Becoming A Writing Researcher

Becoming a Writing Researcher effectively guides students through the stages of conducting qualitative writing research, from the initial step of seeing themselves as researchers, to identifying research questions, selecting appropriate tools, conducting the research, and interpreting and reporting the findings. Authors Ann M. Blakeslee and Cathy Fleischer describe various qualitative methods and provide readers with examples of real-world applications. Exercises and activities, as well as anecdotes from both novice and seasoned researchers, serve to acquaint readers thoroughly with the practice of carrying out research for scholarly or professional purposes. The textbook introduces students to research methods in a gradual and contextualized manner. Each chapter opens with a discussion of general issues regarding a particular portion of the research process, followed by a consideration of the various physical, conceptual, and strategic tools that allow a beginning researcher to conduct that part of the process. Sections within each chapter also cover: personal and theoretical perspectives and biases that influence specific stages of the research process ethical issues associated with phases of the research process the identity, ethos, and experiences of the researcher. Becoming a Writing Researcher is an essential text for all novice researchers, and is well suited for use in graduate-level research methods courses in composition and technical communication. It is also ideal for use in other disciplines with strong qualitative methodology research programs, including education.

Becoming a Writing Researcher, second edition, effectively guides students through the stages of conducting qualitative writing research, from the initial step of seeing themselves as researchers, to identifying research questions, selecting appropriate methodological tools, conducting the research, and interpreting and reporting findings. Exercises and activities, as well as anecdotes and examples from both novice and seasoned researchers, serve to acquaint readers thoroughly with the practice of carrying out research for scholarly or professional purposes. This edition introduces students to research methods in a gradual and contextualized manner. Each chapter offers a discussion of a particular portion of the research process, followed by consideration of physical, conceptual, and strategic tools that allow a master's level researcher to conduct that part of the research. Sections within each chapter also cover issues of stance and positionality that impact the researcher and the resulting research. It is an essential text for all novice researchers and is particularly well-suited for use in graduate-level research methods courses in writing studies and technical communications. It is also ideal for use in other disciplines with strong qualitative methodology research programs, including education. issues of stance and positionality that impact the researcher and the resulting research. It is an essential text for all novice researchers and is particularly well-suited for use in graduate-level research methods courses in writing studies and technical communications. It is also ideal for use in other disciplines with strong qualitative methodology research programs, including education.

Becoming a Writing Researcher effectively guides students through the stages of conducting qualitative writing research, from the initial step of seeing themselves as researchers, to identifying research questions, selecting appropriate methodological tools, conducting the research, and interpreting and reporting findings. Exercises and activities, as well as anecdotes and examples from both novice and seasoned researchers, serve to acquaint readers thoroughly with the practice of carrying out research for scholarly or professional purposes. This second edition introduces students to research methods in a gradual and contextualized manner. Each chapter offers a discussion of a particular portion of the research process, followed by consideration of physical, conceptual, and strategic tools that allow a master’s level researcher to conduct that part of the research. Sections within each chapter also cover issues of stance and positionality that impact the researcher and the resulting research. Becoming a Writing Researcher, second edition, is an essential text for all novice researchers and is particularly well suited for use in graduate-level research methods courses in writing studies and technical communications. It is also ideal for use in other disciplines with strong qualitative methodology research programs, including education.

The definitive career guide for grad students, adjuncts, post-docs and anyone else eager to get tenure or turn their Ph.D. into their ideal job Each year tens of thousands of students will, after years of hard work and enormous amounts of money, earn their Ph.D. And each year only a small percentage of them will land a job that justifies and rewards their investment. For every comfortably tenured professor or well-paid former academic, there are countless underpaid and overworked adjuncts, and many more who simply give up in frustration. Those who do make it share an important asset that separates them from the pack: they have a plan. They understand exactly what they need to do to set themselves up for success. They know what really moves the needle in academic job searches, how to avoid the all-too-common mistakes that sink so many of their peers, and how to decide when to point their Ph.D. toward other, non-academic options. Karen Kelsky has made it her mission to help readers join the select few who get the most out of their Ph.D. As a former tenured professor and department head who oversaw numerous academic job searches, she knows from experience exactly what gets an academic applicant a job. And as the creator of the popular and widely respected advice site The Professor is In, she has helped countless Ph.D.’s turn themselves into stronger applicants and land their dream careers. Now, for the first time ever, Karen has poured all her best advice into a single handy guide that addresses the most important issues facing any Ph.D., including: -When, where, and what to publish -Writing a foolproof grant application -Cultivating references and crafting the perfect CV -Acing the job talk and campus interview -Avoiding the adjunct trap -Making the leap to nonacademic work, when the time is right The Professor Is In addresses all of these issues, and many more.

This innovative book combines what most books separate: research as practical activity and research as intellectual engagement. It clarifies and makes explicit the methodological issues that underlie the journey from initial research idea to the finished report and beyond. The text moves the researcher logically through the research process and provides insights into methodology through an in-depth discussion of methods. It presents the research process as an engagement with text. This theme moves through the construction of text in the form of data and the deconstruction of text in analysis. Finally the focus moves to the reconstruction of text through the re-presentation of the research in the report. Following through each of these stages in turn, the chapters consider either a practical issue or a group of methods and interrogate the associated methodological concerns. In addition, the book also addresses the rarely explored issues of the researcher as writer and researcher identity as core elements of the research process. The book provides a range of insights and original perspectives. These successfully combine practical guidance with the invitation to consider the problematic nature of research as social practice. It is an ideal reference for those embarking on research for the first time and provides a new methodological agenda for established researchers.

This innovative book combines what most books separate: research as practical activity and research as intellectual engagement. It clarifies and makes explicit the methodological issues that underlie the journey from initial research idea to the finished report and beyond. The text moves the researcher logically through the research process and provides insights into methodology through an in-depth discussion of methods. It presents the research process as an engagement with text. This theme moves through the construction of text in the form of data and the deconstruction of text in analysis. Finally the focus moves to the reconstruction of text through the re-presentation of the research in the report. Following through each of these stages in turn, the chapters consider either a practical issue or a group of methods and interrogate the associated methodological concerns. In addition, the book also addresses the rarely explored issues of the researcher as writer and researcher identity as core elements of the research process. The book provides a range of insights and original perspectives. These successfully combine practical guidance with the invitation to consider the problematic nature of research as social practice. It is an ideal reference for those embarking on research for the first time and provides a new methodological agenda for established researchers.

Entering a graduate program in the sciences or social sciences requires a transition from structured undergraduate learning using prompts for reading, writing, and exam-taking to an unstructured environment of knowing a field of study, identifying research problems, and answering questions to fill a gap in knowledge that is reported in a thesis or dissertation. Faculty members and students often assume that gifted undergraduates will ¿figure it out when they enter graduate school,¿ but students do not have independent research skills at the beginning of graduate programs. Becoming a Researcher in focuses on the transition from structured learning to independent research with exercises on routine setting, time management, peer review, and essay writing to focus on research topics. Exercises concern adopting new habits and mindsets that are essential for success in graduate school. Lessons from the exercises help students design a research proposal. At the end of the first year of graduate school, students should be well on their way to becoming a researcher.

In contrast to traditional impersonal approaches to research, reflexive researchers acknowledge the impact of their own experience, beliefs and culture on the processes and outcomes of inquiry. The author uses a range of narratives, including her own research diary, to show the reader how reflexive research works in practice.