Writing Research Papers across the Curriculum , Fourth Edition

388 Pages·1995·24.8 MB·English

by  Susan M. Hubbuch

Planning Ahead: Developing a Work Schedule
Beginwith the date on which the paperis due, and work backward.
Date Stage in the Process
Due date, the dateonwhichyouwillgiveyour
papertoyour instructor.
Begin polishing final rough draft (at least two
days beforeduedate; ifrough draftneeds tobe
typed, add a realistic amount oftime for this
task).
First rough draft complete (two to two-and-a
halfweeks before the due date).
Date on which all essential evidence has been
collected andyou begin draftingyourpaper(at
leastthreeweeks before due date).
Date on which you begin the research process
by selecting an area ofinvestigation, develop
ing your research question, and starting your
Researcher's Notebook (within a week ofthe
timeyou receive the assignment).
Once you have set the deadlines above and you have developed your research strate
gies,youwill beable to-andshould-setdeadlines foryourselfforintermediatesteps
in the process.
Writing Research Papers Across
the Curriculum

Writing Research Papers Across
the Curriculum
Fourth Edition
Susan M. Hubbuch
Lewis and Clark College
HarcourtBraceCollegePublishers
FortWorth Philadelphia SanDiego NewYork Orlando Austin SanAntonio
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Publisher Ted Buchholz
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Art Director Sue Hart
ISBN: 0-15-502655-0
LibraryofCongress CatalogCard Number: 95-75402
Copyright© 1996 byHolt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
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9 0 1 2 3 4 016 10 9 8 7 6 5 4
PREFACE
TO STUDENTS
SinceIpicturedmyselftalkingdirectlytoyou throughoutthis textas Itakeyou,
stepbystep,throughtheprocessofdoingaresearchpaper, hereI needaddonly
afewwords about the waythis bookis set up.
It is very important for you to begin where I do, with the first two sections,
becausethereIexplainwhataresearchpaperisandshowyouhowtosetupyour
Researcher's Notebook. After that, it may occasionally be necessary for you to
consult parts ofthis book in a different order from the one in which they are
printed because different research projects have different requirements. But
don'tworry. The cross-references and the table ofcontents should make it very
easyforyoutofind exactlywhatyouneedwhenyouneedit.Asyouwilldiscover,
the term "research paper" can mean different things to different instructors.
Thus,inSections2and5, Iexplainthreebasictypesofresearchpapers-reports
on studies and experiments, review ofthe literature papers, and critical papers.
Similarly, since instructors in different departments prefer different methods of
documenting sources, I introduce you to the basics offour styles ofdocumenta
tion. But I have tucked this mechanical information out ofyour way in appen
dixes at the end ofthe book; once you decide which form ofdocumentation is
appropriate for your paper (and I give you lots ofhelp in making this decision)
you can use aparticularappendixas amini stylemanual.
The most important thing to me is that you feel secure and confident every
step ofthe wayand, to giveyou the confidenceyou need, Iexplain each step in
the process and give you a variety ofstrategies to use to accomplish each step.
Becausemysuggestionsandstrategiescomefromyearsofworkingwithstudents,
Iknowtheywork, butyoumaynotbetotallyconvinceduntilyouseethemwork
foryou.Atfirstyoumaydistrustsomeofmyadviceorfind someofthestrategies
awkward. Itis difficultto do things inanewway, especiallywhenyou are under
thepressureofdeadlinesandgrades.Andyoumaynotfullyexperiencethebene
fits ofmysuggestionsuntilyou'veusedtheminseveralresearchprojects.Itisfor
thisreasonthatI'vedesignedthisguidesothatyoucanuseitwhileyouaredoing
apaperfor art history and use itagain nextyearwhen you are doing apaperfor
economics. Insteadofthinkingaboutthisbookasatexttosellimmediatelyatthe
end ofthe semester, I'd suggestyou lookupon itas areference bookto keep on
ashelfwithyour dictionaryand otherhandbooks.
vi Preface
TO TEACHERS
AlthoughWritingResearchPapers nowappearsinitsfourth edition,Icontinue
to thinkofitas essentiallythesametextbookIputtogetherinthelate 1970sfor
use bystudentsatLewisand ClarkCollege. I've tended toviewrevisions made
over the years as tinkering-adjustments needed to clarify points or streamline
sections,orchangesrequiredbychangesinthedocumentationstylesintroduced
in the appendixes. When the timecameto beginworkonthis edition, however,
I found myselfplanning substantial-and in my mind substantive-changes in
thecoreofthe text. I told myselfthatIwassimplyrefiningand reinforcingmes~
sages I'd intended the book to carry from its inception. But, as I review the
results, I have concluded that this edition represents atrue re-vision. Additions
and adjustments in Sections 1,2, and 4 reflectagrowth in myunderstandingof
the challenges students face when asked to write a research paper. Taken as a
whole, theyrepresentconnections I have beenmaking between my research in
compositiontheoryandpoststructuralistanalysesofdiscoursecommunities, and
myongoingconversationswith studentscompletingresearch papers for courses
across the curriculum. This edition, I nowsee, has been myeffortto bringthe
ory and practical experience together into a more explicit and coherentwhole.
Writing Research Papers remains directly focused on the student's experi
ence of the research/writing process. My objective is still to guide students
through the various stages of the process with explanations, suggestions, and
strategies designed to open up for them the intellectual challenges and satisfac
tions thatmotivate and drive theworkofexperienced researchers.To use acen
tral metaphorofthis book, myeffortis topersuade students to rejectthe passive
role ofsponge and to see themselves, instead, as active, problem-solving detec
tives. Although, back in the 1970s, I was consciously influenced by the shift in
compositiontheorytowriting-as-process, mychoiceoffocus was notsimplythe
oretical. Myone-on-one workwith students in the WritingCenterthen, as now,
hasconvincedmethatthemultipleproblemstheyencounterwithresearchpaper
assignments, as well as the central weaknesses of unsuccessful papers, have a
commonsource: students' (mis)conceptionsofwhatdefines aresearch paperand
thus, by extrapolation, their perception of their role in putting such papers
together. The bastardizedencyclopediaarticles studentstoo often produce, their
ill-digested regurgitations ofwhat they've "read," all make sense ifthe assign
ment to do aresearch paper is conceived as an exercise in which an uninvolved
reporter attempts to fashion a set of facts and received truths into a text that
"flows" and that assures the teacherthat thewriterhas looked intothe requisite
numberofbooks and articles.
Reflecting mygrowingappreciation ofthe deeperepistemological sources of
students' typical perceptions ofresearch papers, I have in Sections 1, 2, and 4
elaboratedontheworkofprofessionalresearchers intheacademy. Enablingstu
dentstotransformthemselvesfrom passivespongestoactivedetectivesrequires
afrontal assaulton theirnotion ofdisciplines as set, staticbodies ofknowledge.
Preface vii
Thus I have stressed the notionofdisciplines as communities ofhuman beings
engagedinongoingconversations inwhich knowledge iscontinuallynegotiated
and constructed. Myaim, in part, has beentopreparestudentsforthevariations
they will find in instructors' expectations as they take courses across the cur
riculum, and tohelpthemunderstandthesevariationsas differ(::ncesinthestan
dards that members ofdisciplines and fields use to assess whatconstitutesvalid
knowledge ofasubject.
Thus, Section4hasbeenextensivelyrevised, andvariousstrategiesdesigned
to enhance students' reading comprehension have been added. Attacking the
notion that books and articles are conglomerations of facts and truths to be
picked through for pearls to be strunginto papers, I encourage students to con
ceptualize their sources as the voices ofhuman beings who fire articulating the
sense they have made ofthe subject. Byviewing these works as coherent, ex
tendedargumentsinwhichtheauthorspresenttheirpointsofview,studentswill
not only increase their comprehension ofthese texts but also gain insight into
ways inwhich theywill have to exercise theirown meaning-makingpotential if
theywantto make acontributionto the disciplinaryconversation.
Otherchanges in this fourth edition are more straightforward and therefore
require less commentary. The substantial changes in Section 3 were necessi
tated,quitesimply, bychangesthatadvancingtechnologyhave madeintheway
researchers find theirevidence. The rapiditywithwhich the information super
highway is being built, not to mention the diversity in ways to access it, sug
gested the foolhardiness of giving detailed information about particular
databasesornetworks. In keepingwith myfocus on the researcher, inSection3
Ireinforcetheneedforstudentstoseethemselvesasdetectives,usingtheques
tions they have posed for themselves as the touchstone for determining what
they need to find, and making optimum use oftheir problem-solving skills in
carryingouttheir quest.
"Tinkering" appropriately describes other modifications I've made in this
textbook, including the revision of Appendix E, and the transformation of
Appendix F into Section 8. Regarding the latter, I deemed it time to acknowl
(::dge the importanceofpolishingthefinal draftofthe paperbymakingthisstep
ofthe writing process apartofthe core ofthe book. While I am on the subject,
I encourage teachers to pay special attention to myelaborated discussion ofthe
distinction between documentation style and manuscriptstyle. In makingdeci
sions about the appearance oftheir final paper, students will rely on judgment
callsyou make. Ifyouseeyourselfas nurturingbuddingscholars, itmakessense
to askstudentstofollowrecommendationsaspecificstylemanual makesforthe
preparation of manuscripts for publication. Otherwise, it seems reasonable for
students to fully use computertechnologyto give theirfinished papers the look
ofprinted texts.
So many people have contributed to the development of Writing Research
Papers over the years that it is no longer possible to acknowledge them all by
vili Preface
name. Nevertheless, I remain in their debt for the generosity and willingness
with which they have given me the benefit oftheir expertise, their suggestions
and criticism, and, aboveall, theirencouragementandsupport. lowethe mostto
thestudentswithwhomIhaveworkedintheWritingCenteratLewisandClark.
Itistheywhohavegivenmeinsightsintothevariouschallengesandbarriersindi
vidualsencOunterinenteringtheworldofacademicresearch, andtheywhohave,
in turn, challenged me to find ways to make the research/writing process more
intelligible. Myefforts to clarifythis processinthe currenteditionweresubstan
tially aided by individuals who deserve special recognition. For specific advice
about the direction my revisions should take, I am most grateful to the four
reviewers who offered their critiques ofthe third edition: Daniel D. Mast, East
ern NewMexico University; NathanMoore, AlabamaStateUniversity; CathyR.
DellaPenta, Mesa CqmmunityCollege; and Randall L. Popken, Tarleton State
University. I would not have been able to "computerize" Section 3 without the
generous and substantial contributions ofthe reference librarians on the staffof
Lewis and Clark'sWatzekLibrary. Heartfeltthanks go to the director, Johannah
Sherrer, forherknowledge andenthusiasmaswellasthepush Ineeded toeffect
a true re-vision. For their skills in teaching me the ins and outs of electronic
searching, and for the patience and good humor with which they invariably
greeted my countless questipns and requests, I give special thanks to Louise
Gerity, Joanna Aplington Haney, Elaine Heras, Willa Ralphs, Betty Ann Smith,
and BeverlyStafford. The thoughtful readings ofportions ofthe manuscript by
myWritingCentercolleague ElizabethWhitman were critical in giving me per
spective as well as offering direction for refinements. I want to thank Sharon
Hagy for the time and effort she put into revising her paper on the journals of
Celia Fiennes for inclusion as a sample paper. I also want to thank Cathy Della
Penta for providing the sample paper on ecology and the economy written by
Timothy Eyres,and CathyDowns for Erica Evan's paperon Baruch Blumberg's
discovery ofthe hepatitis Bantigen. Last, butcertainlynot least, I want to pub
licly express my gratitude to Tina Winslow, Assistant Editor for English at
Harcourt Brace, not only for the time and attention she has expended on this
book, butevenmore for thespiritwith which shehas undertaken this task. She
has been, ineverypositivesenseofthe word, atruecollaboratorin the develop
ment ofthis fourth edition; she deserves a great amount ofcredit for whatever
success it mayhave.