Review of 'The Craft of Research, Third Edition (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
As the quality of a book increases, the more difficult it becomes to me to write a deserving review. Why mention this here? Because I’m now faced precisely with this dilemma. This is a deserving book — but how do I describe my reaction to it?
Taking for granted Goodreads’ rating system of having each star to mean a different reaction on judging a book, in rating a technical manual with an intimidating title such as The Craft of Research with an enthusiastic “I really liked it” may seem a bit overblown; and I can understand that it does indeed seem strange.
But if you have ever been in that stressful and confusing situation of finding yourself a novice in academia, and with an urgent need of grasping that very hermetic craft of doing any research for a class or project, not knowing how to start, what to do, how …
As the quality of a book increases, the more difficult it becomes to me to write a deserving review. Why mention this here? Because I’m now faced precisely with this dilemma. This is a deserving book — but how do I describe my reaction to it?
Taking for granted Goodreads’ rating system of having each star to mean a different reaction on judging a book, in rating a technical manual with an intimidating title such as The Craft of Research with an enthusiastic “I really liked it” may seem a bit overblown; and I can understand that it does indeed seem strange.
But if you have ever been in that stressful and confusing situation of finding yourself a novice in academia, and with an urgent need of grasping that very hermetic craft of doing any research for a class or project, not knowing how to start, what to do, how to proceed, and leasf of all how to succeed in it, this book will sure come to you as a blessing!
From explaining what a research project is, to detailing each of its stages; from the breakdown of topics into questions and questions into problems; from the difficulty of finding sources and work with them consistently; from the making of an agument to writing it, and even revising it, all in great detail — this book covers it all.
If you, like me, go through it from cover to cover, you’ll find it provides you with a wealth of procedures and their explanations, as well as an excellent roadmap on how to deal systematically with such a complex task as doing research properly.
Assuming you went looking for this title because you’re burdened by such a research projet, stressed out by not knowing how, anxious by not having a clue how to deal with it, by the end of the book, you will feel much more at ease, more confident, and way more prepared to take up your task with competence, eager to succeed.
To sum it up: are you doing research? Don’t know how? Go get this book!