorical concerns — the
writer’s purposes and interests; the readers’ needs, interests, values, and
beliefs; the setting in which a document is written and read; and the
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requirements and limitations associated with an assignment. To illustrate
this premise, the book presents research writing as a process of choosing,
learning about, and contributing to a conversation among readers and
writers.
Complete Coverage of the Research Writing Process As in the
previous editions, the text is divided into five parts. The first four parts
correspond to the stages of an idealized research writing process, although
the book stresses the recursive nature of research writing. The fifth part
focuses on documentation systems. Part 1, Joining the Conversation,
introduces the concept of research writing as a social act. It helps students
understand that research writing involves exploring conversations among
writers and readers, narrowing their focus to a single conversation, and
developing a research question to guide their inquiry within that
conversation. Part 2, Working with Sources, establishes the importance of
reading critically, evaluating sources, taking notes, engaging with
information and ideas, managing information, and avoiding plagiarism.
Part 3, Collecting Information, helps students search for information using
digital resources, print resources, and field research methods. Part 4,
Creating Your Document, guides students as they develop their thesis,
organize their information and ideas, frame their argument, develop an
outline, draft their document, integrate source material, design their
document, revise and edit their drafts, and present their work. Finally, Part
5, Documenting Sources, provides comprehensive and up-to-date chapters
on MLA, APA, C hicago, and CSE styles.
Engaging and Useful Apparatus The book is designed so that students
can find information easily and work competently through each stage of
their projects. Each chapter is structured around a set of Key Questions
that enables students to find information quickly and ends with Quick
Reference boxes to stress the chapter’s main points. Throughout the book,
My Research Project activities, in-depth tutorials, and numerous
illustrations and tables teach students how to keep their projects on track.
The design employs clear and accessible illustrations, annotations,
checklists, activities, and documentation guidelines — the parts of the text
students will return to as they write.
A Conversational, Student-Friendly Tone I’ve written The Bedford
Researcher in an accessible, easy-to-follow style that treats students with
respect. I want students to gain confidence in their ability to write well,
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