2012 research paper

Featuring an engaging, direct writing style and inquiry-based approach, this popular research guide stresses that curiosity is the best reason for investigating ideas and information.

An appealing alternative to traditional research texts, The Curious Researcher stands apart for its motivational tone, its conversational style, and its conviction that research writing can be full of rewarding discoveries. Offering a wide variety of examples from student and professional writers, this popular guide shows that good research and lively writing do not have to be mutually exclusive. Students are encouraged to find ways to bring their writing to life, even though they are writing with “facts.” A unique chronological organization sets up achievable writing goals while it provides week-by-week guidance through the research process. Full explanations of the technical aspects of writing and documenting source-based papers help students develop sound research and analysis skills. The text also includes up-to-date coverage of MLA and APA styles.

This market-leading text provides readers with step-by-step guidance through the research writing process, from selecting and narrowing a topic to formatting the finished document. Writing Research Papers backs up its instruction with the most complete array of samples of any writing guide of this nature. The text continues its extremely thorough and accurate coverage of citation styles for a wide variety of disciplines. The fourteenth edition maintains Lester's successful approach while bringing new writing and documentation updates to assist the student researcher in keeping pace with electronic sources.

Available in two formats–perfect-bound and spiral-bound with tabs, a handier format at a slightly higher price)–Lester's text is one that readers will keep throughout their college careers.

Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory is the first book that systematically guides students in how to approach and follow through on research projects that straddle disciplines. Featuring an easy-to-follow approach that is grounded in theory, it is packed with examples of interdisciplinary research from the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Students will gain a solid foundation on how to achieve, produce, and express integration.

Key Features and Benefits

· Blends practice and theory by delineating a step-by-step research process that is based in relevant scholarly literature

· Illustrates each step of the research process, using examples of professional and student work oriented toward the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities

· Offers an easy-to-follow checklist so students can evaluate previous research

· Provides extensive information on the different disciplines to help students develop an understanding of disciplinary perspectives and their defining elements

Intended Audience

This core text is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in interdisciplinary research methods and will be especially helpful for courses requiring research papers.

Even students capable of writing excellent essays still find their first major political science research paper an intimidating experience. Crafting the right research question, finding good sources, properly summarizing them, operationalizing concepts and designing good tests for their hypotheses, presenting and analyzing quantitative as well as qualitative data are all tough-going without a great deal of guidance and encouragement. This writing guide breaks down the research paper into its constituent parts and shows students what they need to do at each stage to successfully complete components until the paper is finished. Even writing an introduction, coming up with effective headings and titles, presenting a conclusion, and the important steps of editing and revising are covered with class-tested advice and know-how.

In addition to using updated examples of student topics that pull from both American government and international relations, Baglione also includes examples of actual student writing to show readers how someone "just like them" accomplished tasks while writing their papers. Practical summaries, calendars, exercises, and a series of handy checklists make this a must-have supplement for any writing-intensive political science course.