research for this book

Table of Contents

Tip 1: Start with Your Positioning and Outline

Tip 2: make a research plan, tip 3: ask the internet, tip 4: read books, tip 5: talk to experts, tip 6: collect survey data, tip 7: keep everything organized.

• Tip 8: Set a Deadline & Stop Early

Tip 9: Write the First Draft

How to conduct research for your book: 9 tips that work.

If you’re like many first-time nonfiction writers, you’ve probably wondered, “How do I research for my book?”

I get this question a lot, and there are plenty of tips I can share. But before I dive into it, I’m going to throw you a curveball:

Don’t assume you have to do research for your book.

Because the purpose of nonfiction is to help the reader solve a problem or create change in their life (or both) by sharing what you know. If you can do this without a lot of research, then don’t do research.

We’ve had many Authors who knew their topic so inside and out that they didn’t need research. That is perfectly fine. They still wrote incredible books.

When it boils down to it, there are only 2 reasons to do research for your book:

• You know enough to write the book, but you want to add sources and citations to make the book more persuasive to a specific audience.
• You don’t know enough, and you need to learn more to make the book complete.

We’ve had many Authors who–despite knowing their stuff–wanted to include additional data, expert opinions, or testimonials to ensure that readers would find their arguments credible. This is important to consider if you’re writing for a scientific or technical audience that expects you to cite evidence.

Likewise, we see many Authors who know their industry but have a few knowledge gaps they’d like to fill in order to make their arguments more robust.

In fact, that’s the whole key to understanding how much research you should do. Ask yourself:

What evidence does a reader need to believe your argument is credible and trustworthy?

Research can be complicated, though. Many Authors don’t know where to start, and they get bogged down in the details. Which, of course, derails the book writing process and stalls them–or worse, it stops them from finishing.

The bad news? There’s no “right way” to make a book research plan.

The good news? The basic research tips apply for either person.

In this post, I’ll give you 9 effective research tips that will help you build a stronger, more convincing book.

More importantly, these tips will also show you how to get through the research process without wasting time.

9 Research Tips for Writing Your Book

Don’t jump into research blindly. Treat it like any other goal. Plan, set a schedule, and follow through.

Here are 9 tips that will help you research effectively.

Before you start researching or writing, you need to figure out two main things: your audience and your message.

This is called book positioning , and it’s an essential part of the book writing process.

Your job as an Author is to convince readers that your book will help them solve their problems.

Every piece of research you include in the book–whether it’s a survey, pie chart, or expert testimonial–should help you accomplish that.

Once your positioning is clear, you can put together your book outline.

Your outline is a comprehensive guide to everything in your book, and it is your best defense against procrastination, fear, and all the other problems writers face . It’s crucial if you don’t want to waste time on research you don’t need.

With an outline, you’ll already know what kind of data you need, where your information gaps are, and what kinds of sources might help you support your claims.

We’ve put together a free outline template to make the process even easier.

All this to say: without solid positioning and a comprehensive outline, you’ll wander. You’ll write, throw it away, write some more, get frustrated, and eventually, give up.

You’ll never finish a draft, much less publish your book .

If you don’t know your subject well enough to figure out your positioning and make a good outline, it means you don’t know enough to write that book—at least not right now.

Your plan will vary widely depending on whether you are:

• An expert who knows your field well
• Someone who needs to learn more about your field before writing about it

The majority of you are writing a book because you’re experts. So most of the information you need will already be in your head.

If you’re an expert, your research plan is probably going to be short, to the point, and about refreshing your memory or filling small gaps.

If you’re a non-expert, your research plan is probably going to be much longer. It could entail interviewing experts, reading lots of books and articles, and surveying the whole field you are writing about.

The outline should highlight those places where your book will need more information.

Are there any places where you don’t have the expertise to back up your claims?

What key takeaways require more evidence?

Would the book be stronger if you had another person’s point of view?

These are the kinds of gaps that research can fill.

Go back through your outline and find the places where you know you need more information. Next to each one, brainstorm ways you might fulfill that need.

For example, let’s say you’re writing a book that includes a section on yoga’s health benefits. Even if you’re a certified yoga instructor, you may not know enough physiology to explain the health benefits clearly.

Where could you find that information?

• Ask a medical expert
• A book on yoga and medicine
• A website that’s well respected in your field
• A study published in a medical journal

You don’t have to get too specific here. The point is to highlight where you need extra information and give yourself leads about where you might find it. ​

The kinds of research you need will vary widely, depending on what kind of nonfiction book you’re writing.

For example, if you’re giving medical advice for other experts, you’ll likely want to substantiate it with peer-reviewed, professional sources.

If you’re explaining how to grow a company, you might refer to statistics from your own company or recount specific anecdotes about other successful companies.

If you’re writing a memoir, you won’t need any quantitative data. You might simply talk with people from your past to fill in some gaps or use sources like Wikipedia to gather basic facts.

Different subject matter calls for different sources. If you’re having trouble figuring out what sources your subject needs, ask yourself the same question as above:

Ask yourself what evidence does a reader need to believe your argument is credible and trustworthy?

Generally speaking, an expert can do their research before they start writing, during, or even after (depending on what they need).

If you’re a non-expert, you should do your research before you start writing because what you learn will form the basis of the book.

It may sound obvious, but the internet is a powerful research tool and a great place to start. But proceed with caution: the internet can also be one of the greatest sources of misinformation.

If you’re looking for basic info, like for fact-checking, it’s fantastic.

If you’re looking for academic information, like scientific studies, it can be useful. (You might hit some paywalls, but the information will be there.)

If you’re looking for opinions, they’ll be abundant.

Chances are, though, as you look for all these things, you’re going to come across a lot of misleading sources—or even some that straight-up lie.

Here are some tips for making sure your internet research is efficient and effective:

• Use a variety of search terms to find what you need. For example, if you’re looking for books on childhood development, you might start with basic terms like “childhood development,” “child psychology,” or “social-emotional learning.”
• As you refine your knowledge, refine your searches. A second round of research might be more specific, like “Piaget’s stages of development” or “Erikson’s psychosocial theories.”
• Don’t just stop with the first result on Google. Many people don’t look past the first few results in a Google search. That’s fine if you’re looking for a recipe or a Wikipedia article, but the best research sources don’t always have the best SEO. Look for results that seem thorough or reputable, not just popular.
• Speaking of Wikipedia, don’t automatically trust it. It can be a great place to start if you’re looking for basic facts or references, but remember, it’s crowd-sourced. That means it’s not always accurate. Get your bearings on Wikipedia, then look elsewhere to verify any information you’re going to cite.
• Make sure your data is coming from a reputable source. Google Scholar, Google Books, and major news outlets like NPR, BBC, etc. are safe bets. If you don’t recognize the writer, outlet, or website, you’re going to have to do some digging to find out if you can trust them.
• Verify the credentials of the Author before you trust the site. People often assume that anything with a .edu domain is reputable. It’s not. You might be reading some college freshman’s last-minute essay on economics. If it’s a professor, you’re probably safe.

Using a few random resources from the internet is not equivalent to conducting comprehensive research.

If you want to dive deeper into a topic, books are often your best resources.

They’re reliable because they’re often fact-checked, peer-reviewed, or vetted. You know you can trust them.

Many Authors are directly influenced by other books in their field. If you’re familiar with any competing books, those are a great place to start.

Use the internet to find the best books in each field, and then dive into those.

Your book will have a different spin from the ones already out there, but think of it this way: you’re in the same conversation, which means you’ll probably have many of the same points of reference.

Check out the bibliographies or footnotes in those books. You might find sources that are useful for your own project.

You might want to buy the books central to your research. But if you aren’t sure if something’s going to be useful, hold off on hitting Amazon’s “one-click buy.”

Many Authors underestimate the power of their local libraries. Even if they don’t have the book you’re looking for, many libraries participate in extensive interlibrary loan programs. You can often have the books you need sent to your local branch.

Librarians are also indispensable research resources. Many universities have subject-specific research librarians who are willing to help you find sources, even if you aren’t a student.

Research doesn’t always require the internet or books. Sometimes you need an answer, story, or quotation from a real person.

But make sure you have a decent understanding of your field BEFORE you go to experts with your questions.

I’m an expert at writing nonfiction books, so I speak from personal experience. It’s annoying as hell when people come to you with questions without having done at least a little research on the topic beforehand—especially when you already have a 3,000 word blog post about it.

Experts love it when you’ve done some research and can speak their language. They hate it when you ask them to explain fundamentals.

But once you find a good expert, it condenses your learning curve by at least 10x.

To figure out who you need to talk to, think about the kind of nonfiction book you’re writing.

Is it a book about your own business, products, or methods? You may want to include client stories or testimonials.

In Driven , Doug Brackmann relied on his experience with clients to teach highly driven people how to master their gifts.

Is it a book that requires expert knowledge outside your own area of expertise (for example, a doctor, IT specialist, lawyer, or business coach)? You might want to ask them to contribute brief passages or quotations for your book.

Colin Dombroski did exactly that for his book The Plantar Fasciitis Plan . He consulted with various colleagues, each of whom contributed expert advice for readers to follow.

It’s much easier to contact people who are already in your network. If you don’t personally know someone, ask around. Someone you already know may be able to connect you with the perfect expert.

If that doesn’t work out, you can always try the cold call method. Send a polite email that briefly but clearly explains what your book is about and why you’re contacting them.

If you do this, though, do your research first. Know the person’s name. Don’t use “To whom it may concern.” Know their specialty. Know exactly what type of information you’re seeking. Basically, know why they are the person you want to feature in your book.

Some Authors like to collect surveys for their books. This is very optional, and it’s only applicable in certain books, so don’t assume you need this.

But if you want to include a section in your book that includes how people feel about something (for example, to back up a point you’re making), you might want to have survey data.

You might have access to data you can already cite. The internet is full of data: infographics, Pew data, Nielsen ratings, scholarly research, surveys conducted by private companies.

If you don’t have access to data, you can conduct your own surveys with an online platform like SurveyMonkey. Here’s how:

• Consider your research goals. What are you trying to learn?
• Formulate the survey questions. Most people prefer short, direct survey questions. They’re also more likely to answer multiple-choice questions.
• Invite participants. If you want a reliable survey, it’s best to get as many participants as possible. Surveying three family members won’t tell you much.
• Collect and analyze the data.

That will work for more informal purposes, but surveys are a science unto themselves. If you require a lot of data, want a large sample size, or need high statistical accuracy, it’s better to hire pros. Quantitative data is more effective and trustworthy when it’s properly conducted.

Don’t go overboard with statistics, though. Not all books need quantitative data. There are many other ways to convince readers to listen to your message.

Organize your research as you go. I can’t stress this enough.

If you research for months on end, you might end up with dozens of articles, quotations, or anecdotes. That’s a lot of material.

If you have to dig through every single piece when you want to use something, it’ll take you years to write.

Don’t rely on your memory, either. Three months down the line, you don’t want to ask, “Where did I find this piece of information?” or “Where did that quotation come from?”

I suggest creating a research folder on your computer where you collect everything.

Inside the main folder, create subfolders for each individual chapter (or even each individual subsection of your chapters). This is where your outline will come in handy.

In each folder, collect any pdfs, notes, or images relevant to that section.

Every time you download or save something, give the file a clear name.

Immediately put it into the correct folder. If you wait, you might not remember which part of your book you found it useful for.

Also, be sure to collect the relevant citation information:

• Author’s name
• Title of the book, article, etc.
• The outlet it appeared in (e.g., BBC or Wired) or, if it’s a book, the publisher
• The date it was published
• The page number or hyperlink

If you have photocopies or handwritten notes, treat them the same way. Label them, file them, and add the necessary citation information. This will save you a lot of time when you sit down to write.

Some Authors use programs like Scrivener or Evernote to keep track of their research. I personally use the software program Notion, which is similar to Evernote.

These programs allow you to collect references, notes, images, and even drafts, all in one convenient place.

They save you from having to create your own digital organizational system. They also make it easier to consult documents without opening each file individually.

Once you’ve got a system in place, don’t forget: back up your data. Put it on the cloud, an external hard drive, or both. There’s nothing worse than spending hours on research just to have it disappear when your computer crashes.

All of this takes time, and it may seem tedious. But trust me, it’s a lot more tedious when you’re racing toward your publication deadline, and you’re hunting down random data you quoted in your book.

Tip 8: Set a Deadline & Stop Early

Research is one of the most common ways Authors procrastinate.

When they’re afraid of writing or hit roadblocks, they often say, “Well, I just need to do a little more research…”

Fast-forward two years, and they’re still stuck in the same spiral of self-doubt and research.

Don’t fall into that trap. Learn when to stop.

When I’m writing, I set a research deadline and then stop EARLY. It’s a great way to beat procrastination , and it makes me feel like I’m ahead of the curve.

Here’s the thing: there’s always going to be more information out there. You could keep researching forever.

But then you’d never finish the book—which was the point of the research in the first place.

Plus, excessive research doesn’t make better books . No one wants to read six test cases when one would have worked.

You want to have enough data to convincingly make your case, but not so much that your readers get bogged down by all the facts.

So how will you know when you’ve done enough?

When you have enough data, anecdotes, and examples to address every point on your outline.

Your outline is your guide. Once it’s filled in, STOP .

Remember, the goal of data is to support your claims. You’re trying to make a case for readers, not bludgeon them with facts.

If you feel like you have to go out of your way to prove your points, you have 1 of 2 problems:

• You’re not confident enough in your points, or
• You’re not confident enough in your readers’ ability to understand your claims.

If you’re having the first problem, you may need to go back and adjust your arguments. All the research in the world won’t help support a weak claim.

If you’re having the second problem, ask yourself, If I knew nothing about this subject, what would it take to convince me? Follow through on your answer and trust that it’s enough.

When you think you have enough research, start writing your vomit draft.

If it turns out you’re missing small pieces of information, that’s okay. Just make a note of it. Those parts are easy to go back and fill in later.

Notice: I said “later.” Once you start writing, stop researching.

If you stop writing your first draft to look for more sources, you’ll break the flow of your ideas.

Research and writing are two completely different modes of thinking. Most people can’t switch fluidly between them.

Just get the first draft done.

Remember, the first draft is exactly that—the first draft. There will be many more versions in the future.

It’s okay to leave notes to yourself as you go along. Just be sure to leave yourself a way to find them easily later.

I recommend changing the font color or highlighting your comments to yourself in the draft. You can even use different colors: one for missing data and another for spots you need to fact-check.

You can also use the “insert comment” feature on Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or any other writing software you prefer.

Another useful tip is to simply type “TK.” There’s no word in the English language where those two letters appear together. That means, when you’re ready to go back through your draft, you can use the “Find” option (Control+F). It will take you back to all the spots you marked.

Whatever method you choose, don’t stop writing.

Also, don’t worry about how “good” or “bad” it is at this point. No one ever wrote an amazing first draft. Not even bestselling Authors.

Just keep at it until you have a complete first draft.

That won’t be hard because you won’t be missing any huge pieces. The whole point of the outline was to zero in on exactly what you want to write for the exact audience you want to reach. If you followed that outline when you researched, you’ll be able to stay on track during the writing process.

The Scribe Crew

Read this next.

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How to organize research for your novel

Follow this step-by-step guide to learn the modern process of organizing research in Milanote, a free tool used by top creatives.

How to organize your research in 7 easy steps

Whether you're writing a sci-fi thriller or historical fiction, research is a crucial step in the early writing process. It's a springboard for new ideas and can add substance and authenticity to your story. As author Robert McKee says "when you do enough research, the story almost writes itself. Lines of development spring loose and you'll have choices galore."

But collecting research can be messy. It's often scattered between emails, notes, documents, and even photos on your phone making it hard to see the full picture. When you bring your research into one place and see things side-by-side, new ideas and perspectives start to emerge.

In this guide, you'll learn the modern approach to collecting and organizing research for your novel using Milanote. Remember, the creative process is non-linear, so you may find yourself moving back and forth between the steps as you go.

1. First, add any existing notes

You probably know a lot about your chosen topic or location already. Start by getting the known facts and knowledge out of your head. Even if these topics seem obvious to you, they can serve as a bridge to the rest of your research. You might include facts about the location, period, fashion or events that take place in your story.

Create a new board to collect your research.

Create a new board

Drag a board out from the toolbar. Give it a name, then double click to open it.

Add a note to capture your existing knowledge on the topic.

Drag a note card onto your board

Start typing then use the formatting tools in the left hand toolbar.

2. Save links to articles & news

Wikipedia, blogs, and news websites are a goldmine for researchers. It's here you'll find historical events and records, data, and opinions about your topic. We're in the 'collecting' phase so just save links to any relevant information you stumble across. You can return and read the details at a later stage.

Drag a link card onto your board to save a website.

Install the  Milanote Web Clipper

Save websites and articles straight to your board. 

Save content from the web

With the Web Clipper installed, save a website, image or text. Choose the destination in Milanote. Return to your board and find the content in the "Unsorted" column on the right.

3. Save quotes & data

Quotes are a great way to add credibility and bring personality to your topic. They're also a handy source of inspiration for character development, especially if you're trying to match the language used in past periods. Remember to keep the source of the quote in case you need to back it up.

Add a note to capture a quote.

4. Collect video & audio

Video and movie clips can help you understand a mood or feeling in a way that words sometimes can't. Try searching for your topic or era on Vimeo , or Youtube . Podcasts are another great reference. Find conversations about your topic on Spotify or any podcast platform and add them into the mix.

Embed Youtube videos or audio in a board. 

Embed Youtube videos or audio tracks in a board

Copy the share link from Youtube, Vimeo, Soundcloud or many other services. Drag a link card onto your board, paste your link and press enter.

5. Collect important images

Sometimes the quickest way to understand a topic is with an image. They can transport you to another time or place and can help you describe things in much more detail. They're also easier to scan when you return to your research. Try saving images from Google Images , Pinterest , or Milanote's built-in image library.

Use the built-in image library. 

Use the built-in image library

Search over 500,000 beautiful photos powered by Unsplash then drag images straight onto your board.

Save images from other websites straight to your board. 

Roll over an image (or highlight text), click Save, then choose the destination in Milanote. Return to your board and find the content in the "Unsorted" column on the right.

Allow yourself the time to explore every corner of your topic. As author A.S. Byatt says "the more research you do, the more at ease you are in the world you're writing about. It doesn't encumber you, it makes you free".

6. Collect research on the go

You never know where or when you'll find inspiration—it could strike you in the shower, or as you're strolling the aisles of the grocery store. So make sure you have an easy way to capture things on the go. As creative director Grace Coddington said, "Always keep your eyes open. Keep watching. Because whatever you see can inspire you."

Download the  Milanote mobile app

Save photos straight to your Research board. 

Take photos on the go

Shoot or upload photos directly to your board. When you return to a bigger screen you'll find them in the "Unsorted" column of the board.

7. Connect the dots

Now that you have all your research in one place, it's time to start drawing insights and conclusions. Laying out your notes side-by-side is the best way to do this. You might see how a quote from an interviewee adds a personal touch to some data you discovered earlier. This is the part of the process where you turn a collection of disparate information into your unique perspective on the topic.

That's a great start!

Research is an ongoing process and you'll probably continue learning about your topic throughout your writing journey. Reference your research as you go to add a unique perspective to your story. Use the template below to start your research or read our full guide on how to plan a novel .

Start your research

Get started for free with one of Milanote's beautiful templates.

Sign up for free with no time limit

How to research for a book: 9 ways to prepare well

Deciding how to research for a book is a personal process, with much depending on your subject. Read 9 tips on how to research a novel:

• Post author By Jordan
• No Comments on How to research for a book: 9 ways to prepare well

How to research for a book: Scope, process, tools

• Define the scope of research
• List headline research you’ll need
• Do a ‘quick and dirty’ search
• Lean on .edu and library resources
• Speak to pros and specialists
• Shadow an expert if applicable
• Read authors on how to research a book
• Have a system for storing research
• Stop when you have enough to write

1. Define the scope of research

Research for a novel easily gets out of hand. You’re writing about Tudor England, for example. The next thing you know you’ve read every doorstop ever written about Anne Boleyn.

Define the scope of research you need to do, first.

This is particularly crucial if you’re new to researching novels.

‘Scope creep’ (where the task becomes bigger and bigger, and the focus dimmer) is a common challenge in research.

If, for example, you’re writing a novel featuring the Tudors (rulers of England between 1485 and 1603), ask questions such as:

• What duration within this era will my story span? (e.g. ‘the last five years of Henry VIII’s life’)
• What information is vital to know? If, for example, you’re writing about a monarch firing a particular associate, this will narrow down your research
• What broad picture elements do I need? (For example, a timeline of key background social or political events within a historical period)

Narrow down what you need to learn to the essentials necessary to begin writing.

2. List headline research you’ll need

Once you know the scope of your research, list the big, main events and subjects you’ll need to cover.

For a historical figure subject like Henry VIII, you might have a list of research to do like this:

• Timeline of major events in the king’s life
• Personality – accounts of what the king was like
• Appearance – descriptions of what the king looked like
• Controversy – king’s many wives, execution of Anne Boleyn, etc.

Make a document with a section per each of the core areas of the story you’ll need to research.

Populate these sections with article snippets, links to educational resources.

(Google, for example ‘Henry VIII reign .edu’ to find information from credible learning institutions.)

3. Do a ‘quick and dirty’ search

In learning how to research for a book, learn how to work smart, not hard. Research the way a student with an assignment hand-in due the next day would, to start.

Use Wikipedia (a no-no in academia). You can find broad information and an idea of what to look for to verify and fact-check later on .edu and library websites , or in physical book copies.

Search amateur history blogs, too. There are many subject enthusiasts who have devoted hours to digging up interesting historical and other information and share their learnings for free in blog articles.

If you’re writing about a real place, use Google Maps to do a street-view virtual tour. You can explore cities you’ve never been to before. Read more more on researching place when you are unable to get there.

Note details to include in scene-setting and worldbuilding such as specific landmarks and architectural details.

Get a professional edit

A good editor will help pinpoint major factual inaccuracies and other issues.

4. Lean on .edu and library resources

When deciding how to research for a book, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, favour credible resources.

You can even find fantastic primary source scans and recordings. Some examples of excellent, free online research resources:

• British Pathé : Pathé News, a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the UK has a rich and varied archive. It includes original footage (trigger warning: disturbing footage of aircraft explosion) of the Hindenburg Disaster.
• Tudor History: Historical .org websites such as this website on the Tudors provide a wealth of research information .
• The Smithsonian has regular online webinars, exhibitions and more where you can learn about a diverse range of natural history topics from experts.

If online research feels overwhelming, consider taking a course in online research skills.

The University of Toronto also put together this thorough list of questions to guide doing research online .

5. Speak to pros and specialists

Learning how to research a novel is made much easier by experts who are happy to share their knowledge.

If you are researching a specific place, language, historical figure, biological or medical issue or another detail, make a list of experts to reach out to.

Explain your fiction or non-fiction project and why you’d value their insights. You’ll be surprised how many are only too happy to contribute accurate, informed knowledge.

You can also find specialist knowledge in online forums devoted to specific subjects.

6. Shadow an expert if applicable

There’s no single ‘right way’ in how to research for a book.

You could take a leaf out of the method actor’s book, for example, and actually job shadow an expert [ Ed note: Once COVID no longer sets stringent limits on contact ].

Depending on the subject or industry, you may have variable degrees of success. For example, shadowing a medical professional has other issues involved, such as patient privacy/confidentiality.

In a roundtable discussion on preparing for roles, British actress Vanessa Kirby described job-shadowing on an obstetrics ward to research a role. Because she had never had a child herself, she wanted to give an authentic performance of a woman in labour (around the 18:15 timestamp).

Writing is very much like acting in this respect: You need to be able to fill in the blanks in your own imagination to prepare.

7. Read authors on how to research for books

In deciding how to research for a book, one also needs to decide how/where to use (or alter) source material. It’s helpful to read authors who write historical fiction and other research-heavy genres. What do they say about process?

Hilary Mantel, for example says this about taking creative license with historical facts:

History is a process, not a locked box with a collection of facts inside. The past and present are always in dialogue – there can hardly be history without revisionism. Hilary Mantel: ‘History is a process, not a locked box’, via The Guardian

8. Have a system for storing research

Research for a book easily becomes cluttered.

How do you keep research tidy and manageable, so that you have the information you need when you need it?

Organise your research for a novel with these apps and tools:

• Google Docs: Outline mode creates a clickable outline of your document in a left-hand panel – perfect for jumping between different categories of research.
• Evernote: This handy app makes it easy to snip bits of articles from your browser into collections to sort and store.
• Sytem folders: Create a folder on your operating system for your project, and subfolders for each research topic.
• Novel Novel Dashboard: You can also fill out character profiles and other prompts on Now Novel using historical sources (see an example below).

9. Stop when you have enough to write

In deciding how to research for a book, it’s important to set a stop point.

Ask yourself how much you really need to begin writing. Need to know what would have been served at a royal dinner in the year 1600? Make a note to add this detail later and describe the details of the occasion you can make up to keep going with your draft.

Balancing research and writing will ensure your research is fit to its purpose – finishing your book with relevant and precise detail.

Need help researching your book? Watch our webinar on writing research (and enjoy future live webinars and Q&A sessions too) when you subscribe to a Now Novel plan.

Related Posts:

• 5 easy ways to research your novel
• Historical fiction: 7 elements of research
• Book ideas: 12 fun ways to find them
• Tags how to research your novel

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

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Learn How To Research Your Book With This Beginner’s Guide

• by Paige Duke
• March 27, 2017

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What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever Googled while writing your book? I bet you have some good ones. Writers are always researching the most interesting things in order to write with authority on a wide range of subjects. Research is a necessary part of writing almost any book, regardless of genre or subject matter. Some books require only a quick internet search here and there, while others stretch the limits of your knowledge and have you putting in days, weeks, or months of research before and even during the writing process.

If you’ve never attempted this before, it can seem like a daunting task. But if you build a framework for your research and break the task into manageable pieces, it’s absolutely achievable – and it can even be fun.

Getting started with research

The biggest factor to ensuring successful research is to create a framework or system for your research and allow it to evolve over time as your needs change.

This doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated, but you’ll want some kind of plan for your research before you start, or it’s easy to get lost and waste precious time. It’s therefore best to use a notebook, app, or writing software to make your notes.

Take time to brainstorm about your project. Simply make a list of your topics for research or create an outline or a graphic organizer. The method is up to you, but you’ll want to answer these basic questions in some organized form:

• What are the main questions or topics you need to research?
• Is there an order you need to follow in researching these items?
• Are there smaller subjects within these larger categories?

As an example, let’s imagine you need to research Albert Einstein for a character in your novel. Your outline will vary depending on what role this character plays in the story, but assuming this is a main character, your outline might include some of the following:

• Different styles for different occasions
• Common phrases
• Get examples of dialogue
• Include accent/dialect?
• What did his office look like?
• How did his work interfere with other commitments and relationships?
• Overview of family life
• Nature of his relationships
• How did these beliefs influence his life, work, and behavior?

As you get into your research, you’ll see that this outline needs to change. You’ll need to add or remove items. You’ll need to reprioritize your list. Be sure your framework is flexible and evolves based on your growing needs for the project.

The key here is to have a system that allows you to stay on task . It can be tempting to get lost in your research or use it as a means to procrastinate on your writing. A strong and flexible framework will help you avoid this pitfall .

Knowing where to look

A big hurdle for many novice researchers is not knowing where to begin looking for the answers to their questions. Here are some basic options to help you begin:

• Start with an internet search. You can find a wealth of information online; just be discerning about the websites you trust. Often, you’ll find an overview of your topic in a blog post or museum article (if your topic touches on history) that will draw its information from more detailed sources. If you need to go deeper, you can try to access those original sources.
• Check your local library for books or other media on the subject you’re researching.
• If your subject is based on images or music, tailor your research accordingly.
• News articles, podcasts, and films and documentaries can also be useful sources.

My best advice is to dive in. One source will lead to another source, and another.

Be sure to keep track of all your sources so you can refer to them later. If you’re using a Word document for your research notes, simply use the footnote tool to record your sources. If you’re using a notebook, just jot down the name of the resource alongside each entry. If you’re using software, your options will vary, but there’ll likely be a dedicated option. It’s an extra step that will save you a lot of time later.

Keeping realistic expectations

As a process, research can be unpredictable. You don’t know what you’re going to find and how it’s going to inform your writing. That can sometimes be fun, because you’ll uncover fascinating things you didn’t know before. It can also be incredibly frustrating if you hit a dead end or uncover something that undermines your ideas for the story.

When this happens to you, try not to be stubborn about it. I’ve found the most helpful tools to backing out of a dead end are creativity and flexibility . If you can’t find what you need, ask an expert in the field or a teacher on the subject or a librarian. Ask your friends, colleagues, family members and/or partner if they know anything about this topic. If that doesn’t yield results, try coming at your topic from a different angle or looking at unlikely resources.

If all else fails, don’t be afraid to change your idea. Sometimes your research stumps you because you’re trying to force an idea that’s just not going to work. In that case, no amount of determination will solve the problem. Be flexible. Try alternatives until you find a door opening to you. And, most importantly, try to have fun with the process.

Managing your time

A final word of advice: be conscious of your time. It’s easy to eat up a lot of time on research, especially if you find the process interesting. Set a timer for yourself and stick to it. Don’t let your research time become an excuse to postpone writing. Plan on researching for the long haul. If your research needs are extensive, pace yourself. You don’t want to burn out because you jumped in too deep too fast. Schedule some time daily or weekly to complete your research and stick to the plan.

Research is an amazing tool for writers. It lends credibility to their work, creating a wealth of knowledge from which to draw ideas, characters, and fictional worlds. But research takes work and planning. If you create an organized and flexible system to guide you, and if you’re aware of the time constraints and pitfalls going into it, you’ll be able to make the most of your time.

What tools or resources have helped you most with research for your writing? What was something fascinating or surprising you encountered while researching for your book? Share with us in the comments about a time you relied on creativity and flexibility to solve a problem in your research, and check out  Your Research Can’t Stop With The Internet – Here’s Where To Go ,  How To Make The Most Of Your Research Trip , and How To Consult Experts When Researching Your Book for more great advice on this topic.

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2 thoughts on “Learn How To Research Your Book With This Beginner’s Guide”

Great article, Paige.

I always do tons of research for my stories. For me, that is the most interesting part of writing.

Then I must select what best propels the plot, even when it means “killing my darlings.”

That’s so true, Jim! I can always tell that you’re able to write with authority on your subject because of the time you’ve put in on research. Thanks for commenting!

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How to Research a Book

by Sarah Gribble | 0 comments

I’m prepping for a new novel that I’m super excited about. My characters are floating around in my head, becoming more real as I write my first draft, and I have a decently detailed synopsis written.

My problem: I know next to nothing about my setting and my main character’s profession. Which means I need to do massive amounts of research. Yes, I have to conduct research for a book, even if it's a novel.

You might think you don’t need to do much research because you’re writing fiction. (Isn't fiction just making stuff up?!) You’d be wrong.

Your readers expect to be transported to your setting and to understand your characters so fully, they seem like real people. Little things like using the wrong jargon or having your main character wear the wrong type of bodice can jar your reader out of the story and cause them to lose respect for you as a writer. If they can’t trust you to get the facts right, why should they trust you to guide them through a story?

Like it or not, research is a writer's best friend. (Next to caffeine, anyway.) So let's talk about how to conduct research for a book.

The True Purpose of Research for Fiction

When you first start the research process for a novel, you’re going to be looking at the big picture. You want to get a general overview of the time period, location, and/or character profession. You want to immerse yourself in everything you can find that comes within your story's scope.

This isn’t because you’re going to regurgitate all that to your readers. It’s because you need to have a clear picture of what’s going on in order to successfully write your story. All of your research is for you so that you can translate your world to your reader.

It will also help speed up your writing process, since you'll know the details you need to include without getting bogged down in how something should work in your story.

Don't mistake this with the thought that you need to include everything you research in your book (especially if you're writing historical fiction, which can require more research than other genres).

Book research is a tool that should serve your story, not the other way around. You’re not writing an academic paper, so resist the urge to shove everything you’ve learned into your story. You’ll end up info dumping if you try.

Your story is the main purpose and your research should support it, not overwhelm it. Choose what you need to further the story and leave the rest.

How to Conduct Research for a Book

Okay, let's get to it! Here’s how to get started with researching your novel:

Lists are your friends

Because you’ll be dealing with a vast amount of (mostly useless) information, the first thing you need to do is get organized. Some fiction writers like to use Scrivener to keep track of their research. Others might use Evernote.

Really, the writing software you want to use is based on your preference of documenting subject matter.

It could be as simple as detailed notecards or thoughts in a journal.

Whatever method you use to research your own work, you'll want to make lists.

Do this for everything you need to look up. You don’t want to forget something hugely important and have to spend a lot of time in the middle of writing your novel to look it up.

In my case, my setting is on a small island and my main character is a commercial fisherman. I need to know island life, weather patterns, boat types, fishing jargon, etc. I have memoirs and nonfiction books about the area and the fishing industry. I’m reading them cover-to-cover, not because I’ll end up using all the information, but because I need to establish an overarching picture for myself .

If I can’t mentally place myself there, I can’t place my readers there.

Where can you collect these lists? Tons of places, some including:

• Local libraries (are also your friends)
• Field research (find someone who has had a personal experience in what you're writing)
• Search engines like Google (for setting, you might explore Google maps—just don't get too distracted and waste a ton of time here)
• Wikipedia (but make sure you fact check)
• Podcasts about what you're writing about
• Other books from bestselling authors (as long as you don't plagiarize content)

Establish a system

You need to be able to call up your research as needed, so establishing an organized, consistent system of keeping track of everything you’ve learned is a must.

Personally, since I spent so many years in school, I go with the standard method of taking notes (in a notebook that only serves my current project and nothing else) and then highlighting and sticky-noting facts I definitely want to use. There are plenty of note-taking apps out there if you'd rather not be so old school.

For fun, try establishing a system for a short story first. This decrease the pressure on trying out the same system for a longer creative writing work.

If the system works well for you, take it to the next level and use it to write a novella or novel.

Expand your idea of research

Don’t just scour the internet. Get a book. Better yet, get twelve. There’s no such thing as researching too much.

Talk to your librarian or a book seller (they’re magnificent at helping with this). Watch documentaries and YouTube videos. Look at pictures. Talk to people in person or online. Go to a museum. Read fiction novels that cover similar ground. Find all the information you can on your subject.

First-hand experience is always best, but don't worry if you can't afford a trip to France for your quirky French bookstore novel. You can go to a French restaurant. The taste of the food, the smells, and how the waiter pronounces the menu items are all fodder for your story.

Pay attention to details when you’re out and about. You never know what might inspire, fill in plot holes, or add an interesting tic to your character.

Stop researching

Once you have a solid overarching picture of your setting and your characters, stop researching and start writing. You can’t spend months researching without writing a word. That’s not writing. At some point, you have to put away the research and get moving on your novel.

You know you've researched enough when you already know the information you're reading in the umpteenth book you've checked out from the library.

(Hmm. Library again. A pattern, maybe? Seriously, ask your librarians for help.)

Remember how I said all this research was for you? Eventually, you'll have enough information. You have all that in your head (and hopefully in a nicely organized set of notes), so when you go to write, you’ll be able to recall details as you go along.

Your understanding of your setting, era, and character's profession is what will give you the ability to weave details seamlessly and organically into your story.

This goes for your first novel, up until your last one.

While it’s true you shouldn’t have to research anything major after you begin writing, you will find you need to look up some minor details as you delve into your story. There will always be some iota of information you don’t know you need until you need it. For instance, the most common types of knots fishermen use or the instruments on a surgical tray in an operating room.

These are things that are important to get right but are most likely not important to the flow of the story. Don't interrupt your writing flow to go back to researching for weeks on end.

When you come across the need to know something minor, make a note and keep writing . You can always look up small stuff later. Keep writing!

What's your favorite part of researching? What do you struggle with?  Let me know in the comments !

Today I want you to do something a little different. I want you to think of a story you want to write. Any story, any genre, but it  must be in a setting you don't know much (if anything!) about. Take fifteen minutes to brainstorm a list of things you'd need to research in order for that setting to come alive for your reader—and you!

Share your list in the comments and see if you can help your fellow writers think of anything else they need to look up!

Sarah Gribble

Sarah Gribble is the author of dozens of short stories that explore uncomfortable situations, basic fears, and the general awe and fascination of the unknown. She just released Surviving Death , her first novel, and is currently working on her next book.

Follow her on Instagram or join her email list for free scares.

Work with Sarah Gribble?

Bestselling author with over five years of coaching experience. Sarah Gribble specializes in working with Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Horror, Speculative Fiction, and Thriller books. Sound like a good fit for you?

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How to Research a Nonfiction Book: 5 Tips for Writers

That you’ve landed here tells me you have a message you want to share in a book.

You’re eager to start writing, but you first need to conduct some research.

Problem is, you’re not sure how to research for a nonfiction book .

You may even wonder whether research is all that important.

You may be an excellent writer, but even a small factual mistake can cost you the credibility of your readers.

Over the last half-century, I’ve written over 200 books, 21 of them New York Times bestsellers. So I ought to be able to write a book on my area of expertise — writing and publishing — based on my experience alone, right?

I wouldn’t dare write such a book without carefully researching every detail. Because if I get one fact wrong, my credibility goes out the window. And I’d have only my own laziness to blame.

Thorough research can set your book — your message — apart from the competition.

As you research, carefully determine:

• How much detail should go into your book
• Whether even if it’s interesting, is it relevant?
• To remain objective and not skew the results to favor your opinions
• To use research as seasoning rather than the main course (your message)

As you weave in your findings, always think reader-first. This is the golden rule of writing.

Your job is to communicate so compellingly that readers are captivated from the get-go. This is as important to how-to manuals and self-help books as it is to a memoir .

• 5 Tips for Researching Your Nonfiction Book

1. Start With an Outline

While the half or so population of novelists who call themselves Pantsers (like me), who write by the seat of their pants as a process of discovery, can get away without an outline, such is not true of nonfiction authors.

There is no substitute for an outline if you’re writing nonfiction .

Once you’ve determined what you’d like to say and to whom you want to say it, it’s time to start building your outline.

Not only do agents and acquisitions editors require this, but also you can’t draft a proposal without an outline.

Plus, an outline will keep you on track when the writing gets tough. Best of all, it can serve as your research guide to keep you focused on finding what you really need for your project.

That said, don’t become a slave to your outline. If in the process of writing you find you need the flexibility to add or subtract something from your manuscript, adjust your outline to accommodate it.

The key, again, is reader-first, and that means the best final product you can create .

Read my blog post How to Outline a Nonfiction Book in 5 Steps for a more in depth look at the outlining process.

2. Employ a Story Structure

Yes, even for nonfiction, and not only for memoirs or biographies.

I recommend the novel structure below for fiction, but — believe it or not — with only slight adaptations, roughly the same structure can turn mediocre nonfiction to something special.

While in a novel (and in biographical nonfiction), the main character experiences all these steps, they can also apply to self-help and how-to books.

Just be sure to sequence your points and evidence to promise a significant payoff, then be sure to deliver.

You or your subject becomes the main character in a memoir or a biography. Craft a sequence of life events the way a novelist would, and your true story can read like fiction.

Even a straightforward how-to or self-help book can follow this structure as you make promises early, triggering readers to anticipate fresh ideas, secrets, inside information — things you pay off in the end.

While you may not have as much action or dialogue or character development as your novelist counterpart, your crises and tension can come from showing where people have failed before and how you’re going to ensure your readers will succeed.

You might even make a how-to project look impossible until you pay off that setup with your unique solution.

Once you’ve mapped out your story structure, determine:

• What parts of my book need more evidence?
• Would another point of view lend credibility?
• What experts do I need to interview?

3. Research Your Genre

I say often that writers are readers.

Good writers are good readers.

Great writers are great readers.

Learn the conventions and expectations of your genre by reading as many books as you can get your hands on. That means dozens and dozens to learn what works, what doesn’t, and how to make your nonfiction book the best it can be.

4. Use the Right Research Tools

Don’t limit yourself to a single research source. Instead, consult a range of sources.

For a memoir or biography, brush up on the geography and time period of where your story took place. Don’t depend on your memory alone, because if you get a detail wrong, some readers are sure to know.

So, what sources?

There’s no substitute for an in-person interview with an expert. People love to talk about their work, and about themselves.

How do you land an appointment with an expert? Just ask. You’d be surprised how accessible and helpful most people are.

Be respectful of their time, and of course, promise to credit them on your Acknowledgments page.

Before you meet, learn as much as you can about them online so you don’t waste their time asking questions you could’ve easily answered another way.

Ask deep, fresh, personal questions unique to your subject. Plan ahead, but also allow the conversation to unfold naturally as you listen and respond with additional questions.

Most importantly, record every interview and transcribe it — or have it transcribed — for easy reference as you write.

World Almanacs

Online versions save you time and include just about anything you would need: facts, data, government information, and more. Some are free, some require a subscription. Try the free version first to be sure you’ll benefit from this source.

On WorldAtlas.com , you’ll find nearly limitless information about any continent, country, region, city, town, or village.

Names, time zones, monetary units, weather patterns, tourism info, data on natural resources, and even facts you wouldn’t have thought to search for.

I get ideas when I’m digging here, for both my novels and my nonfiction books.

Encyclopedias

If you don’t own a set, you can access one at a library or online . Encyclopedia Britannica has just about anything you’d need.

Here, you can learn a ton about people, places, addictions, hobbies, neuroses — you name it. (Just be careful to avoid getting drawn into clickbait videos.)

Search Engines

Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and the like have become the most powerful book research tools of all — the internet has revolutionized my research.

Type in any number of research terms and you’ll find literally (and I don’t say that lightly) millions of resources.

That gives you plenty of opportunity to confirm and corroborate anything you find by comparing it to at least 2 or 3 additional sources.

The Merriam Webster online thesaurus is great, because it’s lightning fast. You couldn’t turn the pages of a hard copy as quickly as you can get where you need to onscreen.

One caution: Never let it be obvious you’ve consulted a thesaurus. Too many writers use them to search for an exotic word to spice up their prose.

Don’t. Rather, look for that normal word that was on the tip of your tongue. Just say what you need to say.

Use powerful nouns and verbs, not fancy adjectives and adverbs.

Wolfram Alpha

View this website as the genius librarian who can immediately answer almost any question.

Google Scholar

This website offers high quality, in depth academic information that far exceeds any regular search engine.

Library of Congress

A rich source of American history that allows you to view photos, other media, and ask a librarian for help if necessary.

Your Local Library

The convenience of the internet has caused too many to abandon their local library. But that’s a mistake. Many local libraries offer all sorts of hands-on tools to enhance your research effort.

Evaluating your sources

When researching your nonfiction book, be aware that not all sources are equal, especially online.

Bias and misinformation run rampant, making it hard to distinguish between fact and misinformation.

Simply Googling your topic can lead to an array of conflicting sources with varying messages.

Be judicious by comparing with other sources what you’ve gleaned so you can determine the most prevalent and plausible result.

Primary vs. secondary sources

First-hand accounts from witnesses to or participants in an event or with full knowledge of an area of discipline are ideal. Live or online interviews, autobiographies, diaries, original documents, data reports, video/photographs/audio, etc., are best as primary sources 

Secondary sources are comprised of interpretations of, commentary on, or conjecture related to primary sources. Examples: books, analysis of data, scholarly articles, and documentaries.

Source Evaluation Checklist 

1. How new is the information?

Relevancy is important.

If your research results in contradictory information because some sources are old, it might make sense to cite both the old and the new in your book to show how things have evolved. But also be careful not to assume the latest information is more reliable. If it’s merely trendy, it might soon become obsolete.

2. Who’s the intended audience?

Consider the intended audience of the source itself. 

Is the material meant to educate? Entertain? Is it an overview or is it someone’s thesis?

3. Is the source really an expert?

What do their reputation and credentials say about them? How long have they studied their discipline? Do other experts back their views?

4. Can you verify the source?

Trustworthy sources don’t exist in vacuums.

Do your due diligence to be sure your source is generally accepted and trusted. Are they associated with a well-known institution or are they board-certified in their area of expertise? Are they quoted by fellow experts?

5. Who published the source?

Take into consideration any bias on the part of the source that may affect their trustworthiness.

In the 1950s, before it was widely accepted that smoking was harmful, tobacco companies funded research to counter mounting scientific evidence that cigarettes were linked to serious health problems.

So look beyond the author of your source and investigate who funded and published it.

The bias may not be as obvious as misrepresenting the health effects of tobacco, but it will affect the credibility of the information.

5. Avoid Procrastination: Set a Deadline

At first glance, researching for your nonfiction book may sound like homework, but it can be fun. So fun it can be addicting — the more we learn, the more we tend to want to know.

Many writers use research as an excuse to procrastinate from writing.

To avoid this, set a firm deadline for your research, and get to your writing. If you need further research, you can always take a break and conduct it.

• Time to Get Started

There’s no substitute for meticulous research and the richness it lends to your nonfiction writing. The trust it builds with readers alone is worth the effort.

Start with your outline, and before you know it, you’ll be immersed in research and ready to begin writing.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

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How to Research for Your Book Without Getting Overwhelmed

by Gatekeeper Press | Dec 16, 2021 | Blog

When you set out to write a book, regardless of the genre , you will no doubt strive to create a compelling and credible literary work. If so, you will want to become very familiar with the idea of conducting some research ahead of time.

The time and effort spent doing some research can truly contribute to your book’s success. If you are writing nonfiction, this is a no-brainer. The more you understand your topic, the better you can convey your thesis and persuade the reader. If you are writing a novel, doing some digging regarding the time period, setting, and customs will add layers of authenticity to your story.

For many writers, the very word “research” may send shivers up the spine, as memories of agonizing over college reports, outlines, and footnotes spring to mind. But learning how to research for a book, right from the outset, helps manage any research anxiety you might be experiencing. Worry not, as this guide will help you tackle the research aspects of the writing process with confidence.

The Book Research Process, Simplified

When a writer decides to sit down and write their first novel or self-help book, you may not have given a minute’s thought as to the need to gather factoids ahead of time. This is especially true for fiction writers, who bank on the idea that the story is fabricated anyway. In fact, ignoring the research step, or giving it short shrift, will adversely affect the quality of your book.

Learning how to research for a book is essential if you want the process to go smoothly. Consider these steps:

• Start with a plan. Begin the research process with a plan. This helps you to stay focused and avoid wasting valuable time. Describe the purpose of your book or the general storyline, and what types of details and information are needed to fill those out. When considering how to do research for a novel or nonfiction book, it helps to create a list of potential sources for the information or data, such as:
• Internet search engines
• Podcasts or documentaries
• Create a system. Knowing how to organize research for the book is key. Every author has their own preferred system for sorting and storing the information they have gathered. Whether you prefer a notebook with sticky notes and colored highlighters or using an app like Scrivener or Evernote, find a system that will keep your data neatly organized and accessible.
• Make lists. Within the system you’ve designed, you should plan on keeping handy lists. For example, when fleshing out a time period for a novel, create a section with headers, such as clothing, mannerisms, customs and traditions, speech, foods, and family life. Under each header, list the various facts you have dug up. If you are writing a nonfiction book, your headers will pertain to the topics in the book, with lists of data under each.
• Know when to stop. It is easy to get swept up in the fact-finding mission prior to writing a book, so do give yourself a deadline. Too often, authors avoid actually writing their book by continuing on with the research for far too long. Keep in mind that you are not going to use each and every item you find within the manuscript. Remember the main purpose for doing the research, which is to lend your book more credibility while enhancing the reader experience — and that you are not writing an encyclopedia.

3 Book Research Tips to Stay Organized and Productive

It is one thing to know how to research for a book you are working on, and quite another to organize research for a book. One is about gathering and the other is about sorting…and both are critical to a successful and productive research process.

Consider these 3 tips for staying on task:

• Recognize when you have gone down a rabbit hole. When one resource leads to another and yet another, you can find yourself so far down a rabbit hole that you lose sight of the objective. Keep tabs on your time and stick to your research plan.
• Do your research before writing. While it may be tempting to just plow straight ahead into writing your book, resist this temptation and do your research first . You may need to look up a few things after completing the manuscript, but do the bulk of the research prior to writing.
• Keep tabs on your time . Schedule your research time and stick to it. If you need to set an alarm or timer to help keep you on track, do so. Remember, the research step is a prelude to writing your book, not the main event.

Fine-Tune Your Book—Partner with the Pros

Even when you know how to research for a book you are working on, the project can still be an enormous undertaking. Know that there are experts available to assist you with each step of the self-publishing process. Gatekeeper Press provides a slew of editorial and publishing services to help you polish and perfect your book. Reach out today!

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9 Hacks for Perfecting Your Book Research

• on Nov 08, 2022
• in Writing Tips
• Last update: November 9th, 2022

Having a book idea could be exciting; you might even feel that adrenaline rush as you sit down to write the first few pages. But before you go any further, you need to collect and fact-check some data to make your book as accurate as it could be. And that’s where doing book research comes in.

If you are a first-time author who doesn’t know where to start, then this article is for you! Here you’ll find everything you need to know about how to do research for your coming book.

Why Do Writers Need to Do Book Research?

While you as an author might be knowledgeable enough about the topic you’re writing about, doing thorough book research is still a necessity. This comes down to two main reasons:

• You want to make the information mentioned in your books more credible so you add citations and sources.
• You don’t have all the information you need to complete the book.

How Long Should Book Research Take?

The duration of your book research mainly depends on two factors:

• What you are writing about, and
• Your knowledge about the topic.

If you are an expert on your book’s subject matter, you might need little to no research at all. Still, fact-checking as you write will give your book more credibility; just don’t let it hinder you from the actual writing process. 

What Are the Phases of Doing Book Research?

The thing about book research is that although it helps speed the writing process, it might take a while. To make the process much easier, quicker, and more efficient, you can divide it into four phases:

• Planning the research, and that’s when you decide on the points that you want to find out more about.
• Doing the research and collecting the information you need.
• Sorting the information and data you’ve found.
• Evaluating this information to decide if it is enough or if you need to do more research. 

Tips and Tricks for Doing Book Research

Now that you have an idea of why you need to do book research, let’s get into the details of how to do it. Even though there isn’t one right way to go about it, the tips we provide here will definitely help! So take a look at these hacks and apply what best suits you.

1. Set Up an Organized Plan

The first step in conducting successful research is to have a proper plan that will save you time and effort. Having a plan also gives you an idea of the time you’ll be consuming on your research. 

In order to make a successful plan, you need to have an outline for the ideas you’ll write about. This will make your research process more efficient as it’ll help you pinpoint the kind of data you need and where there might be any information gaps. You also have to keep in mind who your audience is, as the information you present in your book will depend hugely on whom you are addressing.

2. Check Different Types of Resources

The internet has a plethora of resources for you to explore that can spark your imagination and help you get the additional information you need. Here are a few places that are worth checking out:

• Books: Your first and most valuable source is, of course, books. You can learn and research many things from them such as the authors’ writing style and how to deliver information clearly. They can also open a door to many other resources that could be extracted from them, such as citations and reference lists.  And if you need more similar resources, you can search for other works by the same author or authors who have similar books to the one you’re reading.
• Youtube: You can find many types of videos on Youtube such as documentaries, autobiographies, tutorials, guides, podcasts, and many more. There are, however, some downsides to Youtube that might hinder you a bit with your search. Some videos might be just clickbait and don’t give you the information you are looking for. Others might be too long that it takes a while until you reach the segment with the information you need.
• Question and Answers Websites: Another place that’s worth checking is websites where people ask questions about the ideas you have, such as Quora , Answers.com , and Ask a Librarian . Some other authors might have had the same topic to research and needed help. So, surprisingly, you might find good recommendations from people there.  But what if you can’t find what you’re looking for? You can post your questions on those websites and you’ll be surprised by the amount of new and interesting information you’ll find from other people’s replies.  
• Scholarly Publications: Reputable sources like scholarly publications can really help with your research because they are usually well-written and informative. And you can find all the citations inside. They can be in the formats of journals, theses, dissertations, or autobiographies. You can find these resources using Google Scholar or other .edu domains. Remember, however, to double-check the author’s credentials as some of the resources found there could be essays published by first-year college students.
• News and Magazines Articles: There are many reputable magazines in various fields where articles are published by researchers and scientists. You can also find news pieces written by experts and journalists that can provide great data for your book. But just like scholarly publications, make sure that these articles are written by accredited writers.
• Statistics and Surveys Websites: Sometimes you have the right information but you just need to back it up with numbers and figures. That’s where statistics and survey websites come in; they allow you to search for any topic and provide you with the data you need.  You can use websites like Google’s Data Search and Statista , or you can start your own survey (using survey creation websites like Google Forms and Survey Monkey ) and get as many people to answer it as you can.
• Field Trips: It’s often said that nothing equals first-hand experience, and this isn’t totally wrong. Sometimes you might need to be physically present in certain places to collect the data you need. For example, if you are writing about Indian cuisine, it’s a good idea to go to India and taste the food made by its people. This will give your writing so much depth and authenticity.

3. Seek Others’ Expertise

Seeking the help of experts can assist a lot with the research process. These experts could be other writers who can give you valuable tips or sources to use in your research. Or they can be specialists in the field you are writing about who know exactly the answers you need. 

If you are writing a romantic renaissance novel, for example, you don’t just need to know about relationships. Talking to a historian who specializes in that era can help in bringing your story to life, as they provide you with all the details might not know about.  

4. Stay Focused

As a writer, you need as few distractions as possible to be able to complete your tasks. You need to focus on the main goals of your research so you don’t end up with useless ideas. This can happen because sometimes as you’re researching a certain topic, you may come across other unrelated yet interesting materials that lead you astray. That’s why it’s essential to stick to the main points of your planned outline.

5. Set a Deadline

If you are prone to procrastination, you might use research as a way to delay the actual writing process. One thing that will keep you on track is setting a deadline for yourself so the research process doesn’t take longer than it should. 

The amount of information out there is endless, and you can go on researching forever. So when your deadline approaches, just make sure you have just enough data that supports your book argument; you don’t need to overload your readers with irrelevant facts.

6. Use the Right Keywords 

When searching online, it is important to use the right keywords in your search engine to get the desired search results . You want to get as accurate results as possible because using vague words will only result in finding unrelated sources. Instead, narrow down your search by being as specific as you can.

For example, if you are searching for “medieval names”, you’ll probably get thousands of results that might leave you confused. Narrow down your options by specifying the gender and location. Try searching for “medieval German male names,” which will give you much better results if that’s what you were looking for in the first place.

You can also use other online search hacks that will help you get the desired results fasters.

7. Stay Organized

Make sure you’re writing down your research results while you’re researching so you don’t lose any ideas. You can do this by bookmarking your findings on your browser, printing and keeping them in an actual folder on your desk, or by using digital notebooks like Evernote or OneNote . Having all your resources in one place will make the writing process way easier later on.

As you organize your resources, make sure to collect the following information about each one. This will make it easier to get back to them whenever you need: 

• Author’s name
• Date of publication
• Name of the book or article 
• Hyperlink or page number
• Where this information was found (website name or publisher)

8. Outsource If Possible

The research process could be daunting for some authors. That’s why outsourcing this process could be a better idea as you focus on writing instead. But you don’t want to hire anyone for the job; they should be knowledgeable in the topic or field that you are writing about. You can use websites like Fivver or Upwork to hire a freelancer who would do the job for you.

9. Start Writing Your Draft

Now that you have the information you need, start writing your first draft. As you write, you may discover that you’re missing some pieces of information, and it’s totally fine. Just make sure you finish writing the draft first before going back to researching; otherwise, you’ll lose time and focus. Some writers even finish their first draft before doing any research at all; so do whatever works best for you .

To make it easier for you to find the missing information later, here are some techniques to use while writing:

• Use the abbreviation “ TK ” in place of the missing information. It stands for “to come” and can be easily found in the document using Ctrl+F, as no other word in the English language has these 2 letters consecutively.
• Highlight the parts with missing information in red so you could easily spot them.
• If you’re using Google docs, Microsoft Word, or any other word processing tool to write your draft, you can add comments on the side for the parts where you need to do some extra research.

Final Thoughts

Conducting book research can be very tricky and tiring, but having the right tools and knowing a few tricks will save you a lot of time and effort. The main key is to be patient and explore different resources. And always remember to remain organized so you don’t lose track of all the data you’ve collected.

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Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Whether your next book is a cutting-edge cookbook , historical fiction, or anything in between, it’s vital that you add research in books so that the information inside is accurate. After all, if you miscategorize key ingredients as gluten-free when they’re actually not, you could lose legitimacy — and place readers with allergies at risk. And if your WWII novel gets dates and locations of key battles wrong, who will take the rest of your story seriously? Regardless of the topic, researching your next book may seem daunting, but there are tried and true strategies and tips to help you get started doing it right. Read on for more.

Table of Contents: • Planning your research • Collecting research • Organizing your research • Analyzing and interpreting research • Researching to gain insight for sequels • Finalizing your research-driven book • Ready to self-publish your research-driven book?

Planning your research

The more organized you are at the very beginning, the easier your work will be. Important steps include:

Defining your research goals

The first step in learning how to write a book and research it is to focus on what exactly you’re hoping to accomplish through your book research. For that WWII novel, for example, figure out what information about military events, political decisions, cultural shifts, public attitudes, technological developments, international relations, etc. will give you the context you need to be convincingly creative within a historically accurate context.

Will details of the former Kaiser’s attitude towards the war give you background and inspiration you need — or will info on 1940s German household cuisine help you write a stunningly intimate scene that makes readers really feel like they’re there? Narrow down your goals as much as possible, write them down, and push forward from there.

Creating a research plan

Follow these steps to make your research as efficient and effective as possible:

• As per the above, focus in on exactly what you want your research to reveal.
• Brainstorm potential sources, such as websites, books, public records, movies, interviews, and beyond.
• Set a timeline to keep yourself on track.
• Regularly revisit your original goals and objectives to make sure you’re staying focused and efficient.

Collecting research

Your plan is solid, so it’s time to put on your detective’s hat and start digging. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Understand the difference between primary and secondary sources. The Library of Congress offers these definitions:

• A primary source is a firsthand record of an event or topic created by a participant in (or a witness to) that event or topic. Primary sources can be a document, letter, eye-witness account, diary, article, book, recording, statistical data, manuscript, or art object. Primary sources vary by discipline and provide an original source of information about an era or event. Although primary sources can include firsthand accounts that were documented later, such as memoirs or oral histories, primary sources created or written closest to the time of the actual event are considered to be the most useful sources for research purposes.
• A secondary source is secondhand information written or created after an event. Secondary sources may summarize, interpret, review, or criticize existing events or works. Secondary sources were written or created after an event by people who were not at the original event. Secondary sources can be many formats including books, literature review articles, encyclopedias, textbooks, or a scholar’s interpretation of past events or conditions.

Both primary and secondary sources can be hugely helpful in your research, so be sure to look in both directions. Speaking of which:

Explore possible sources

There are all sorts of resources, both primary and secondary, that you can leverage for your research. Are there great, reputable books or research articles written about your topic of choice, or well-regarded and peer-reviewed academic journals? What about interviews conducted by yourself or others, things you’ve personally observed or learned via other people’s firsthand observations, that you think you can trust?

Credibility is a key facet of any research project, particularly in the age of AI and digital misinformation, so triple-check the sources of any information you’re relying on. Does the information itself seem authentic, and is there any dependable way to verify it? Are there reputable experts in the field you can check with if you’re unsure? Most importantly, what does your gut say? You won’t always be able to tell fact from fiction when it comes to doing research, but the more mindful and rigorous you are when it comes to vetting your sources, the better your chances of accuracy and success.

Organizing your research

Even the most thorough prior research won’t mean anything unless you know how and where to find what you need amidst the piles of info you gather. Here are tips to help you get your data ducks in a row:

Digital tools and software

Some writers prefer to do all their research within a single document (with lots of headings and reference points, of course) while others create a folder and fill it with smaller documents that each contain information on a specific topic.

Spreadsheets are also a straightforward way of organizing data and being able to manipulate it easily. And dedicated writing apps like Scrivener have loyal followings amongst writers who use it both for crafting prose and organizing the research that informs it.

Finally, new apps are being developed every day that can help writers organize and access research, so don’t hesitate to look and see which tools resonate with you.

Note-taking strategies

Recording your results as you perform your literature research process is super important, and again, different strategies work for different writers.

Best practices include making sure to properly cite any source you’re gathering information from, so you can credit the previous studies properly and locate it again easily if you need to. Sometimes it can help to come up with shorthand notes for frequently used sources, so you can quickly jot down information without breaking your flow.

As you take notes, make sure to indicate which part of each research tidbit you find is the most important so you can easily locate it when it’s time to look back. Even something as simple as bolding or underlining key info can do the trick.

Also, consider keeping a simple voice recorder or voice memo app handy, so you can talk through nuances of your research that might get otherwise lost in the note-taking process.

Analyzing and interpreting research

Research is about more than gathering information — it’s about understanding it and knowing how to use it. Key steps include:

Critically analyzing your sources

How credible is the source you’re looking at? Does it seem like it was generated by one or more humans who know what they’re talking about, or is it more likely something slapped together by a troll, bot, or AI engine?

Does the source stink of bias, and is that bias distorting the reliability of the facts therein? What are the limitations of the information presented, and do the conclusions drawn exceed those boundaries?

Remember to stay as objective as possible when you’re interpreting your research findings, keep in mind any biases and limitations you see, and be sure to gather multiple perspectives on any given issue or event before drawing your own conclusions.

Integrating research into your narrative

Once you’ve gathered the information you want and interpreted it as needed, it’s time to weave that knowledge into your narrative. The biggest tip here? Don’t overdo. Much research in fiction writing is done to give you, the writer, context in which to imagine a compelling story — and your hard work will show in subtle ways. Some writers can get away with throwing in paragraphs or pages of obvious, research-based exposition, but many others shouldn’t even try. Throw in a few facts or details every here and there, however it feels organic and not contrived. Remember that a little goes a long way.

Researching to gain insight for sequels

Research can help you craft a great book. It can also help you set yourself up for the next one. With the right kind of research, you can learn:

• What readers enjoyed most about your first book
• What they didn’t love so much
• What they wanted more of
• Which plot twists, characters, or settings were the most memorable

How do you get these insights? Cultivate firsthand sources by eliciting feedback via social media, mailing lists, personal emails, or in-person conversations. Encourage anyone you’re talking with to be brutally honest, as straight talk will be the most helpful in the long run. If you’re lucky enough to get reviews , peruse those as well.

Finalizing your research-driven book

You’ve done the legwork — and the creative work — so now it’s time to review, polish, and share your writing with the world.

Editing and proofreading

Thorough editing and proofreading is essential to ensure the accuracy and coherence of the research-driven content within your book. Especially after investing time and effort into gathering and interpreting information, it’d be a shame for your work to be sabotaged by a typo. For help with a book review to comb through your writing and fixing even the smallest errors, check out BookBaby’s book editing services .

Publishing and distributing

Many authors will pursue traditional strategies like querying agents and trying to land a book deal with an established publishing house. And while this avenue certainly has its advantages, it can take a long time, and require tons of effort to even locate an agent who will have a conversation with you. Plus, you cede a lot of control (and profit) when you sign on with a publishing house. This makes learning how to self-publish a more attractive option.

BookBaby’s self-publishing universe can help you keep control and revenue, and publish your book when you’re ready to share it with the world — not when some big company feels like it.

BookBaby can also help you make your self-published book look clean, professional, and attractive to your target readers through custom book printing and book formatting .

Ready to self-publish your research-driven book?

Whenever you’re ready, your friends at BookBaby are here to help you through every step of the journey.

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The Process of Research Writing

(19 reviews)

Steven D. Krause, Eastern Michigan University

Copyright Year: 2007

Publisher: Steven D. Krause

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Kevin Kennedy, Adjunct Professor, Bridgewater State University on 12/2/22

I think this book would make an excellent supplement to other class material in a class focused on writing and research. It helps a lot with the "why"s of research and gives a high-level overview. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

I think this book would make an excellent supplement to other class material in a class focused on writing and research. It helps a lot with the "why"s of research and gives a high-level overview.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book is accurate, and talks a lot about different ways to view academic writing

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This would be quite relevant for a student early on the college journey who is starting to complete research-based projects.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is clear and concise, though that conciseness sometimes leads to less content than I'd like

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent throughout

Modularity rating: 4

I could use the first chapters of this book very easily, but the later ones get into exercises that my classes wouldn't necessarily use

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The book is organized from the high level (what is academic writing with research) to the more specific (here are some specific exercises)

Interface rating: 3

I don't like the flow from contents to chapters, and they feel distinctly text-based. This is a no-frills text, but that's ok.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

I didn't note anything glaringly obvious

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I think that this text stays away from the cultural and focuses mostly on the cognitive. This prevents offensive material, though it may make it less appealing to students.

Reviewed by Julie Sorge Way, Instructional Faculty, James Madison University on 11/23/21

Overall, I think this book’s strongest suits are its organization, clarity, and modularity. It is useful and adaptable for a wide range of courses involving a research component, and as the book itself argues, research is a part of most learning... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Overall, I think this book’s strongest suits are its organization, clarity, and modularity. It is useful and adaptable for a wide range of courses involving a research component, and as the book itself argues, research is a part of most learning at the university level, whether or not a single traditional “research paper” is the end goal of a course. This is a great book with adaptable and useful content across a range of disciplines, and while it is low on “bells and whistles,” the content it provides seems to be relevant, helpful, and also fill a gap among other OER texts that focus more on rhetoric and less on research.

Because this is a book on research writing rather than cutting edge science, etc. it is unlikely to be made inaccurate by the passing of time.

In a desire to move past the simple “Comp II” textbook, Krause’s work here is relevant to a variety of fields. In creating a course with a major-specific research component, many parts of this text are relevant to what I’m doing, and due to its modularity and organization (see below) I am able to make use of it easily and draw students’ attention to the parts that will help them most with our learning objectives.

Clarity rating: 5

Krause’s writing style is uncomplicated and direct. His examples are ones I think most students could relate to or at least connect with reasonably well.

While the book is internally consistent in its tone, level of detail, and relevance to Krause’s original writing goals, in the process of applying it to different courses (as almost inevitably happens with OER materials) it is inconsistently useful for the course I in particular am planning. This is certainly no fault of the book’s. One example would be that it presents MLA and APA format for citing sources, but not Chicago/Turabian.

Modularity rating: 5

Certainly, its modularity is a real strong suit for Krause’s book overall – individual instructors planning different types of coursework that involve writing and research can easily adapt parts that work, and its Creative Commons license makes this even better.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Clear and direct organization is another strong suit in Krause’s text. The information is presented in an orderly and easy to navigate way that allows instructors and students alike to hone in on the most useful information for their writing and research task without spending undue amounts of time searching. This is much appreciated especially in an open access text where instructors are more likely to be “picking and choosing” relevant content from multiple texts and resources.

Interface rating: 4

Simple but clear – basic HTML and PDF navigation by chapter and section. Like many OER texts it is a bit short on visual engagement – the colorful infographics and illustrations many people are used to both in printed textbooks and interacting with internet content.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No errors noted.

Widely relevant (at least in the North American context I have most experience with) but as always, instructors should preview and adapt all material for the needs and context of their own classes and students.

Reviewed by Li-Anne Delavega, Undergraduate Research Experience Coordinator, Kapiolani Community College on 5/1/21

This textbook builds a good foundation for first-year students with topics such as developing a thesis, how to find sources and evaluate them, creating an annotated bibliography, audience, and avoiding plagiarism. While the content is explained... read more

This textbook builds a good foundation for first-year students with topics such as developing a thesis, how to find sources and evaluate them, creating an annotated bibliography, audience, and avoiding plagiarism. While the content is explained well and students are slowly walked through the research process, the textbook ends abruptly ends with a quick overview of the elements of a research essay after students organize their evidence and create an outline. A part two textbook that covers the rest of the writing process, such as structuring paragraphs, how to write an introduction and conclusion, and revising drafts, is needed to help students get to a finished product. As a composition-based textbook, I also felt it could have used a section on building arguments. The true gem of this textbook is its activities/exercises and comprehensive but accessible explanations.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Aside from outdated citations and technology-related content, the process-based writing instruction is accurate and answers common questions from students about research and basic writing. I feel like the questions, checklists, and activities posed are helpful for students to really think through their writing process, and the author explains things without judgment. While students can benefit, I feel that faculty would also benefit from using this as a teaching manual to plan their classes.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The writing instruction is solid and is still used in many textbooks today. Obviously, the sections on technology and citation are outdated, but some sections still have good reliable advice at their core. For example, search language, unreliable web sources, and collaborating online have evolved, but the concepts remain the same. I would cut those sections out and just take what I needed to give to students. The author has no plans to update this book, and someone would need to rewrite many sections of the book, which is not easy to implement.

The book is largely free of jargon and terms are clearly explained. The author's tone is casual and conversational when compared to other textbooks, which makes it more accessible to students and acts as a guide through the research process. However, it does lend itself to longer sections that could use heavy editing and it does sound like a mini-lecture, but I liked the way he thoroughly explains and sets up concepts. His tone and style are a bit inconsistent as others have noted.

The book is very consistent since research and writing terminology is the same across most disciplines. If you're a composition instructor, you'll find the framework is just common writing pedagogy for academic writing: focus on the writing process, freewriting, peer review, audience, revision, etc.

This book was intended to be modular and chapters are mostly self-contained, so it is easy to use individual chapters or change the sequence. There are unusable hyperlinks in each chapter that refer to other sections, but those are additional resources that could be replaced with a citation guide or other common resources. Sections, activities, examples, and key ideas are clearly labeled and can be used without the rest of the chapter. However, some writing concepts, such as a working thesis, are mentioned again in later chapters.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

Parts of the book are easily identifiable and the content within the chapter flows easily from one concept to the next. I felt that some of the chapters should have appeared earlier in the textbook. Students would have to wait until chapter 10 to learn about the research essay. Revising a working thesis comes before categorizing and reviewing your evidence. The peer-review chapter that advises students to read sections of their writing aloud to catch mistakes comes before brainstorming a topic. However, the sequence will depend on the instructor's preference. An index or a complete, searchable text would have helped so you don't need to guess which chapter has the content you need.

The PDF is the more polished and easier to read of the two versions. Overall, the PDF was well laid out, with clear headers and images. I found the colored boxes for the exercises helpful, though a lighter color would make the text easier to see for more students. The text uses different styles to create organization and emphasis, which made some pages (especially in the beginning) hard to read with the bolded and italicized clutter. I would have loved a complied version with all the chapters.

The HTML version is difficult to read as it is one long block of text and the callouts and images are not well spaced. There is, unfortunately, no benefit to reading the web version: no clickable links, dynamic text flow, or navigational links within each page so you will need to go back to the TOC to get the next section.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The book has grammatical and mechanical errors throughout but does not impact content comprehension. Other reviewers here identified more notable errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

The language, examples, and references were generally ok, but the overall textbook felt acultural. Some consideration was taken with pronouns (relies on they/them/their) and gender roles. As others pointed out, there are many areas that could have used diversified sources, topics, references, examples, and students. Some of the textbook's activities assume able-bodied students and sections such as peer collaboration would benefit from a more nuanced discussion when he brought up resentment over non-contributing members, being silenced, and access to resources. There are a few red flags, but one glaring example is on page 5 of chapter 10. An excerpt from an article titled “Preparing to Be Colonized: Land Tenure and Legal Strategy in Nineteenth-Century Hawaii”(which includes the sentence, "Why did Hawaiians do this to themselves?") was used to show students when to use "I" in writing.

Overall, this is a good resource for writing instructors. As this book was written in 2007, faculty will need to cut or adapt a fair amount of the text to modernize it. It is not a textbook to assign to students for the semester, but the textbook's core content is solid writing pedagogy and the focus on using activities to reflect and revise is wonderful. Those outside of composition may find the basic exercises and explanations useful as long as students are primarily working out of a more discipline-specific (e.g., sciences) writing guide.

Reviewed by Milena Gueorguieva, Associate Teaching Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell on 6/28/20

This is a process based research writing textbook, a rarity among composition textbooks. It is often the case that foundational writing courses are supposed to cover process and then, very often, instructors, students and textbook authors all... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This is a process based research writing textbook, a rarity among composition textbooks. It is often the case that foundational writing courses are supposed to cover process and then, very often, instructors, students and textbook authors all forget that process is important when they have to dive into the technical aspects of conducting and writing about and from research, usually in a 'second course' in the first year writing sequence. This is not the case with this book: it is a thoughtful, comprehensive exploration of writing from research as a multi-step recursive process. This approach can help students solidify the knowledge and skills they have acquired in prior courses, especially the multi-step recursive nature of writing as a process while developing a set of strong writing from research skills.

The foundations of research writing are presented in an accessible yet rigorous way. The book does away with the myth of research writing as something you do after you think about and research a topic. The author articulated this idea very well, when he wrote, ”We think about what it is we want to research and write about, but at the same time, we learn what to think based on our research and our writing.”

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Overall, an excellent handbook (it can be used non-sequentially); however, some of the information on database searches and working with popular internet sources as well as collaborative writing (especially as it relates to the use of technology) needs updating.

The appropriately conversational tone translates complex academic concepts into easy to access ideas that students can relate to. The same is true for the many activities and exercises that demonstrate a variety of real life applications for the research skills presented in the book, which helps students see that research and research based writing happen everywhere, not just on campuses , where students seem to write for an audience of one: the professor who assigned the paper.

The material presented is rigorously and consistently presented in various modes: text, activities and exercises.

It can be used in a variety of ways; it has excellent modular stucture.

Excellently organized: reviews and expands on what students might already know about academic writing as a process; introduces the fundamentals of research and research writing and then uses both of these sets of skills in various research projects.

Although it has some very useful and appropriate visuals , the text could have been more user friendly; it is difficult to follow.

Excellently proof-read,

the book is culturally sensitive and contains appropriate examples and/or references.

An overall excellent composition text that provides useful exercises and assignments (such as the antithesis essay) that can help students build complex and nuanced arguments based on research. Highly recommend!

Reviewed by Valerie Young, Associate Professor, Hanover College on 3/29/20

This text is both general and specific. General enough for use in a variety of courses and disciplines, specific enough to garner interest for faculty who want to teach students the fundamentals and more nuanced aspects of research writing. The... read more

This text is both general and specific. General enough for use in a variety of courses and disciplines, specific enough to garner interest for faculty who want to teach students the fundamentals and more nuanced aspects of research writing. The basics are here. The text could be assigned in specific modules. The text will benefit from an update, especially in regards to references about collaborative writing tools and internet research. The text is missing a chapter on reading research and integrating research into the literature review process. This is a relevant skill for research writing, as student writers often struggle with reading the work of others to understand the body of literature as a foundation for their own assertions.

The content and information seems like it could be helpful for any undergraduate course that has a research writing project. The unique aspects of this book are its features of collaborative and peer review writing practices and all of the exercises embedded in the text. The author gives examples and writing exercises throughout the chapters. These examples could serve inexperienced students quite well. They could also annoy advanced students.

There are some references to the World Wide Web and the Internet, and library research that seem a bit outdated. There isn't much advanced referencing of commonly used internet research options, such as Google Scholar, citation apps, etc.

Clarity rating: 3

Some points are clear and concise. Other pieces go into too much detail for one chapter page. Because the pages are long, and not all content will be relevant to all readers, the author could consider using "collapsible" sections. This could be especially relevant in the APA & MLA sections, offering a side-by-side comparison of each or offering overviews of style basics with sections that open up into more details for some interested readers.

Consistency rating: 4

no issues here

Modularity rating: 3

The chapters are relatively concise and each starts with an overview of content. The web format does not allow for much navigational flow between chapters or sections. It would be great to hyperlink sections of content that are related so that readers can pass through parts of the text to other topics. It does look like the author intended to hyperlink between chapters, but those links (denoted "Hyperlink:" in the text) are not functional.

Overall flow is appropriate for an interdisciplinary lens. Readers can move through as many or as few sections as needed. The chapter topics and subtopics are organized fairly comprehensively, and often by questions that students might ask.

Interface rating: 2

The long blocks of text in each chapter aren't very reader friendly. Also, once the reader gets to the end of the long page / chapter, there is no navigation up to the top of the chapter or laterally to previous or next content. Text doesn't adjust to screen size, so larger screens might have lots of white space.

no issues noticed. Some examples could be updated to be more inclusive, culturally diverse, etc.

This book has some good lessons, questions, and suggestions for topics relevant to research writing. The text could benefit from a more modern take on research writing, as some of the topics and phrases are dated.

Reviewed by Jennifer Wilde, Adjunct instructor, Columbia Gorge Community College on 12/13/18

The text is a wonderful guidebook to the process of writing a research essay. It describes the steps a college writer should take when approaching a research assignment, and I have no doubt that if students followed the steps outlined by the... read more

The text is a wonderful guidebook to the process of writing a research essay. It describes the steps a college writer should take when approaching a research assignment, and I have no doubt that if students followed the steps outlined by the text, they would be sure to succeed in generating a quality thesis statement and locating appropriate sources. It is not comprehensive in that it has very little to say regarding composition, clarity and style. It does not contain an index or glossary.

Sections on MLA and APA format are inaccurate in that they are outdated. It would be preferable for the text to refer students to the online resources that provide up to date information on the latest conventions of APA and MLA.

The bulk of the chapters are timeless and filled with wisdom about using research to write a paper. However, the book should contain links or otherwise refer students to the web sources that would tell them how to use current MLA/APA format. There are some passages that feel anachronistic, as when the author recommends that students consider the advantages of using a computer rather than a word processor or typewriter. The sections on computer research and "netiquette" feel outdated. Finally, the author describes the differences between scholarly sources and periodicals but does not address the newer type of resources, the online journal that is peer-reviewed but open access and not associated with a university.

The writing is strong and clear. Dr. Krause does not indulge in the use of jargon.

The different sections open with an explanation of what will be covered. Then, the author explains the content. Some chapters are rather short while others are long, but generally each topic is addressed comprehensively. In the last several chapters, the author closes with a sample of student work that illustrates the principles the chapter addressed.

The text is divisible into sections. To some extent the content is sequential, but it is not necessary to read the early chapters (such as the section on using computers, which millenials do not need to read) in order to benefit from the wisdom in later chapters. I used this text in a writing 121 course, and I did not assign the entire text. I found some chapters helpful and others not so relevant to my particular needs. Students found the chapters useful and discrete, and they did not feel like they had to go back and read the whole thing. The section on writing an annotated bibliography, for instance, could be used in any writing class.

The topics are presented in the order in which a student approaches a writing assignment. First, the author asks, why write a research essay, and why do research? Next, the author addresses critical thinking and library/data use; quoting, summarizing and paraphrasing; collaboration and writing with others; writing a quality thesis statement; annotating a bibliography; categorizing sources; dealing with counterarguments, and actually writing the research essay. It's quite intuitive and logical. It seems clear that this author has had a lot of experience teaching students how to do these steps.

The interface is straightforward, but I could not locate any hyperlinks that worked. Navigation through the book was no problem.

The book is well written overall. The writer's style is straightforward and clear. There are occasional typos and words that feel misplaced, as in the following sentence: "The reality is though that the possibilities and process of research writing are more complicated and much richer than that." There should be commas around the word "though", and the tone is fairly conversational. These are extremely minor issues.

The examples feel inclusive and I was not aware of any cultural insensitivity in the book overall.

The book is really helpful! I particularly appreciate the sections on how to write an annotated bib and a good thesis statement, and I think the sections on writing a category/evaluation of sources, working thesis statement, and antithesis exercise are unique in the large field of writing textbooks. The book contains no instruction on grammatical conventions, style, clarity, rhetoric, how to emphasize or de-emphasize points, or other writing tips. In that sense, it is not a great text for a composition class. But I think it's extremely useful as a second resource for such a class, especially for classes that teach argumentation or those that require an analytic essay. I feel it is most appropriate for science students - nursing, psychology, medicine, biology, sociology. It is less likely to be useful for a general WR 121 class, or for a bunch of English majors who largely use primary sources.

Reviewed by Jess Magaña, Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Missouri-Kansas City on 6/19/18

This is a comprehensive introduction to planning and writing research papers. The suggested activities seem helpful, and the lack of an index or glossary does not interfere with understanding. read more

This is a comprehensive introduction to planning and writing research papers. The suggested activities seem helpful, and the lack of an index or glossary does not interfere with understanding.

The information is accurate and straightforward.

Some information is out of date, such as the section regarding email, but the main concepts are well explained and relevant. An instructor could easily substitute a lecture or activity with updated information.

The clarity is excellent.

There are no inconsistencies.

The text is organized in a way that lends itself to changing the order of chapters and adding and subtracting topics to suit the needs of each class.

The progression of chapters is logical.

Interface rating: 5

The "hyperlinks" helpfully direct readers to related topics (although these are not actual links in the online version), which contributes to the modularity of the text.

There are a few errors, but none that significantly obscure meaning.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

This text could use updated examples showing greater diversity in authors and work. I recommend instructors find supplementary examples relevant to their classes.

I intend to use this text in my courses, supplemented with a few activities and more diverse examples to suit my students' needs.

Reviewed by Sheila Packa, Instructor, Lake Superior College on 2/1/18

The text is a comprehensive guide to research for students in College Composition courses. The text is concise and interesting. Critical thinking, research and writing argument are integrated into his suggested assignments. The author covers... read more

The text is a comprehensive guide to research for students in College Composition courses. The text is concise and interesting. Critical thinking, research and writing argument are integrated into his suggested assignments.

The author covers the research question, library resources, how to paraphrase and use quotes, and collaborative writing projects. There are suggested exercises in the process of research, such as a topic proposal, a guide to developing a strong thesis statement, a full exploration of refutation (called the antithesis), the critique or rhetorical analysis, the annotated bibliography, and a guide to help students to accumulate a good assortment of sources. MLA and APA documentation is covered. Note that this text is published in 2007. Therefore, I recommend the use of MLA 8 Handbook for up-to-date guidelines for correct documentation. The Research Paper is full explained. In the chapter, Alternate Ways to Present Research, the author focuses on a Portfolio. He discusses web publication of research and poster sessions.

I value the clarity of ideas. The text is error-free, and I like the example essays written by students that will serve to inspire students.

The content is relevant. The author guides students through the process in a way that is easy to understand and also academically rigorous. The MLA 8 Handbook is a needed supplement (and that is affordable).

The writing is clear and concise. The organization of the chapters is logical and leads the students through steps in the process of research, writing a reasoned argument, and professional presentation of the research.

Terminology is clear and the framework for research is clear and sensible.

The book's modularity is definitely a strength. It's possible to use chapters of the text without using the entire book and to omit chapters that are not a focus of the instructor.

This book has a logical arrangement of chapters and the assignments are valuable.

The interface is great. It's readable online or in pdf form.

No grammatical errors. There is one detail that reflects changing rules of documentation. In MLA, titles of books, magazines, and journals are now italicized instead of underlined. In this text, they are underlined.

The text is free of bias or stereotypes.

Reviewed by Jennie Englund, Instructor, Composition I & II, Rogue Community College, Oregon on 8/15/17

Twelve chapters are broken into multiple parts. On Page 3 of the Introduction, the text emphasizes its purpose as an "introduction to academic writing and research." The following chapters present more than substantial information to give... read more

Twelve chapters are broken into multiple parts.

On Page 3 of the Introduction, the text emphasizes its purpose as an "introduction to academic writing and research." The following chapters present more than substantial information to give introductory (even well into master) research writers a foundation of the basics, as well as some detail. It differentiates itself as "Academic" research writing through thesis, evidence, and citation. Two of these concepts are revisted in the conclusion. The third (thesis) has its own section, which this reviewer will use in class.

I'm grateful to have reviewed an earlier electronic text. This provided the ability to compare/contrast, and note that this particular text was more comprehensive and in-depth than the guide I had previously reviewed (which was more of a framework, good in its own right.)

Had the guide contained a thorough section on revision, I'd give it a perfect score! Thus, the book very very nearly does what it sets out to do; it provides most of The Process of Research Writing.

Retrieval dates are no longer used on the APA References page. This reviewer would have preferred titles italicized instead of underlined.

The text opens with an introduction of the project, by its author. The project began in 2000 as a text for a major publishing house, but eventually landed via author's rights as an electronic text. Therefore, essentially, the book has already been around quite a while. This reviewer concludes that time, thought, and execution went into publishing the material, and predicts its popularity and usability will grow.

Timeless, the guide could have been used with small updates twenty years ago, and could be used with updates twenty years from now.

The guide could be used as the sole text in a composition course, supplemented by more formal (as well as APA) examples.

The text is organized into 12 chapters; it logically begins with "Thinking Critically about Research," and concludes with "Citing Your Research Using MLA or APA Style." The text includes most of what this reviewer uses to teach academic research writing. However, the book omits the editing/revising process.

The guide poses purposeful questions.

On Page 7 of the Introduction, the text reports being "organized in a 'step-by-step' fashion," with an invitation to the reader to use the book in any order, and revisit passages. The reviewer found the organization to be consistent and as systematic as the actual composition of an academic research paper.

The meat of the text begins with the definition and purpose of "Research." Immediately, a nod to working thesis follows, which is revisited in Chapter 5. Sources are examined and classified into a chart of "Scholarly Versus Non-scholarly or Popular Sources." The segment on "Using the Library" would complement a course or class period on library usage.

The Table of Contents is fluid and logical. Within the text, concepts are revisited and built upon, which the reviewer appreciates. Examples and exercises are given.

Chapter 10 contains an outline of a student research paper (which follows). The paper examines the problems with and solutions for university athletics. The paper is in MLA format. Tone is less formal than this reviewer would use as an example of academic research writing. The reviewer would have welcomed an example of an APA paper, as well.

The last chapter fully realizes instruction introduced at the beginning: citation defines academic writing, and academic writers credit their sources, and present evidence to their readers. I wish this last part emphasized thesis again, too, but in all, it is a very structured, reader-friendly guide.

Charts are integrated and understandable, though the majority of the book is text.

This review found some grammatical errors including capitalization. Book/journal/magazine/newspaper titles are underlined in lieu of italicized.

Student examples include Daniel Marvins, Ashley Nelson, Jeremy Stephens, Kelly Ritter, Stuart Banner, and Casey Copeman. Most examples of citations are from male authors. Text would benefit from multi-cultural authors. Examples/topics include The Great Gatsby,African-American Physicians and Drug Advertising, Cyberculture, ADHD, Diabetes, Student-athletes, and Drunk Driving.Examples are culturally appropriate and multi-disciplinary. Consistent pronoun used: he/him/his

Third-person narration is used; the author addresses the reader directly (and informally). While this perhaps makes a connection between the author and the reader, and adds to understanding, it does not reflect academic research writing, and may confuse beginning writers?

Chapter 5, "Writing a Working Thesis," is among the most clear, comprehensive, and straightforward instruction on the topic this reviewer has seen. I will use this section in my Composition I and II courses, as well as Chapters 1, 3, and 12. I wish this form had a place to rate usability. In that case, this guide would score highly. I commend Dr. Krause's execution and composition, and applaud his sharing this at no cost with the academic community.

Reviewed by Marie Lechelt, ESL/English Instructor and Writing Center Co-director, Riverland Community College on 6/20/17

"The Process of Research Writing" is a textbook that includes all of the major topics covered in most college research writing courses. The style of writing makes it easily understood by students. Depending on your focus in your writing class,... read more

"The Process of Research Writing" is a textbook that includes all of the major topics covered in most college research writing courses. The style of writing makes it easily understood by students. Depending on your focus in your writing class, you may want to supplement this text with more about argumentative writing. Other writing models, homework exercises, and classroom activities found by the instructor would also compliment the use of this text. While I would not use this textbook in my course from start to finish, I would jump around and use a variety of sections from it to teach research writing. This text could be used for a beginning writing class or a second semester writing course. Based on my students writing experiences and abilities, I would eliminate or include certain sections. There is no index or glossary included. The hyperlinks to other sections also do not work.

The content is accurate and error-free. I didn't detect any biased information either. The MLA and APA information have changed since this book was published. The peer review work, plagiarism, critiquing sources, and many more of the topics are almost exactly what I teach to my students. This format will work well for them.

While most research writing content does not change over time, there are many parts of this book that could be updated. These include examples (The Great Gatsby), hyperlinks, and references to technology. The technology aspect is especially important. Since technology is constantly changing, most textbooks (print and online) are out of date as soon as they are printed. Because of this, teachers are constantly having to use supplemental material, which is fine. Just like our class websites, we have to update this information every semester or even more often. If you choose to use this textbook, keep in mind that this will be necessary. The MLA/APA information is also out of date, but this is also to be expected.

Clarity is one of the benefits of this textbook. Although the style is somewhat informal, it included appropriate topics and terminology for students learning to write research essays. Students can understand the topics with one or two readings and discuss the topics in class. There were a few places that seemed like common knowledge for students at this level, like the library or using computers. Unfortunately, we do still have students who do not come to us having already learned this information. So, I don't think these sections would have a negative impact on other students. Students can also be given optional sections to read, or as I plan to do, the teacher can skip around and only assign some sections.

The majority of the terminology is common knowledge in research writing teaching. The text is fairly informal in writing style, which I believe is an advantage for students. Many times, students will read a text and then I will need to explain the terminology or ideas in depth in my lectures. Since I prefer to complete activities and work on students' writing in class, instead of lecturing, this book will work well. The chapter on the "Antithesis" was new to me. While I have taught these ideas, I have not used this term before. This is a chapter I may not use and instead include supplemental material of my own.

The chapters are divided clearly and could be separated quite easily to use as individual units in a writing class. If the hyperlinks worked though, they would be helpful. Exercises build upon one another, so one could not assign a later exercise without students first understanding the other sections of the text. I plan to use this text in a research writing class, and I will be skipping around and only using some sections. I do not believe there will be any problem with this. While students may at first feel that starting on Chapter 4 might be strange, they are very adaptive and should have no difficulties with this format.

The Table of Contents is clear and easily understood. Each chapter follows a logical sequence, and students will be able to transition from one topic to another without difficulty. The use of charts, headings, bold, highlighting, and some other visual aids help the reader to understand what is most important to remember. Although, this could be improved upon with the use of color and graphics. While the content is valuable, I would most likely skip around when using this book in the classroom. While the author begin with an introduction and then jumps right into research, I focus on topic selection and thesis writing before research begins. Of course, as the author mentions, students will go back to their thesis and research many times before finishing the writing process.

The text is easily navigated, and students would be able to follow the topics throughout. The lack of graphics and color is noticeable and detracts from the content. In a world of advanced technology where students click on hundreds of websites with amazing content each week, online textbooks need to meet this standard. This textbook is similar to a traditional textbook. Some links are also inactive.

There were some typos and small grammatical errors but no glaring instances. They also did not impact understanding.

This book contained no offensive language or examples. However, we have a lot of diversity in our classrooms, and this is not reflected in the book. Expanding the examples or including links to diverse examples would be helpful.

I will be using this text in a second semester writing class. It has valuable information about research writing. I believe it could also be used for a first semester writing class. As mentioned above, I will use sections of the text and skip around to accommodate the needs of my students. Supplemental materials will also be needed to meet current technology needs.

Reviewed by Betsy Goetz, English Instructor, Riverland Community College on 6/20/17

The text covers all subject areas appropriately. read more

The text covers all subject areas appropriately.

Overall, the text is accurate.

Relevant and current.

I liked the clarity of the text, especially the specific exercises for students to apply the theory they have learned.

This text is consistent -- good terminology!

Clear sections to focus on key points of research writing.

Well organized.

Not confusing

Overall, lacking grammatical errors.

Relevant -- research writing and thesis building are timeless.

Reviewed by Karen Pleasant, Adjunct Instructor, Rogue Community College on 4/11/17

The textbook covered the basics of writing a research paper (the term "essay"is preferred by the author) and would be appropriate for an introductory college writing course, such as WR 121 or WR 122. A table of content is provided, but there is... read more

The textbook covered the basics of writing a research paper (the term "essay"is preferred by the author) and would be appropriate for an introductory college writing course, such as WR 121 or WR 122. A table of content is provided, but there is no glossary. The textbook guides a student from exploring the initial topic selection through the finished product, although I would have liked the use of citations to be covered in more depth. If I chose this as the textbook for my class I would also need to add supplemental materials about thoroughly developing an argument as well as revising a paper.

The author presented the material in an unbiased manner and does so in a way that provides high readability for students with little to no background in writing a research paper. Excellent examples are provided to reinforce concepts and thoughtful, creative collaborative exercises round out each chapter to give practice in skill mastery. Both MLA and APA formatting styles are included, but the APA section needs to be updated. The book was published in 2007 and many of the APA guidelines have changed., including the preference for using italics versus underlining for book and journal titles.

Each chapter is self-contained and stands alone and , therefore, could easily be updated. Most of the information is relevant and could be used indefinitely. I like that Chapter 11 recommended alternate ways to present the research and suggested more contemporary technology based methods. Chapter 12, about APA and MLA citations, is the chapter that currently needs to be updated and would need to be checked for accuracy annually against the latest APA & MLA guidelines. As it reads, I would handout current materials for APA citation sessions and not use this chapter in the book.

The book is well organized and is very user friendly. I think students would enjoy reading it and be able to relate readily to the content. Examples given and exercises provided help to clarify the content and reinforce the concepts for students. The textbook flows well from selection of initial topic ideas to finished product and will help students to work through the process of writing a research paper.

New terms are thoroughly explained and are used consistently throughout the textbook. The knowledge students gain as they progress through the book feels logical and organized in a usable fashion.

The text is organized so that each chapter stands alone and the order the information is presented can be easily modified to fit the needs of an instructor. The book is that rare combination of being equally functional for both student and instructor.

The topics are presented as needed to guide students through the process of writing a research paper, but could be done in another order if desired. Bold and boxed items are used to emphasize key concepts and chapter exercises.

The textbook is visually appealing and easy to read with adequate use of white space and varied font sizes. I explored the textbook via the PDF documents, which were easy to download, although the hyperlinks were not accessible.

There were noticeable grammatical errors.

The textbook is inclusive and accessible to all and didn't have any content that could be deemed offensive. The approachable layout and writing style make the textbook relevant to college students from a variety of backgrounds.

I would definitely adopt this open textbook for my writing classes. The author provided some wonderful ideas for teaching about research papers and I found many chapter exercises that I would be willing to incorporate into my class . I am especially intrigued by the use of writing an antithesis paper as a lead in to adding opposition to the research paper and look forward to getting student input and feedback about some of the alternative ways to present their research. Compared to textbooks I have used or perused in the past, this book seems more inviting and user friendly for students new to writing college level research papers.

Reviewed by VINCENT LASNIK, Adjunct Professor, Rogue Community College on 4/11/17

This comprehensiveness is one of the strengths of The Process of Research Writing. The Table of Contents (TOC) is fine—and each separate chapter also reproduces the contents listing from high-lever through low-level subsections at the beginning... read more

This comprehensiveness is one of the strengths of The Process of Research Writing. The Table of Contents (TOC) is fine—and each separate chapter also reproduces the contents listing from high-lever through low-level subsections at the beginning of each chapter. This duplicate listing feature helps orient students to what is covered (and what is not) for every chapter in-context. Yes—It is a fair evaluation that there can generally be easy-to-fix, quickly recognizable updates, enhancements, and notable improvements to virtually any textbook 10-15 years after its initial publication date (particularly related to changing terminology and nomenclature within the dynamic English lexicon, technology applications (databases, websites, ‘search engines,’ current good ‘help sites’ for students learning the latest iteration of APA style for manuscript formatting, in-text citations, and end references, etc.)—and the Krause text is a prime candidate for such a thorough revision. For example, digital object identifiers (the doi was first introduced circa 2000) did not become widely/pervasively established until well into the first decade of the 21st century; the ‘doi’ is an ubiquitous standard today in 2017. Nevertheless, many of the basic (boilerplate) concepts are clearly noted and credibly, coherently explained. The text could use some effective reorganization (as I note elsewhere in my review)—but that is arguably a subjective/personalized perspective more related to the way we approach writing instruction and student academic development at Rogue Community College—and perhaps less of a global/universal criticism.

See my comments in other sections that impact this issue. Overall, Krause’s text appears, “accurate, error-free and unbiased.” There are no obvious problems with this observation/contention. Some of the ‘out-of-date’ specifics in the text need updating as I note in detail in my other comments.

Most of the text describes research-writing strategies that are fairly well-established if not generic to the undergraduate English composition content area; thus, the overall longevity of the existing text is good. I have suggested, however, that any such ‘how-to’ guide should be updated (as this particular version) after its first decade of publication. The content for online research, for example, reflects an early 2000s perspective of emerging technology terms (e.g., defining blogs as “web-logs” is easily 12-15 years behind the use of the term in 2017), and some of the online websites mentioned are no longer relevant. These types of ‘out-of-date’ past-referents/links, however, can be easily updated to 2017+ accuracy. I have made a few suggestions about such an update—including my offer to assist Steve Krause (gratis and pro bono) in this update should my collaboration be desired. Otherwise, Krause might go the more open ‘peer review’ route and assemble a set of active teachers, instructors, and adjunct professors (such as me) who are on the ‘frontlines’ of current praxis for research-based, critical thinking, problem-oriented writing courses across the 11th-12th grade and through the undergraduate and workforce education community.

The text is written is a clear, credible, and cogent prose throughout. This is one of the particular strengths of Krause’s text—and recursively provides an exemplar for well-written composition. On occasion, the clarity for students might be improved by additional ‘real-world examples’ (i.e., more ‘showing rather than mere abstract telling) explicating some obtuse concepts and numerous rules (e.g., for research strategy, proofreading/editing, using search engines and conducting library research, etc.)—but a similar constructive criticism could easily be made of nearly all similar sources.

The text wording, terminology, framework and process emphasis are highly consistent. There are overlaps and dovetailing (i.e., redundancy) in any/every college textbook—but Krause keeps these to a minimum throughout. Some updating of terminology would be appropriate, useful, and needed as I note throughout my OER review.

The text is superb in this regard. The chapters and exercises are highly modular—which supports the customized reorganization I apply myself in my own courses as noted in my other comments. Numerous subheads and special highlighted ‘key points’ textboxes augment this modularity and improve the narrowing of assigned readings, examples, and exercises for most writing courses. The Process of Research Writing is clearly not, “overly self-referential,” and can easily be, “reorganized and realigned with various subunits of a course without presenting much disruption to the reader” by any instructor.

One of the principal weaknesses of the set of chapters is that the given ‘table of contents’ structure is conceptually disjointed—at least insofar as my research writing course is designed. Therefore, to provide a more coherent, logical sequence congruent to the course organization of my Writing 122 (this is an intermediate/advanced-level English Composition II)—it was necessary to assign a completely different order of The Process of Research Writing (Krause, 2007) high-level chapters/pages for weekly course reading assignments as follows:

Week One: Table of Contents; Introduction: Why Write Research Projects?; and Chapter 1: Thinking Critically About Research; Week Two: Chapter 2: Understanding and Using the Library and the Internet for Research. These three starting chapters were reasonable to introduce in Krause’s original sequence. Continuing into Week Two, I also added Chapter 4: How to Collaborate and Write with Others (but I highlighted limited/specific passages only since WR122 does not emphasize collaborative prose composition activities and extensive group-writing projects using such apps as Google Docs). Week Three: I then assigned Chapter 10: The Research Essay—since it was important to orient students to the intrinsic, namesake umbrella concept of researching and writing the research essay—the essential focus of the course I teach. IMPORTANT NEED TO RESTRUCTURE THE OER as it exists: Viewed from a course rationale and content/skill acquisition conceptual level—I have no idea why Krause did not place ‘Writing The Research Essay’ as high as Chapter 2. It comes far too late in the book as Chapter 10. This is actually where the chapter belongs (in my view); the other topics in the remaining Chapters’ (2—12) would more cogently and effectively proceed after first exploring the high-level nature of the research essay task in the first place. The subsequent skills for conducting Online Library Research; Quoting, Paraphrasing, Avoiding Plagiarism, creating a testable ‘Working Thesis,’ producing an Annotated Bibliography (some courses also use a précis assignment), Evaluating and Categorizing Sources, etc.—are realistically supporting, scaffolding, and corroborating functional/operational skills designed to design, research, and produce the research-based essay project. Therefore—from a project-based and problem-oriented pedagogical strategy/approach—a sound argument could be proffered that putting Chapter 10 second in a reordered book would help students on many levels (not the least being engaging interest and promoting contextual understanding for why learning the content of the remaining chapters makes sense and can be critical/applicable to the research-writing process.

Continuing on my own WR122 course text-sequence customization—in Week Four—we move into the attribution phase of the writing process in Chapter 3: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism. Logically, we then move (in Week Five) to Chapter 5: The Working Thesis so students can ask significant/original questions and determine a point of departure into their research essay. This seemed like a good time to add the concept of ‘opposition views’ (i.e., counter-claims, rejoinder and rebuttal) discussed in Chapter 8: The Antithesis. In Week Six—we moved into essay formatting, in-text citation and end references, so Chapter 12: Citing Your Research Using MLA or APA Style {(focusing on reading pp. 1-2 (brief overview), and pp. 18-33 about APA style)} was assigned. In addition, students also perused Chapter 7: The Critique preceding a related argumentative assignment (i.e., a movie review project). For Week Seven (concurrent with an annotated bibliography project for the main term paper—students read Chapter 6: The Annotated Bibliography, and Chapter 9: The Categorization and Evaluation (of sources) that was ostensibly/logically relevant to the annotated bibliography project. Concluding the course for Weeks Eight-Eleven—there were new required readings. Students were instructed to review previous readings in The Process of Research Writing (Krause, 2007)—time permitting. Also Note: Chapter 11: Alternative Ways to Present Your Research is completely optional reading. It is not particularly applicable to this course; there is a student’s self-reflection about the research process on pp. 3-11 that may have some nominal merit, but it notes MLA style (versus my course’s use of APA 6th edition style only) and is in any case not required.

The text is not fancy; standard black and white (high-contrast) font used throughout. For emphasis of key points, Krause does use special ‘highlight boxes’ with gray background, a thick black stroke on the outside of the rectangular textbox. While the gray level might be lowered (in the update) for improved contrast—the true-black, bulleted, bolded key-terms are easy to perceive/read. The only criticism I have is the distracting overuse of quotation mark punctuation for emphasis; this should be corrected in any updated version. Otherwise, most of the book’s interface presentation supports a good user (student) experience, good printability, and good accessibility per ADA and general disability (e.g., visually impaired learners) protocols.

There are no significant/glaring occurrences of grammatical errors in the text. I am not a ‘grammar snob’ in any case. The prose seems clear, cogent, thoughtful, well-written; it generally uses solid grammar, mechanics, and punctuation. The exception is the overuse of a somewhat casual/conversational tone combined with (what is more of a recognizable issue) a distracting overuse of quotation marks—many of which are simply neither needed nor helpful; most could be quickly removed with an immediate improvement to readability.

I do not see significant, relevant, or glaring faux pas pertaining to any biased disrespect for multiculturalism. All persons (e.g., races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and cultural backgrounds) are equally respected and appreciated. The content area (English composition) is very amenable to a relatively generic, culture-free perspective—and Krause’s examples and prose is well-within any applicable standards of post-modern, scholarly, formal non-fiction in written Standard English.

[1] The Process of Research Writing was ostensibly presented/published to Creative Commons in 2007. No identifiable part/portion of the original edition text appears to have been updated (changed, modified, or improved) since then (i.e., at least 10 years); This is perhaps the single, most apparent flaw/weakness for this textbook. An in-depth revision to 2017 post-rhetorical model essay-writing standards and APA conventions would be invaluable—and quite bluntly—is sorely required. A newly updated Version 2.0 for 2017-18 should be critically planned (and scheduled or already ‘in progress’ if it is not already).

[2] There are many insightful, practical, and high-value approaches to the research writing process; in this regard—the nominal OER title is superbly appropriate for late high-school and beginning college (undergraduate) research essay projects. Even though some of the technical components (e.g., APA style) require updating/revision (which makes basic, reasonable sense after a ‘decade on the shelf’ for any academic research writing source)—Krause’s chapters can effectively replace many expensive, glossy college entry-level textbooks! After presenting the core concepts in a coherent and self-evident manner, Krause supplies a plethora of examples to illustrate those concepts. Then (and this is one of the true strengths of this OER)—each chapter (particularly Chapters 5-10) highlights student-oriented exercises to practice those same core concepts). Because of this latter emphasis—the Krause OER is ‘learner-centered’ (as opposed to ‘content centered’), problem-oriented and performance-oriented as well—providing opportunities for creative, resourceful teachers to adapt/adopt the OER to course assignments.

[3] There does not appear to be a single (standalone) PDF for this OER. This is a notable flaw/weakness for this textbook. Conversely, however, although a single PDF would have some convenient ‘easier downloading’ advantages for students—having separate chapters affords every teacher to create a customized chapter-order (as I have efficiently done to correspond to my course design). The chapters support excellent modularity and the accompanying exercises/examples demonstrate the concepts Krause explicates with a fine degree of granularity for any teacher. Thus—integrating any textbooks or teaching/learning resources (like OERs) always has tradeoffs—plusses and minuses, positives and negatives. The obvious key, therefore, is taking the liberty of using the OER as a supporting scaffold or buttress to an instructor’s original design concept—rather than the foundation around which a course can be designed.

[4] Some minor weaknesses for prose instruction are (a) Krause’s acceptance of passive, sophomoric signal phrasing (i.e., According to X…)—as opposed to strong, active voice such as ‘’X found…’; and (b) a general overuse of quotation marks throughout the book. This is not meant as a harsh criticism—merely an observation that readability could be improved with a newer version that eliminates most quotation marks (Note: In APA style—these punctuation symbols are only used for verbatim quotes. This makes for a cleaner, clearer manuscript).

[5] One of the solid/helpful strengths of the book is a relatively accurate presentation of APA style for in-text citation and end references (Chapter 12). It appears that like many academics—Krause is more familiar and comfortable with the Modern Language Association’s MLA style/formatting. No problem there—I was simply trained on APA beginning in 1984 so it is native to me; I also use the latest version of APA style in all of my writing (college composition) courses. Thus—it should come as no surprise there are a number of obvious APA-associated inaccuracies including (but limited to): (a) meekly accepting ‘n.d.’ (no date) and ‘n.a.’ (no author) sources when a little investigative research by the student (and adherence to the APA rule hierarchy for dates and authors) would easily come up with a sound date and author. Another error (b) seems to be more typographic (formatting) and/or refers to an earlier edition of APA style: the end references in the PDF (and html versions?) use underline in place of italics. The 2011 APA 6th edition style does not use underline in the end references. There are other small (faux pas) errors such as (c) noting generally inaccessible proprietary online databases and servers (again—no longer done in APA). A thorough, meticulous updating of this OER source would probably take care of many of these APA-error issues. I’d be happy to work with Steve on this update at any time.

[6] I use Amy Guptill’s Writing in College: From Competence to Excellence by Amy Guptill of State University of New York (2016) for my English Composition I course that emphasizes general essay writing and a simple research-supported argumentative essay. I teach that course using the following assigned readings: Week One: Chapter 1 (Really? Writing? Again?), pp. 1-7, and Chapter 2 (What Does the Professor Want? Understanding the Assignment), pp. 9-18; Week Two: Chapter 6 (Back to Basics: The Perfect Paragraph), pp. 48-56; Chapter 7 (Intros and Outros), pp. 57-64; Week Four: Chapter 9 (Getting the Mechanics Right), pp. 75-85; Week Five: Chapter 8 (Clarity and Concision), pp. 65-73; Week Six: Chapter 3 (Constructing the Thesis and Argument—From the Ground Up), pp. 19-27; Week Seven: Chapter 4 (Secondary Sources in Their Natural Habitats), pp. 28-37; Week Eight: Chapter 5 (Listening to Sources, Talking to Sources), pp. 38-47. I then switch over to Krause’s OER for my English Composition II course. At Rogue Community College, Writing 122 emphasizes intermediate essay writing and analytical, more rigorous and original research-based essays involving critical thinking. I completely reordered the chapters as described above to fit into my course design. I like Krause’s individual ‘modular’ chapters—but the particular ‘scope and sequence’ he uses are debatable. Overall, however, The Process of Research Writing easily and effectively substitutes/replaces other costly tomes from for-profit academic publishers—even those that offer bundled DVDs and online-access to proprietary tutorial sources. Used in conjunction with other freely available PDF OERs, websites, YouTube videos, tutorial/practice sites from innumerable libraries, blogs (e.g., the APA Blog is particularly helpful)—as well as original/customized sources created by individual instructors for their own courses—the Krause book offers a good, solid baseline for developing research-based writing competencies particularly appropriate for the first two years of college.

Reviewed by Amy Jo Swing, English Instructor, Lake Superior College on 4/11/17

This book covers most of the main concepts of research writing: thesis, research, documenting, and process. It's weak on argument though, which is standard in most research composition texts. The book provides a clear index so finding information... read more

This book covers most of the main concepts of research writing: thesis, research, documenting, and process. It's weak on argument though, which is standard in most research composition texts. The book provides a clear index so finding information is relatively easy. The other weak spot is on evaluation evidence: there is a section on it but not comprehensive examples. Students in general needs lots of practice on how to evaluate and use information.

The information is accurate mostly except for the APA and MLA section. Writing and research writing haven't changed that much in a long time. It's more the technology and tools that change.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 2

The ideas about research and writing in general are fine, However, the references to technology and documentation are very out of date, over 10 years so. Students use technology very differently than described in this text, and the technologies themselves have changed. For example, the author talks about floppy disks and AOL messenger but not about Google Drive, Wikipedia, Prezi, or how to use phones and tablets while researching. Our students are digital natives and need to understand how to use their devices to write and research.

The book is quite readable in general. Concepts are easy to understand. Sometimes, they are almost too simple like the section explaining what a library is. Students might not be sophisticated library users, but they understand in general how they work. The chapters are concise, which is nice for student use too.

Except for pronoun use, the book is consistent in tone and terms. Not all the terms are ones I use in my own teaching, and it would be nice to see explanation of more argument/research frameworks like the Toulmin Model of argument.

The chapters are pretty self-contained and clear as individual units. I can see including certain chapters and leaving out others that aren't as relevant to my teaching style or assignments. One could easily assign the chapters in a different order, but students ask lots of questions when you assign chapter 6 first and then weeks later, assign chapter 2 or 3.

The basic chapters make sense in terms of how they are created and categorized but the order is problematic if an instructor were to assign them in the order presented. For example, the chapter on creating an annotated bibliography comes before the one on documenting (APA/MLA). Students can't complete an annotated bibliography without knowing how to cite sources. Same with evaluating sources. There is so much information on locating sources before any clear mention is made of how to evaluate them. I find that is the weak spot with students. If they learn how to evaluate sources, it's easier to find and locate and research effectively.

Not many images. Students really like info-graphics, pictures, and multi-media. The hyperlinks to other sections of the book do not work in either the PDF or HTML versions. I do like some of the illustrations like mapping and how research is more a web than a linear process. For an online textbook, there aren't a lot of hyperlinks to outside resources (of which there are so many like Purdue's OWL and the Guide to Grammar and Writing).

There were quite a few errors : comma errors, spelling (affect/effect), some pronoun agreement errors, capitalization errors with the title in Chapter Four. The author also uses passive voice quite a bit, which is inconsistent with the general familiar tone. In some chapters, there is constant switching between first, second, and third person. I focus much on point of view consistency in my students' writing, and this would not be a great model for that.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

There is no cultural offensiveness but not much diversity in examples and students names either. Marginalized students (of color, with disabilities, of different sexuality or gender) would not see themselves reflected much.

This is a good basic reference on the process of writing and research. However, it would not be too useful without updated information on technology and documentation. As a web-based text, it reads more like a traditional physical textbook.

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pihlaja, Instructor, Lake Superior College on 2/8/17

The length and scope of this book are appropriate for a semester-long research writing course, with twelve chapters that move from foundational concepts into more specific skills that are needed for the crafting of a paper incorporating MLA or APA... read more

The length and scope of this book are appropriate for a semester-long research writing course, with twelve chapters that move from foundational concepts into more specific skills that are needed for the crafting of a paper incorporating MLA or APA citation. In particular, I like that the early chapters cover the questions of "Why Write Research Papers?" and how to think critically, the middle chapters provide specific activities in the skills of quoting and paraphrasing, and the later chapters bring in assignments (such as writing an annotated bibliography) that help students practice and build content for their ultimate paper.There is no index or glossary to this book; however, the table of contents provides an overview of the chapters that guides navigation well.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

In terms of the thinking, this book's information is logical and sound. The explanations of concepts and activities read easily and do a fine job of explicating the why and how of research writing. In a few places, however, the word "effected" is used when it should be "affected." Editing also is needed when the author uses phrases such as "in the nutshell" instead of "in a nutshell." As well, in Chapter 4, there is pronoun/antecedent disagreement when the author uses "their" to refer to "each member." Also, each chapter contains at least one "Hyperlink" to supplemental information, yet the hyperlinks are dead. For the most part, the text is clean and well edited, but we English teachers are line-editing sticklers, so even small, occasional errors stand out. Overall: the ideas presented are accurate and free of bias, yet there are a few, niggling errors.

When it comes to relevance and longevity, this book is problematic. In fact, it is so outdated as to be unusable, at least for this instructor. Certainly, the concepts presented are solid; they don't change with passing years. However, typographically, the book is passe, as it uses two spaces after periods. Even more troubling is that it refers to the Internet as "new" and comes from a point of view that sees this thing called "the World Wide Web" as novel while also noting students might want to rely on microfilm and microfiche during their research. In another example, the author suggests to students that a benefit of writing on computers is that they can share their work with each other on disc or through email. Truly, such references make the book unusable for a class in 2017. Another issue is that the Modern Language Association has updated its guidelines several times since this book's publication; ideally, a text used in a research writing class would cover, if not the latest guidelines, at least the previous version of the guidelines. A full rewrite of the book is necessary before it could be adopted. As the book currently stands, students would roll their eyes at the antiquated technological language, and the teacher would need to apologize for asking students to read a text that is so out-of-date.

The writing in this book is both accessible and intelligent. It's eminently readable. Specifically, the inclusion of things like an "Evidence Quality and Credibility Checklist" at the end of Chapter 1 and the continual use of grey boxes that highlight major concepts is very good. Also extremely helpful are the examples of student writing that end nearly every chapter; these models demonstrate to readers what is expected from each assignment. Finally, the explanations of quoting and paraphrasing are superior -- so clear, so easy for students to digest. Were it not outdated in terms of technological references, I would definitely consider using this book in my classes due to the clarity of the prose.

Consistency rating: 3

For the most part, the book is well structured and consistent in its design and layout. Each chapter provides general explanation of a concept, moves into a specific assignment, and ends with an example or two of student responses to that assignment. Very quickly, readers know what to expect from each chapter, and there's something comforting about the predictability of the layout, especially in a book that is being read on a screen, using scrolling. When it comes to the terminology, my only note would be that the book starts out using a relaxed second-person point of view, addressing students as "you," but then, at the end of Chapter 2, the author suddenly begins also using the first-person "I." This first-person point of view continues throughout the book, so it becomes consistent from that point on, but for me as a reader, I never quite adjusted to that level of informality, particularly when all the sentences using "I" could easily be re-written in the third person. Before reading this text, I hadn't really considered what I like in a book, but now I know: because I want the text to model the ideal, I would prefer a more formal (and consistent) point of view. Today's students struggle to create essays that don't include "you" or "I" -- even when they very consciously are trying to avoid those words. Learning to write from the third person POV is surprisingly challenging. Therefore, my personal preference would be a textbook that consistently models this approach.

The chapters in this book are of a perfect length -- long enough to develop the ideas and present comprehensive explanations yet short enough to be ingested and excised. Put another way, I could see grabbing bits and pieces of this text and using them in my classes. For instance, without adopting the entire text, I still could pull the instructions for the Anti-Thesis essay or the Annotated Bibliography, or I could use the explanation of the purpose of collaboration. Indeed, the chapters and exercises in this book are tight "modules" that allow an instructor to pick and choose or to reorganize the chapters to better fit with an individual course structure. For me, although I won't use this entire text, I can envision incorporating pieces of it into my teaching.

The organization of this book is one of its greatest strengths. It starts with a broad overview of research into an exploration of the process behind seeking out reputable sources, weaves in a few shorter essay assignments that serve as building blocks for a longer paper, and culminates with the ideas for a final, capstone research project -- something that naturally grows out of all the previous chapters. Each chapter in the text flows easily out of the chapter before it. One of this text's greatest strengths is how each successive chapter builds on the concepts presented in the previous chapters.

As noted earlier, the hyperlinks in the book don't work. As well, the screenshots included in the book are blurry and add little, except frustration, to the content. Outside of those issues, though, the book is physically easy to read and navigate, largely thanks to the easy clicking between the table of contents and individual chapters.

As suggested earlier, the book, as a whole, reads easily, yet there are some errors with the homonyms "effected" and "affected," along with pronoun/antecedent disagreement. I also noticed a handful of places where there are extra spaces around commas (in addition to the use of two spaces after periods).

This text is definitely not insensitive or offensive; its tone is fair and balanced, free of bias. On the other hand, this book does not really bring in examples that address diversity. Students reading this book will not see acknowledgment of different races, ethnicities, sexual preferences, or personal histories. Thus, in addition to updating the references to technology, if this book were rewritten, it also could more deliberately address this lack. As it is, the content of this book does feel whitewashed and free of cultural relevance.

There is a lot of promise in this text because the explanations and assignments are so good. But unless it is updated, I don’t see it as usable in a current classroom.

Reviewed by Leana Dickerson, Instructor , Linn Benton Community College on 2/8/17

The author certainly outlines and examines elements of research writing, and does so in a very clear, organized, and thoughtful way. There is no glossary or index included in the text, but the chapters and headings in the table of contents and at... read more

The author certainly outlines and examines elements of research writing, and does so in a very clear, organized, and thoughtful way. There is no glossary or index included in the text, but the chapters and headings in the table of contents and at the beginning of each section very clearly outline what is to be expected from the text. Most all of the concepts are very thoroughly explained and examined including topics that typically are glossed over in research writing texts, including the opposition to argument, close reading, and the importance of research writing to a variety of career pathways. Although thorough in what is present, there are some issues that I would want to touch on with my research students including developing effective argument, logical organization, and examples of the revision process.

The information in this text is accurate and adequately explained. It seems readily accessible for any college age student, but doesn’t expect students to come with a background in research or writing. MLA formatting for works cited pages is up to date, and even addresses the fact that the format for citation changes regularly and points to appropriate resources outside of the text. The only formatting issue that I noticed were some in-text citations (examples throughout early chapters) that included a comma which is no longer expected by the MLA. In the works cited section (and throughout, in examples) when referring to book titles, the author does use the underline function instead of an italicized book title; the author also refers to the use of either italic or underlined differentiation, yet MLA suggests italics in text form.

The content of this text is very straight forward and although essentially up to date, may need updates as relevant technology develops. Updates should be simple and clear to implement as needed because of the strict organization of each chapter.

I found the content clarity in this text to be refreshing for college age students. Often, as an instructor, I ask my students to read a text and then I must re-visit the content in lecture format to ensure that my students are not lost on terminology or foundational knowledge. This text does not assume any prior knowledge from the reader, but also does not feel rudimentary. The formatting and highlighted importance of some information also provided clarity and consistency throughout. The author paced information well, building on major concepts from the beginning and returning to them throughout. The final stages of the text bring students to a major essay that easily shows how each concept included throughout the text can weave into a larger project.

This text is consistent, and feels organized with format, terminology, and the building of content from beginning to end.

The sections in this text are easily broken into segments that can be taught or read at any point throughout the writing process. The text does build on exercises from the beginning to the end, but each of these can be taken out of a linear timeline and used for multiple kinds of projects. The author actually refers to this organization in text, making it clear how each element can work alone or for a streamlined project.

Concepts build upon one another, and yet can be returned to (or jumped to) out of order and still be easy to access and utilize. The text is broken up nicely with bolded, bulleted, or boxed items which designate a stopping point, a discussion to consider, or important details or concepts to focus on.

The layout and navigation of this text online is very accessible, organized, and easy to read. The text PDFs often open in a full browser window, other times they open as PDF documents, but either way include a clean, streamlined format. The text does not seem to be able to be downloaded, making it potentially difficult for students to access without internet access. One issue that I did encounter was that in PDF format, or in html, hyperlinks do not function.

The text is clear, free of grammatical errors, and flows well.

This text is relevant to all audiences and very approachable for college age students.

I found this text to be a refreshing change from what is typically find in research textbooks; it’s relevance to more than just the assignment will help students connect research to the broader concept of academia and other facets of their lives. The antithesis section is a useful way for students to really engage with an opposing opinion and how they can then incorporate that into a successful research project. Also, the differing ways of presenting research I found to be useful for students to think about their project beyond a stapled stack of pages, and to expand that to differing modes of communication and presentation. I look forward to being able to use this text with students.

Reviewed by Samuel Kessler, Postdoctoral Fellow, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University on 2/8/17

"The Process of Research Writing" covers most of the areas students need to understand as they begin research writing at a college level. It has explanations of theses, bibliographies, citations, outlines, first paragraphs, etc. There is no index... read more

"The Process of Research Writing" covers most of the areas students need to understand as they begin research writing at a college level. It has explanations of theses, bibliographies, citations, outlines, first paragraphs, etc. There is no index or glossary, the latter especially being something that would have been very helpful and easy to put together. Krause has many useful definitions and quick-help guides throughout the text, but they are so scattered and ineffectively labeled that it can be very difficult to find them without reading through whole chapters in one's search. On the whole, buried inside these pages, is a very effective guides to *teaching* about research writing. In truth, this book is a teacher's introduction to a class (or, more realistically, three or four class sessions) devoted to college-level academic writing. Unfortunately, there are a lot of words that one has to get through to find all these subject, which can make for tough going.

Based on the questions and errors I see my students making, Krause has done a strong job of highlighting the basics of proper academic research. He spends much time on sources, especially on learning to differentiate between scholarly, trade, and journalistic sources, as well as how to steer clear and note the signs of online schlock (i.e. much of the internet). His tips for peer-to-peer editing and self-reflexive assignments are just the sort of things our students needs help working on.

This is a strange book. The portions that are about implementing class assignments or explaining terms like thesis and antithesis, as well as the examples of an outline or a good first paragraph, are all excellent tools for a classroom.

But there are so many instances of irrelevant or outdates explanations. No college student today needs to read about why writing on a computer is a useful thing to do. No student needs to read about how email can be a tool for academic exchange. A section on using computers for research? On how to copy and paste within a word document? (And no-one calls it the "World Wide Web".) These are issues for the late 90s, not for students in the second decade of the twenty-first century.

There is also a fair amount that is personal and peculiar to the author: a discussion of why he uses the term "research essay" instead of "research paper"? That is just wasted space, and actually without the argumentative merits of a research thesis that he had been teaching up to that point.

For students at research universities, or even at second-tier state and private colleges, the information about libraries and library catalogues changes so quickly that I could never assign those passages. Instead, we'll spend class time looking at our specific library interface. And often, so much material is being sent off-site these days that in many humanities fields its not even possible to scan the shelves any longer. And in science, books are almost irrelevant: online access journals are where the latest research is stored. A bound edition of *Science* from the 1970s contains very little that's important for a scientific research paper written in 2016--unless that paper is about the history of some form of experiment.

Krause writes in a folksy, breezy second-person. Now, so does Tom Friedman of the Times, though that is one of the main criticisms of his otherwise insights books. Krause has a tendency to be overly wordy. This book should more closely resemble Hemingway than Knausgaard in order to be practical. For students who have Facebook etc. open while they're reading this book, every sentence that's not directly relevant will make their minds wander. There are so many sentences that simply need to be cut. To use this book, I'd need to cut and paste just the relevant passages. And without an index or glossary, assigning sections to students is very hard.

"The Process of Research Writing" is internally consistent. Krause maintains the same tone throughout, and defines terms as he goes along. The chapters vary considerably in length, with the short chapters always being more useful and focused, with less superfluous verbiage and fewer authorial quirks.

Modularity rating: 2

"The Process of Research Writing" is a very difficult text to use. The HTML and PDF versions are identical, which defeats the unique way the internet functions. I read this book on both Safari and Chrome, and in neither browser do the hyperlinks work. The tables of content at the heads of each chapter do not link to their respective sections. The projects, assignments, and definitions do not appear in different windows, which would make them possible to keep open while continuing on in the book. There are many instances in which moving back and forth between sections would be very helpful, and that is simply not possible without having multiple windows of the same book open and going between them that way--something that is very clumsy. And again, there are so many superfluous words that even assigning specific chapters means getting through a lot of talk before actually encountering the various hints, tricks, and explanations that are important for learning how to do college-level research.

"The Process of Research Writing" reads like a series of lectures that are meant to be give in a large lecture class, with assignments appended throughout and at the ends. The order of the books is, overall, what one would expect and need for teaching the basics. However, there is a good deal in Chapter 10 that should have appeared earlier (outlines, for instance), and that becomes part of one long chapter that is difficult to use and should have been divided into smaller sections.

As mentioned, in neither Safari nor Chrome do the hyperlinks work. And there appears to have been no planning for links from the chapter tables-of-content to their various associated sections. This makes it very difficult to get between sections or to return to where one was after going somewhere else in the book. Further, there are many links on the internet that remain stable over long periods of time. The Library of Congress, for instance, about which there is a section concerning its cataloguing system, should have a link. As should WorldCat, which for many people who do not have access to a major research library is the best place for learning about texts. Many services like LexusNexus, ABC Clio, and the NY Times archive all also maintain stable websites that should be externally linked.

Except for a smattering of typos, the book has fine (though informal) grammar. This is not a text that could also be used to demonstrate high-level academic writing.

There is nothing culturally offensive here in any way.

In many ways, this is a much better book for teachers of first-year students than for the students themselves. There are many sections of this book to pull out and assign, or to read together in class, to help students gain an understanding of college-level research. But this is not a book I'd ever assign to my students in total. The suggestions for in-class and homework assignments are all high quality pedagogy. But students shouldn't read about their own assignments--they should just do them. Departments can give this book to first-year professors to help them create class periods where they teach their students how to write papers. That would be an excellent use for this text. But as a book for students themselves, I cannot recommend it.

Reviewed by Margaret Wood, Instructor, Klamath Community College on 8/21/16

The book thoroughly covers the material that first-year college research writers need to know including an introduction to basic academic research concepts, searches and source evaluation from library and web resources, a thorough discussion of... read more

The book thoroughly covers the material that first-year college research writers need to know including an introduction to basic academic research concepts, searches and source evaluation from library and web resources, a thorough discussion of summary, paraphrase and direct quotation, collaboration and peer review, topic selection, hypothesis and thesis development, annotated bibliography, text analysis and evaluation, engaging seriously with opposing viewpoints, working with evidence and attributes of evidence, the components of a traditional research essay, alternative forms of presentation (web-based project), and finally MLA and APA documentation. There are also hyperlinks to help readers move to relevant information in other chapters.

While concepts like ethos, logos, and pathos are mentioned in passing, they are not deeply developed. Other topics I generally teach alongside research which are not covered include strategies for defining terms, inductive and deductive logic, and logical fallacies.

I did not identify any inaccuracies or biases. There are areas where focus may be a bit different. For example, the model my institution uses for annotated bibliographies uses the rhetorical precis as a summary model, and also encourages a brief evaluative analysis. On the other hand, the emphasis given to the antithesis is new to me, and looks like a very good idea. I did identify a couple of grammatical issues -- two cases of "effect" instead of "affect", and one pronoun agreement problem.

Good writing principles don't tend to change that much. The discussion of the Web-based research project is very timely.

The book is written in a conversational style which should be easy for students to understand. All technical terms are clearly explained. There are also aids for comprehension and review including: a useful bulleted list at the beginning of each chapter outlines material covered in that chapter; highlighted boxes which provide guidance for class discussion on the topic; sample assignments; easy-to-read checklists of key points.

The text is entirely consistent. Hyperlinks help to connect key points to other chapters.

The material is subdivided into clear and appropriate chapters; moreover, the chapters provide clear subheadings. However, I did identify one instance where subheadings indicated material that is not present in chapter four: Three Ideas for Collaborative Projects * Research Idea Groups * Research Writing Partners * Collaborative Research Writing Projects.

Also, as previously mentioned, some material that I would like to include is not covered in this text.

I feel that chapter 3 should be placed later, at a point in the term where students have actually begun the writing process.

Images, though used infrequently, are blurry, and hyperlinks, at least as I was able to access them, did not appear to be active.

Mentioned above -- two "effect"/"affect" issues and one issue of pronoun agreement

I did not identify any culturally insensitive issues. The one essay topic used throughout, a thesis involving The Great Gatsby, I did not find particularly relevant, since my institution excludes literature from its research projects.

Solid and thorough advice on research writing. Quite heavy on text, but advice is useful and frequently innovative.

Reviewed by Laura Sanders, Instructor, Portland Community College on 8/21/16

The text offers a comprehensive discussion of all the elements of writing a research project. The author covers evaluating sources, using library research, incorporating research into essays, collaborative work, creating a thesis, as well as... read more

The text offers a comprehensive discussion of all the elements of writing a research project.

The author covers evaluating sources, using library research, incorporating research into essays, collaborative work, creating a thesis, as well as writing annotated bibliographies, close reading, opposition, alternative project formats, and citing sources.

Although there is no index or glossary, the text is organized in discrete chapters available on the site as HTML or PDF for easy navigation.

Although I found no inaccuracies, both the APA and MLA handbooks have been updated since the versions used in this text.

Most of the content will not be obsolete any time soon, but the citation chapter is not based on recent APA and MLA handbooks.

The section on alternative ways to present research (Chapter 11) could be updated to include YouTube, Prezi, and more recent technology.

The modular format would make it very easy to update.

The text is written at a level that is appropriate for the target audience, college students who need to build research and writing skills.

This text is internally consistent.

I consider the modules to be one of the main strengths of the text. The sections have useful subheadings.

It would be easy to select specific chapters as course readings.

The chapters follow an intuitive sequence of developing a paper from topic to research to draft.

This text is easy to navigate.

I found no grammar errors.

There are ample opportunities here to add cultural diversity to the sample topics and writing tasks.

I am thrilled to offer this text to my students instead of the incredibly expensive alternatives currently available.

I am particularly interested in using this book for online writing courses, so students who desire more thorough discussion of particular stages of writing a research project could build or refresh foundational skills in these areas.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Chapter One: Thinking Critically About Research
• Chapter Two: Understanding and Using the Library and the Internet for Research
• Chapter Three: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism
• Chapter Four: How to Collaborate and Write With Others
• Chapter Five: The Working Thesis Exercise
• Chapter Six: The Annotated Bibliography Exercise
• Chapter Seven: The Critique Exercise
• Chapter Eight: The Antithesis Exercise
• Chapter Nine: The Categorization and Evaluation Exercise
• Chapter Ten: The Research Essay
• Chapter Eleven: Alternative Ways to Present Your Research
• Chapter Twelve: Citing Your Research Using MLA or APA Style

Ancillary Material

About the book.

The title of this book is The Process of Research Writing , and in the nutshell, that is what the book is about. A lot of times, instructors and students tend to separate “thinking,” “researching,” and “writing” into different categories that aren't necessarily very well connected. First you think, then you research, and then you write. The reality is though that the possibilities and process of research writing are more complicated and much richer than that. We think about what it is we want to research and write about, but at the same time, we learn what to think based on our research and our writing. The goal of this book is to guide you through this process of research writing by emphasizing a series of exercises that touch on different and related parts of the research process.

About the Contributors

Steven D. Krause  grew up in eastern Iowa, earned a BA in English at the University of Iowa, an MFA in Fiction Writing at Virginia Commonwealth University, and a PhD in Rhetoric and Writing at Bowling Green State University. He joined the faculty at Eastern Michigan University in 1998.

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Research Methodology A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

• Ranjit Kumar - University of Western Australia, Australia
• Description

Designed with students, for students and now shortlisted for the British Book Design and Production Awards 2019!

Eight steps, two pathways, one book.  The Fifth Edition of the bestseller  Research Methodology  has reimagined, redesigned, and fully renovated how a textbook can help students achieve success in their methods course or research project.

Eight steps:  Foolproof for any beginner researcher, the book breaks the process of designing and doing a research project into achievable stages. It delivers students from research problem to their written research report at the pace they need, with clear explanations, DIY tasks and study skills support.  In a new  landscape format  it presents figures, models and visualizations elegantly, so they don't break over a page, making even complex concepts easier to understand.

Two pathways:  With an innovative, beautiful design, regular progress checkpoints have been built into the book and its online resources. As students proceed through the 8 steps, each chapter provides regular opportunities for students to check understanding or give themselves a challenge. Each pathway then gives them the resources they need.

• Confused? Stop, practise with quizzes and flashcards, or use a video to look at a concept a different way.
• Up for a challenge? Access a wealth of additional material including research articles, readings, case studies, activities, bibliography tools and inspiration to pursue your curiosity, impress your lecturer, and nail your assignments.

With this one book,  every student gets what they need to succeed. It is the perfect essential text for students and beginner researchers across the social sciences.

See what’s new to this edition by selecting the Features tab on this page. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email [email protected] . Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html .

For assistance with your order: Please email us at [email protected] or connect with your SAGE representative.

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Good book for beginner

This is an excellent resource on research methodology and very accessible for the students I teach.

This is an excellent book BUT this edition is HIDEOUS.

It is a weird shape and won't fit well on our library shelves. One of my students mentioned she keeps her's on the floor.

The text is at times pink on pink or blue on blue and the contrast is terrible - that's an accessibility issue.

On a more subjective note, the fonts and the neons look like someone was trying to be cool and trendy and it smacks of 'hello fellow kids'. Fire the graphic designer.

I have suggested that my students buy 4th eds used if possible as it looks like a grow-up book for adults, and will fit on a bookshelf, and is actually LEGIBLE especially if they have any eye issues, colour blindness or specific learning difficulties

Standard classic text - appropriate for any level of study. Excellent overview of concepts and terminology.

A colourful and easy to use text book which I think the students will enjoy.

Fantastic research book. Very easy to read, well laid out and informative

An extremely detailed yet accessible introduction to conducting and evaluating research in a variety of subjects. This is a really helpful resource for students and is presented in an engaging manner.

I am no longer the course leader for this module but this is the best book on the market It is so well structured and very informative in an easier to read format than many other books on this topic

Great overview of research in a user friendly presentation, love the bright colours and unusual landscape layout.

Love this book. Very useful to dip in an out of and is bright and engaging. Clearly defined chapters with a good range of practical activities and exercises to reinforce learning. Student friendly and the bonus of online resources.

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Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

Student resources, welcome to the companion website.

Welcome to the companion website for Research Methodology, 4 th Edition,  by Ranjit Kumar . The resources on the site have been specifically designed to support your study.

On this website you will find:

• Video and Multimedia
• Recommended Readings
• Web Resources
• Tables and Figures from the Book

Instructors can log in to access:

• PowerPoint® Slides
• Instructor’s Manual

About the book:

Research Methodology: A Step by Step Guide for Beginners has been written specifically for those with no previous experience of research or research methodology. Written in a logical and accessible style and providing helpful techniques and examples, it breaks the process of designing and doing a research project into eight manageable operational steps. The book guides you through your project from beginning to end by offering practical advice on:

• formulating a research question
• ethical considerations
• carrying out a literature review
• choosing a research design
• selecting a sample
• collecting and analysing qualitative and quantitative data
• writing a research report.

The book is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the social sciences embarking on quantitative or qualitative research projects.

Available with  Perusall —an eBook that makes it easier to prepare for class Perusall  is an award-winning eBook platform featuring social annotation tools that allow students and instructors to collaboratively mark up and discuss their SAGE textbook. Backed by research and supported by technological innovations developed at Harvard University, this process of learning through collaborative annotation keeps your students engaged and makes teaching easier and more effective.  Learn more .

Acknowledgments

The author and SAGE would like to thank the reviewers of the new edition for their time, help and feedback.

Javed Vassilis Khan, Senior Lecturer, NHTV University  Jonathan Lord, Lecturer, University of Salford  Liane Purnell, Senior Lecturer, Newman University Luke Sloan, Lecturer in Quantitative Methods, Cardiff University Margaret Hanson, Senior Lecture in Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University  Paul Willard, Lecturer in Event Management, La Trobe University (Bendigo campus)

A very special thanks to Stephanie Fleischer, Senior Lecturer in Research Methods from the  University of Brighton for creating the companion website resources accompanying the new edition of Research Methodology: A Step-by-step guide for Beginners .

Disclaimer:

This website may contain links to both internal and external websites. All links included were active at the time the website was launched. SAGE does not operate these external websites and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. SAGE cannot take responsibility for the changing content or nature of linked sites, as these sites are outside of our control and subject to change without our knowledge. If you do find an inactive link to an external website, please try to locate that website by using a search engine. SAGE will endeavour to update inactive or broken links when possible.

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10 Best Research Books For Qualitative And Quantitative Research

Are you looking for the best research books? Take a look at some of the best books on research methods below.

Research methodology comes in many shapes and forms. Regardless of whether you are interested in qualitative or quantitative research, it is essential to find a book that can help you plan your research project adequately. Research design can vary from hard sciences to social sciences, but data analysis following a case study is usually similar. Therefore, you need a practical guide that can help you complete a research project and finish your research paper.

1. Qualitative Research: A Guide To Design And Implementation, 4th Edition

2. research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, 4th edition, 3. the research methods knowledge base, 3rd edition, 4. the craft of research, 5. doing your research project: open up study skills, 5th edition, 6. qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches, 3rd edition, 7. the essential guide to doing your research project, 2nd edition, 8. introducing research methodology: a beginner’s guide to doing a research project, 2nd edition, 9. the sage handbook of qualitative research, 5th edition, 10. research methods in education, 7th edition, the final word on the best research books, what is the difference between quantitative research and qualitative research, how do i figure out which academic journal to publish my research in, further reading.

Unlimited access to more than 5,500 nonfiction bestsellers. Free trial available.

When someone talks about qualitative research in academia, they refer to research that focuses on overall concepts and takeaways instead of complex numbers. For those conducting academic research, understanding the basics of this process is critical. Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation, by Sharan B. Merriam and Elizabeth J. Tisdell, 4th edition, is one of the best books available because it focuses on action research, mixed methods, online data sources, and some of the latest technology that people can use to complete their projects.

A significant portion of this book focuses on data analysis software packages, which have become critically important in an era where publishing in the best academic journals is critical for every successful researcher. Finally, this book explains topics so that nearly everyone can understand.

• Merriam, Sharan B. (Author)
• English (Publication Language)
• 368 Pages - 08/24/2015 (Publication Date) - John Wiley & Sons (Publisher)

Suppose you are looking for a book that can teach you the best research methodology. In that case, you will want to check out Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches by John W. Creswell, 4th edition. John Creswell is one of the most well-respected writers in case study research.

As books on how to research go, this one on quantitative and qualitative research methods is a great tool that will help you learn the basics of forming a research project in every field. This book covers philosophical assumptions and research projects, theory and research approaches, and conducts an effective literature review. These elements are also crucial in helping you form a step-by-step guide for your upcoming research project, and this book will teach you the basics of data analysis.

• Research Design
• Creswell, John W. (Author)
• 273 Pages - 06/04/2024 (Publication Date) - SAGE Publications, Inc (Publisher)

The first two editions were already solid, but the third edition of The Research Methods Knowledge Base, by William M.K. Trochim and James P. Donnelly, features many updates to quantitative and qualitative research methods, teaching graduate students the basics of data collection before diving into the details for more advanced learners.

One of the significant advantages of this text is that it is a comprehensive tool that can be used for both undergraduate and graduate-level courses. It has a relatively informal style and conversational feel, which means readers will not be intimidated by walls of text. The research methods it teaches are straightforward, applicable, and relevant to anyone looking to complete a research project in the current era.

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The Craft of Research, by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory C. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams, covers various research approaches that teach everyone the basics of forming a solid research project. In particular, this book focuses on what to do with the data after it has been collected.

People need to think about how their readers will interpret the structure of the paper, proactively anticipating questions they might have. By answering the reader’s questions in the initial version of the paper, it is easier to hold their attention from start to finish.

Of course, one of the most critical questions that must be asked when writing a research paper is, “so, what? Why does this information matter?” Researchers can keep this in mind while writing the introduction and conclusion of the paper so they will have an easier time constructing a powerful academic manuscript that is more likely to be accepted into the top academic journals.

• Booth, Wayne C. (Author)
• 336 Pages - 10/18/2016 (Publication Date) - University of Chicago Press (Publisher)

Doing Your Research Project: Open Up Study Skills, by Judith Bell, is a must-read for new researchers looking to make their way in academic research. This book is helpful because it teaches people how to conduct a research project using step-by-step advice. A research project can be daunting for new learners because it’s easy to focus on the final project and feel intimidated before taking the first step.

This book is indispensable because it teaches people everything they need to know to develop a research project, draft a hypothesis, carry out the project, and finalize a research paper after conducting detailed data analysis. Furthermore, this text will dive into common mistakes, pitfalls, and obstacles researchers need to overcome. Time is your most valuable resource, and nobody wants to spend time on trials that will not be relevant to the final project.

• Bell, Judith (Author)
• 296 Pages - 05/01/2010 (Publication Date) - Open University Press (Publisher)

Qualitative Inquiry And Research Design: Choose Among Five Approaches, 3rd Edition, Is The Latest In A Line Of Best-Selling Research Books From Creswell. This Book Ties Into People’s Philosophical Underpinnings When Developing A Research Project. It Also Looks At The History Of Various Research Projects, Which Serve As An Example For The Reader.

Overall, there are five traditions in qualitative research; grounded theory, phenomenology, narrative research, case study, and ethnography. Creswell uses an accessible writing style to help the reader understand when to use each of these narratives. Then, he dives into strategies for writing research papers using each of these approaches.

• Used Book in Good Condition
• 472 Pages - 03/14/2012 (Publication Date) - SAGE Publications, Inc (Publisher)

The Essential Guide To Doing Your Research Project by Zina O’Leary is geared more toward young learners. As books on how to research, it focuses on how to develop a research project, analyze data, and write up the results. Every stage of the book is clearly explained, with the author specifying why it is essential to carry out that step correctly.

It also focuses on practical tips and tricks that learners can use to successfully carry out their research projects. The book includes helpful chapter summaries, a complete glossary, and boxed definitions for essential terms that should not be overlooked. The author also has a variety of suggestions for further reading, which is helpful for more advanced learners who may want to pick up a text that is a bit more detailed. Finally, the book also comes with access to a companion website. The website includes journal articles, real projects, worksheets, and podcasts.

• O′Leary, Zina (Author)
• 384 Pages - 12/20/2013 (Publication Date) - SAGE Publications Ltd (Publisher)

Introducing Research Methodology: A Beginner’s Guide to doing a research project, by Uwe Flick is ideal for new researchers. the author guides readers through the fundamentals that underpin a strong research project. He focuses on essential steps, common mistakes, and ways to expedite the research process.

Then, the author dives into some of the most critical skills readers need to have if they want to collect and analyze data properly. he goes into basic organizational tactics that make data easier to interpret, explains how to shorten the analytical process, and dives into real-life quantitative and qualitative research methods. He uses his research as an example, explaining to people how to pull out the essential parts of the research project before writing them up.

• Flick, Uwe (Author)
• 320 Pages - 04/14/2015 (Publication Date) - SAGE Publications Ltd (Publisher)

The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research by Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln focuses on global research. this text teaches readers how to synthesize existing literature, identify current research, and focus on caps that can be filled. the authors gather contributions from some of the most well-renowned researchers, addressing issues in research projects today. this text focuses more on research regarding social justice. therefore, this is better for people in the social sciences.

• Hardcover Book
• 992 Pages - 02/15/2017 (Publication Date) - SAGE Publications, Inc (Publisher)

Research Methods in Education, by Louis Cohen, Lawrence Manon, and Keith Morrison, is essential for students and professional researchers who want to learn how to create a comprehensive research project. It’s broken up into helpful chapters wrapped up by a convenient summary at the end, explaining to readers how to hit the high points.

Research Methods in Education also comes with a helpful companion website that contains PowerPoint slides for every chapter. This book can be read independently and discussed with a classroom full of students. The book has been written at a level that is accessible even to high school students, but the basics can be a helpful review for graduate researchers.

• Cohen, Louis (Author)
• 944 Pages - 10/27/2017 (Publication Date) - Routledge (Publisher)

Academic research comes in many shapes and forms, with qualitative and quantitative research having high points; however, the basics are the same across all fields. Researchers need to learn how to develop a hypothesis, put together a research methodology, collect their data, interpret it, and write up their findings.

It can be helpful to use the books about research above to refine your research methods . Each book focuses on a slightly different facet of academic research, so readers need to find the right book to meet their needs. With a substantial text, readers can avoid common mistakes, follow in the footsteps of successful researchers, and increase their chances of writing a solid research paper for school or getting their paper accepted into an academic journal.

Books About Research FAQs

Quantitative research focuses more on numbers and statistics. This type of research is more common in hard sciences such as biology, chemistry, and physics.

Qualitative research focuses more on overall meanings and concepts. This type of research is more common in social sciences such as anthropology, archaeology, and research topics focusing on social justice.

It would help compare prior articles in that academic journal to the article you have written. Most academic journals focus on a specific field, and you need to submit your article to a publication that shares research articles similar to your own. Be sure to consider the prestige of the journal before submitting your paper.

If you enjoyed this round-up of the best research books, you might also like our top 11 essay writing tips for students . 

You might also find our guide on essay topics for students  helpful. 

Bryan Collins is the owner of Become a Writer Today. He's an author from Ireland who helps writers build authority and earn a living from their creative work. He's also a former Forbes columnist and his work has appeared in publications like Lifehacker and Fast Company.

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• ISBN-10 9813229616
• ISBN-13 978-9813229617
• Edition 1st
• Publisher WSPC
• Publication date July 27, 2017
• Language English
• Dimensions 6 x 0.52 x 9 inches
• Print length 228 pages
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ WSPC; 1st edition (July 27, 2017)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 228 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9813229616
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9813229617
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.1 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.52 x 9 inches
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Check the charts for an idea of the caffeine content in popular beverages. Drink sizes are in fluid ounces (oz.) and milliliters (mL). Caffeine is shown in milligrams (mg).

Keep in mind that the actual caffeine content of a cup of coffee or tea can vary quite a bit. Factors such as processing and brewing time affect the caffeine level. So use these numbers as a guide.

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• Lieberman HR, et al. Daily patterns of caffeine intake and the association of intake with multiple sociodemographic and lifestyle factors in U.S. adults based on the NHANES 2007-2012 surveys. Journal of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2019; doi:10.1016/j.jand.2018.08.152.
• Grosso G, et al. Coffee, caffeine, and health outcomes: An umbrella review. Annual Review of Nutrition. 2019; doi:10.1146/annurev-nutr-071816-064941.
• Is your kid over-caffeinated? Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. https://www.eatright.org/food/nutrition/healthy-eating/is-your-kid-over-caffeinated. Accessed Feb. 1, 2020.
• Spilling the beans: How much caffeine is too much. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/spilling-beans-how-much-caffeine-too-much. Accessed Sept. 20, 2019.
• 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines. Accessed Feb. 1, 2020.
• Duyff RL. Think your drinks. In: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. 5th ed. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 2017.
• Branum AM, et al. Trends in caffeine intake among US children and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2014; doi:10.1542/peds.2013-2877.
• USDA Food Data Central. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/index.html. Accessed April 18, 2022.
• Bordeaux B. Benefits and risks of caffeine and caffeinated beverages. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed March 16, 2022.
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Hugh Wheelan: ESG+I - sustainable business & finance

Why are ESG research houses losing senior staff and making redundancies?

Exclusive: after sustainalytics, companies including msci and esg book have also been shedding c-suite and research staff, often without announcement. what are the implications.

Morningstar’s announcement in September last year that it was laying off 10% of the global headcount at Sustainalytics, its ESG research subsidiary, was a stark indicator that the ESG pushback in the US was hitting the bottom line. 

It was all the more surprising because it had followed a recruitment boom at Sustainalytics in the preceding years as the ESG regulatory environment hardened under the European Union’s (EU) Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regime (SFDR) for investors.

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I can reveal that Sustainalytics hasn’t been the only ESG research house letting people go or leaking senior staff as times get harder. 

MSCI, the market leader in ESG research, where it jockeys for the top spot with Sustainalytics, has also quietly been trimming numbers, according to insiders. 

Sources within MSCI say there was a drip-feed of redundancies across its ESG and climate teams last year. They say that a number of the US ESG and climate coverage team was laid off during 2023, alongside some senior ESG team heads, following a sharp focus on cost reduction after lower than expected target results.

In terms of the senior head departures, Edward Allen, Managing Director, Head of Americas Client Coverage for ESG and Climate Research was made redundant towards the end of last year, without a public announcement. Allen had been with MSCI for 20 years and spent the last five and a half years building up a 75-plus person team in New York.

Shortly after that, his London-based counterpart responsible for MSCI’s largest ESG&C client region, Jillis Herpers, Managing Director, Head of EMEA Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) & Climate - Client Coverage - another almost 20-year MSCI employee - was also made redundant, again without public announcement. Herpers oversaw a team of nearly 100 people. 

The sources say the two senior redundancies caused significant disturbance within MSCI’s ESG and Climate division.

MSCI came under attack at the beginning of the year from hedge fund, Spruce Capital, which went public with its short position in the firm. One of the four main reasons for shorting the stock, Spruce said, was that: “Despite having been MSCI’s recent growth driver, the Company’s ESG and Climate segment is now beginning to struggle.”

MSCI told me it categorically refutes the claims made by Spruce Capital.

But MSCI’s share price was certainly rocked concurrent to the attack. It dropped from $602.24 on Jan 31 to $446 by April 23. It has since recovered to $490.50 as of June 3. 

The share price has more than doubled over the past five years, however.  

Regarding its staff levels and departures, MSCI told me: Our employee turnover rate is very low, at under 5%. Per our policy we don’t comment on employee departures.”

It is not only the big ESG players that have taken a hit.

ESG Book, the Frankfurt-registered data and research provider that bagged $35m of investor funding in June 2022 - notably from Energy Impact Partners (EIP), a New York-based private equity fund run by Hans Kobler, its German founder and managing partner - has been steadily losing members of its c-suite.

Leon Saunders Calvert, chief product officer, announced that he had left the firm in April after only 19 months, following CEO Daniel Klier’s surprise departure at the end of February. 

ESG Book did not disclose, however, that its chairman, John Wise, a well-known tech entrepreneur based in Santa Monica, California, had also left the company’s board after just six months, having joined it in October 2023. 

And a number of top personnel had already exited ESG Book in the previous 13 months without announcement. 

The firm’s global head of research, Todd Arthur Bridges - a former head of ESG research at State Street Global Advisors - left in summer 2023. Alessandro Pavone, global head of sales, left in February 2023 after just over two years in post.

I understand that ESG Book is not directly replacing the senior staff that have left, with the exception of Klier, due to internal restructuring. 

Klier had been CEO for almost three years when he unexpectedly quit at the end of February, and last month joined South Pole, the carbon markets and climate advisor, as CEO. 

Klier’s shift away from ESG research to climate data is interesting. I’ll come back to this shortly.  

A spokesman for ESG Book said Klier’s replacement was being sought: “A process is currently underway to identify the best long-term candidate for the role of CEO.”

ESG Book had not responded to a request for comment by the time of writing on whether a replacement for Klier had been found.

Klier was leading ESG Book at the time of the Series B funding round in 2022. Investments into ESG Book were also made by Meridiam, the French infrastructure fund manager, and Allianz X, the digital investments arm of the German insurance giant.

ESG Book has been investing in staff though. Reported numbers in 2021 had reached 56. The company says it now employs more than 200 people globally, with most based in Frankfurt and London.

But so far, ESG Book, which was formerly known as Arabesque S-Ray, has not reported a profit.

The latest available financial accounts in Germany show that ESG Book made a loss in 2021 of €5.9m, following a €7m loss in 2020. Turnover was up over the same year, estimated at €21m in 2021 against €18m in 2020. 

A spokesperson for ESG Book said the company had grown in 2022: “As an indication of the company's growth in that year, ESG Book's annual recurring revenue grew by over 2.5x, with gross margin increasing to over 70 percent.”

But a source close to the company said it had been facing a contraction in the research market coupled with “brutal competition” in the ESG data sector.

I started this piece with the Sustainalytics lay-offs from last September.

Subsequent to that announcement, it has also lost top staff. Bob Mann, its President & Chief Operating Officer left the company in March this year. He joined Glass Lewis, the proxy voting advisor, as CEO. 

Ron Bundy, President, Morningstar Sustainalytics & Morningstar Indexes, is understood to be on the lookout for a replacement to lead that business. 

There was also quite a bit of turnover in Moody’s ESG Solutions business in early 2023 with a number of former Vigeo senior team members including Michael Notat, Head of Global Sales Strategy and Julia Haake, Managing Director, Market Strategy, leaving the firm. Moody’s bought a majority stake in Vigeo-Eiris in 2019.

So what’s going on in ESG research that’s making times tougher? And why should we care?

Taking the second point first: a high quality data and research sector is important to ESG. It indicates that investors are willing to pay for material sustainability inputs alongside financial considerations when investing in companies.

On the first point, ESG research professionals say the reason for the downturn is that investor client budgets for ESG data have gone down while timelines for buying decisions have become much longer.

They say the US anti-woke ESG pushback has had a big impact; it is no surprise that the big players that have clipped headcount are both US companies.

The EU’s regulation introduced in April this year on transparency of ESG research firms is undoubtedly playing a part also, given that one major rule is that it requires giving companies a right to review and correct data used in ESG ratings that the company deems factually incorrect. 

I’ll come back to these regs in another piece, as I think they’re important, and will certainly impact the ESG research market.

There’s also the potential for AI to replace analysts in a field where the top-down regulatory/incentives pressure that would make ESG data clearly valuable financial analysis are still relatively weak. 

The bumper years of the early 20s have waned. Insiders say SFDR advisory and reporting work had been a boon at the beginning of the decade, but have become less important as the regulation beds in.

The ESG research market is also relatively mature and well served. This means business revenues flatten with fewer new market entrants.

A report published earlier this month by Opimas, the management consultant, says the year-on-year market growth rate for ESG data slowed in 2023 to 17 percent from 42 percent in 2022. Growth is likely to slow again this year to 14 percent, according to the report.

Nevertheless, in the report, titled The Market for ESG Data in 2024 , Opimas expects spending on ESG data to exceed US$2 billion in 2024, up from nearly half that amount in 2021.

Climate data, however, is potentially a more interesting growth market given focus on net zero targets and energy transition data for companies and investors. As a result, it is also more competitive. 

S&P Trucost is believed to be the biggest player in the climate data market, and MSCI jostles with other big players such as Moody’s and ISS.

Consequently, there has been more recent joint-venture and M&A activity.

S&P Trucost partnered with Oliver Wyman, the management consultant, in 2021 to launch Climate Credit Analytics for climate risk regarding the debt at public and private companies. 

BlackRock, the funds giant, bought Baringa Partners’ Climate Change Scenario Model in 2021 to integrate into its Aladdin data platform.

MSCI recently bought UK-based carbon analytics company Trove Research.

The number of start-up and growth players has also grown with the likes of Clarity AI coming to market joining growth companies in the field like Persefoni and GIST Impact 

Investment is required to scale climate data businesses, but the market is also tight in terms of revenues. 

Some think that biodiversity data under the Taskforce for Nature-Related Financial Disclosure and related initiatives could be a growth spurt. But that’s another topic for a future piece. 

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Guest post by Sean Mooney, PhD, recently appointed Director of the NIH Center for Information Technology , to announce the launch of NIH Cloud Lab for all NIH-affiliated* researchers. Learn more or request an account here .

As I step into my role as Director of the NIH Center for Information Technology (CIT), I am continually amazed by the contributions our NIH community makes to the digital ecosystem underpinning biomedical research. A key focus of mine is the advancement of collaborative, data-driven research in “the cloud”, and my colleagues and I are determined to make access to and expertise in cloud computing more widely available across the NIH research community.

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Researching Mathematical Modelling Education in Disruptive Times

• © 2024
• Hans-Stefan Siller 0 ,
• Vince Geiger 1 ,
• Gabriele Kaiser 2

Institut für Mathematik, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

Inst Learning Sciences and Teacher Educ., Australian Catholic University, Brisbane CBD, Australia

Didaktik der mathematik, universität hamburg, hamburg, germany.

• Includes case studies describing implementation of mathematical modeling in practice
• Points out directions of further innovations in mathematical modeling education
• Contains high-level research of mathematical modeling in mathematics classrooms

Part of the book series: International Perspectives on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematical Modelling (IPTL)

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Table of contents (55 chapters)

Front matter, introduction, researching mathematical modelling education in disruptive times—an introduction.

• Hans-Stefan Siller, Vince Geiger, Gabriele Kaiser

The Need for a Critical Orientation to Mathematical Modelling in Times of Disruption

Vince Geiger

The Possibility of Modelling as a Creativity-Demanding Activity: The Perspective of Teachers’ Professional Development

• Xiaoli Lu, Huimin Ma

Ethnomodelling as the Glocalization of Mathematical Practices

• Milton Rosa

Structure, Role, and Promotion of Metacognitive Modelling Strategies: Theoretical Derivations and Empirical Findings

• Katrin Vorhölter

The Public Understanding of Mathematical Modelling (PUMM)

• Pauline Vos

Theoretical Approaches to Mathematical Modelling

Metacognitive strategies in mathematical modelling with groups of engineering students.

• Noemí Cárcamo Mansilla, María D. Aravena-Díaz, Stefan Berres

Providing Characteristics of Metacognition in Mathematical Modelling Activities

• Lourdes Maria Werle de Almeida, Élida Maiara Velozo de Castro

Mathematical Modelling in Vocational Mathematics Education: A Literature Review Focusing on Vertical and Horizontal Mathematising

• Peter Frejd, Jonas Bergman Ärlebäck

Modelling, Teaching, and Reflecting: What More I Have Learned?

• Peter Galbraith

A Systematic Review of Research on the Use of Mathematical Modelling in the South African Education

• Arne Jakobsen, Duncan Mhakure

Teaching Mathematical Modelling

Teacher strategic interventions to support students in constructing the model of the situation in a modelling task.

• António Júlio Aroeira, Susana Carreira, João Pedro da Ponte

Moving Beyond Mute Modelling Praxeologies in Preservice Elementary Teacher Education

• Berta Barquero, Marianna Bosch, Floriane Wozniak

Origin and Development of the Notion of Mathematical Modelling Competency/Competencies

• Werner Blum, Mogens Niss

Teaching Tactics to Manage Mathematisation During Mathematical Modelling

• Jill P. Brown, Gloria Ann Stillman
• International research on mathematical modelling
• Technology and mathematical modelling education
• Teacher education and mathematical modelling
• Empirical results of implementing mathematical modelling educ.
• Mathematical modelling
• Applications of mathematics
• Real-world problem solving
• Teaching and learning mathematical modelling
• Instruction in mathematical modelling

About this book

This edited volume documents research on mathematical modelling education, before, during, and after the Covid 19 pandemic. Mathematical modelling is essential for understanding natural and human generated phenomena, and informs decision-making about events such as the pandemic, climate change, and other disruptive events. Communication to the public, often by the media, makes use of mathematical modelling to justify changes to public policy, as seen during the COVID-19 crisis. Consequently, mathematical modelling has assumed an increasingly prominent role in curricula internationally, providing opportunities to understand how it is used in current circumstances and to plan for the needs of future societies. This book focuses on research on mathematical modelling education and its implementation at school and tertiary level. Contributions to the book and point to directions for further innovation in mathematical modelling education.

Authors of this volume are members of the International Community of Teachers of Mathematical Modelling, the peak research body for the teaching and learning of mathematical modelling.

Editors and Affiliations

Hans-Stefan Siller

Gabriele Kaiser

About the editors

Prof. Hans-Stefan Siller is a Full Professor for didactics of mathematics at the Universität Würzburg, Germany. He researches topics within the field of mathematical modelling, especially in interdisciplinary teaching and learning settings. His work within mathematical modelling education includes topics related to sustainable development, as well as STEM teaching and learning.  He adopts both quantitative and qualitative research methods when investigating effective practices in mathematical modelling within school settings.

Prof. Vince Geiger is a Full Professor and Director of the STEM in Education Research Program in the Institute of Learning Science and Teacher Education at Australian Catholic University, Australia. His work is focused on the enabling role of mathematics within the STEM disciplines — driven by an awareness that knowing and using mathematics confidently is key for career prospects and the empowerment of an informed citizenry. He is Editor-in-Chief of Mathematics Education Research Journal. Prof. Geiger is current President of the International Community of Teachers of Mathematical Modelling and Applications (ICTMA). 

Prof. Gabriele Kaiser is Full Professor of mathematics education at the Faculty of Education, University of Hamburg, Germany. Her research includes mathematical modelling education, teacher education and teacher professional development. Prof. Kaiser is Editor-in-Chief of ZDM – Mathematics Education. She was convenor of the 13th International Congress on Mathematics Education (ICME-13) in 2016 at the University of Hamburg.  Prof Kaiser is Past-President of the International Community of Teachers of Mathematical Modelling and Applications (ICTMA).

Bibliographic Information

Book Title : Researching Mathematical Modelling Education in Disruptive Times

Editors : Hans-Stefan Siller, Vince Geiger, Gabriele Kaiser

Series Title : International Perspectives on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematical Modelling

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53322-8

Publisher : Springer Cham

eBook Packages : Education , Education (R0)

Copyright Information : The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024

Hardcover ISBN : 978-3-031-53321-1 Published: 04 June 2024

Softcover ISBN : 978-3-031-53324-2 Due: 05 July 2024

eBook ISBN : 978-3-031-53322-8 Published: 03 June 2024

Series ISSN : 2211-4920

Series E-ISSN : 2211-4939

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : XII, 675

Number of Illustrations : 60 b/w illustrations, 68 illustrations in colour

Topics : Mathematics Education , Teaching and Teacher Education , Education, general

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