Social Sciences Research: Research, Writing, and Presentation Strategies for Students / Edition 2

by Gail M. Staines, Mark Bonacci, Katherine Johnson

Overview

Social Sciences Research: Research, Writing, and Presentation Strategies for Students is a comprehensive resource to help students perform library research in the social sciences, develop writing strategies for formal papers, and orally present and defend their work. Drawing on their backgrounds in teaching library research and writing methods, the authors elaborate on how to recognize a scholarly from a popular source, develop research questions, conduct computer-assisted literature searches, and write papers in an acceptable format (APA).

Complementing the manual are four appendixes: a list of possible research questions, an example paper, a complete set of worksheets, and blank citation forms for recording references. In this second edition, the authors have included more instruction on searches using electronic sources, such as the Internet, as well as new formatting guidelines that have been promulgated in the past 5 years. The ideal resource for college students, this manual addresses the finer points of research and writing that are not given in the classroom.

About the Author:
Gail M. Staines is assistant provost for University Libraries at St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri

About the Author:
Katherine Johnson is professor of sociology at Niagara County Community College in western New York

About the Author:
Mark Bonacci is professor of human services at Niagara County Community College in western New York

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810856653
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/04/2008
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	116
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Gail Staines is University Librarian at the University of Central Missouri where she oversees the James C. Kirkpatrick Library and the Center for Teaching and Learning. She has held leadership positions at public and private universities as well as nonprofit organizations including serving as an executive director, board member, board vice president and president. Her areas of research include information literacy, leadership, and library as place in academic environments. A successful grant writer for more than twenty years, Gail holds an MLS from the University at Buffalo as well as a Ph.D. in higher education administration, also from the University at Buffalo.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     vii
Introduction     ix
Choosing an Appropriate Research Question     1
Designing a Search for Scholarly Literature     7
Conducting a Search for Scholarly Literature     13
Outlining the Research Paper     35
Taking Notes While Reading     41
The APA Format: Writing and the Use of an Appropriate Format     47
The Writing Process Itself: You Can't Edit a Blank Page     55
Presenting the Research Paper     59
Some Final Thoughts     65
Research Questions Posed by Prior Students     67
Example Paper     69
Worksheets     79
Blank Citation Forms     93
Bibliography     99
Index     101
About the Authors     105

Editorial Reviews

The book is encouraging, clearly written, and easy to understand, especially when addressing searching, ILL, outlines, "Filter Bubbles," and "Presenting Your Research" sections. The third edition contains very useful worksheets and examples throughout.

Esther Grassian

The book is encouraging, clearly written, and easy to understand, especially when addressing searching, ILL, outlines, "Filter Bubbles," and "Presenting Your Research" sections. The third edition contains very useful worksheets and examples throughout.

From the Publisher