Description
Book SynopsisTells what every senior researcher knows: that research is not a mechanical, linear process, but a thoughtful and adventurous journey through a nonlinear world. The author breaks library research into seven basic and simultaneous tasks: design, search, scanning/browsing, reading, analyzing, filing, and writing.
Trade Review"The work of a master researcher who recalls in illuminating detail how he and his students over the last thirty years went about solving a large number of empirical and theoretical research problems. He systematizes these memories into usable advice and lays out a multistage plan for successful scholarship that meets very rigorous demands. Without a hint of trendiness, this manual will reliably guide novice scholars into a new world of materials for study and will help their mentors keep up as well. An indispensable guide for serious humanistic study in the future." -Alan Sica, editor, Contemporary Sociology
Table of ContentsTo the Reader 1 Introduction 2 A Library Ethnography 3 Fundamentals 4 The Preliminary Phase 5 Midphase Bibliography 6 Midphase Scanning, Browsing, and Brute Force 7 Reading 8 Midphase Files and Organization 9 Midphase Analysis 10 Midphase Writing 11 Midphase Design 12 Endphase Glossary Index
