A Complete Summary of The Craft of Research (4th Edition) for Researchers

Based on The Craft of Research, Fourth Edition. 4th ed., University of Chicago Press, 2016.

The Craft of Research (4th Edition) is a detailed research guide that everyone should read. Whether you’re doing a quick google search, or writing your 1,000th academic paper, you will find something in this book to take your research processes to the next level. I’ll be adding my own flaire of knowledge throughout this summary so you can make this reading experience even more valuable. Let’s get into it.

Set the stage for good research

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to research, let’s set the foundation that will make the tips & tricks in this guide even more effective.

Define the goal of your research

According to the Craft of Research, there are 3 reasons why we do research: we understand something better, we have the solution to a problem, or we have an important question to ask.

Your goal is to define which of these your research falls under. When you have your answer, you’ll be able to “shape” your discussion so that your readers can understand it best.

Now sure where to begin? Here’s how the authors suggest you shape your argument. Start with what interests you:

1. Name Your Topic (“I am trying to learn about / working on / studying ___”)

2. Add an Indirect Question (“Because I want to know who/what/where/when/whether/why/how ___”

3. Answer So What? By Motivating your Question (“In order to help my reader understand how/why/whether _____”)

Keep in mind the kind of problem you’re trying to solve and what kind of impact it can have on the world and your reader.

Who is your writing for?

Now that you have your goal in mind, you have to put yourself in your reader’s shoes.

Who is most likely to read this?
How would they find your research? What questions would they ask themselves?
What knowledge do they already have on the subject?
What will they gain from your research?

These are all questions to keep in the back of your mind as you’re researching. Writing is an imagined conversation, and you want to make your audience a part of it.

Immediately boost your research skills

Write while you research

Doing good research relies on making surprising connections about a topic you’re trying to understand. Interestingly, these connections might come from the most unexpected places. You might have an enlightening moment while you’re thinking in the shower. Or you might remember a personal story that relates to an aspect of your research subject. The most important thing to do is to not dismiss these insights. Your personal thoughts and experience should help you deepen your research.

Don’t wait until you’ve gathered all the information to start writing.

Don’t just accumulate random information on your topic. Make sure you’re writing down your thoughts and opinions, even if you don’t use them later on. You might have fleeting thoughts that could provide really good insight into a topic. Perhaps this is one of the most overlooked pieces of advice when it comes to research. It’s important to remember that if you thought about something, or had an interesting question, it is very likely that your audience will relate to that in some way. Make it part of your research if it’s appropriate and relevant.

Avoid telling the story of how you researched. The audience doesn’t care. You can implement your personal thoughts as long as you keep them as objective and as focused as possible. However, people don’t need to know you came up with a thought while in the shower.

Assess how your reading material is structured

Authors tend to organize their thoughts based on what makes the most sense to them. This means that the order in which ideas are presented can tell you a lot about the “shape” of the author’s discussion. What questions are they starting with? How is the table of contents organized? Can you tell where the author is going based on what you find in the index? The structure of a source can absolutely shape the message is sends. Here’s what you can do before you start researching.

1. Gather a list of resources you’re interested in

2. Make sure the question you’re asking is clearly defined. You can take this a step beyond and write down related questions or opposing points that come to mind.

3. SKIM your sources! Please don’t skip this step. To make your research as effective as possible, you want to make sure you’re spending your time only reading the most relevant sources. Read the author’s preface, read through the most important chapters in the book (say yes to spoilers!) and read the author’s conclusion. This will give you a great starting point for assessing whether your source is relevant to your research.

4. Write down your findings as you skim through these works!

Now, you should have only the most helpful resources in front of you. Let’s start the serious reading.

Dissect your sources

I’m a firm believer that you cannot grasp everything in your source from a single read, so please read your sources at least TWICE before you put them down.

At this point, you should have a fair idea of the sources that will be most helpful to your research. From here, we’ll discuss small steps to implement as you’re reading through them.

Does the author reference an interesting and relevant source?

Find it in the bibliography and read it. These sources can give you a good idea of what the author of your source was looking out for during his own research, and what he left out of his argument all together. You might find gaps in knowledge that can further your own research and understanding.

Track keywords as you’re reading and researching.

You can then use this list of words to see how they’re referenced throughout your different sources, and how they’re DEFINED differently across authors. This can be a huge win in your writing! It’s an easy way to find where arguments overlap or digress.

If you disagree with a view, investigate it.

I know just as well as you know that certain topics are more appealing than others. I also know that you know that certain opinions are more within your comfort zone. Now that we recognize this, it’s paramount that you keep yourself in check. You must investigate what you question and disagree with. You cannot research while inside your comfort zone! You have to approach your personal discomfort as a sign that there’s something unresolved in you that need to be fully justified or disbanded, and this can only happen when we confront what makes you feel icky.

Find who is citing your source and how it’s being discussed.

This is very similar to reading the citations that your source is referencing, but backwards. Go on google and find what other people are saying about the source you’re reading. The more it’s been cited, the more impact that work has, and the more you can learn how a topic is progressing. Backward citations can expand your research in a more coherent and holistic way.

Keep a good track of your sources, what you’ve learned from them, and what your thoughts and opinions are on the matter.

Check that you’re fully engaged with your research

Now that you’ve got some research under your belt, it’s time to test if you’re doing the best job possible in understanding it. Here is what the authors of The Craft of Research 4th Edition recommend to be fully engaged with your research:

Track your sources

Track your sources and align them with the information you’ve gathered from that source. To be deeply-engaged means you need to be able to return to the information if something seems out of context. Your ability to be an engaged research relies on your ability to re-read and re-dissect your sources.

Summarize what you’re reading

Summarize in your own words and write it down. If you can’t summarize what you’ve read, you are not engaged in your research enough to form an opinion about it. You must read your sources with reverence and good faith.

Track the assumptions presented by your sources

This shows that you’re reading in between the lines and picking out gaps of knowledge in an argument. It allows you to expand an argument and understand where it falls short. You can then use this information to present a new point of view that is separate, and more nuanced than the original source.

Organize your notes in a way that makes sense to you

You do not have to follow the thought structure of your sources. In fact, you should not. As long as you keep track of where the information comes from, it is your job as an engaged reader to shape points of discussion in your own individual way.

Leave no question unanswered

To ensure that your evidence can withstand the test of time, it must be a fair representation of an argument. This is why dissecting your sources is so important. You must be willing to explore things you disagree with, otherwise your research will be misinformed, misinformed, or incomplete.

How to structure your research paper

Once you’re well-read on your topic of discussion, here are different ways you can present your findings in a research paper.

Introducing your topic

1. Start with a brief summary of the most important points and sources (only those you intend to modify, challenge, or expand on).

2. Contextualize the background, state the problem, and give a response to the problem. Rephrase your thesis question as a statement, pointing out the flaws you’d like to address.

3. Sketch an answer for “So what if we don’t find out?”

4. Make sure your introduction includes 4-5 words that express the main points you’ll be discussing in your research. Keep bringing up those words throughout your paper.

5. Decide if your research will start with a conclusion that you’ll support throughout your paper (inductive reasoning), or, if you’ll start with a question that you’ll answer by the end (deductive reasoning).

Body of your Paper

1. Create a page for each section of your paper. At the top, write the main point (the reason) you will be exploring in that section.Each section needs its own introduction. Use the keywords that distinguish this section from the others. If you can’t find any, what you wrote might not be contributing anything to the whole of your paper.

2. Start your paragraphs with the information that is old and familiar, and keep the new information / complex terms towards the end of the paragraphs.

3. Define terms, larger historical/social context, spell out problems, etc.

4. Order your paper – part-by-part, chronologically; short to long, simple to complex; more familiar to less familiar; less contestable to more contestable; more important to less important (or vice versa); earlier understanding to prepare for later understanding; general analysis followed by specific applications.

5. If a paper is fact-heavy, end each section with a summary of how that section builds on the overall argument of your paper

Conclusion

1. Re-state the point of your paper, and after, sketch its significance (so what?)

2. Suggest new questions your research opens up that could be its own research topic for your audience to follow up on

Final Thoughts

To wrap things up, good research starts with knowing exactly what you’re trying to achieve and who you’re doing it for. Once you have a clear goal and understand your audience, you’re ready to dive into your sources and make connections as you go. Remember, writing while you research helps you process new ideas and keep track of your thoughts. Don’t be afraid to challenge what you read and dig deeper into areas that spark your curiosity.

By staying engaged, asking the right questions, and being open to new insights, you’ll produce research that’s not only thorough but also meaningful. It’s all about building a conversation with your topic, your readers, and your own thinking. Follow these steps, and you’ll be on track to do research that really stands out. Thanks to The Craft of Research for doing a kick-ass job of sharing this info with us.