Reading and Writing Social Research Chapter 15 Reading and Writing Social Research

How to Read Social Research Begin with the abstract. Skim the piece. Read the conclusion to get a good sense of what it is about. Form questions as you read and take notes.

Key Elements in a Research Report Theoretical orientation Research design Measurement methods Sampling

Risks of the Internet Everything you read on the web is not necessarily true. Original sources of data are preferred over those that take data from elsewhere.

Evaluating a Web Source Who/what is the author of the web Is the site advocating a particular view? Does the site give accurate and complete references? http://www.threestrikes.org/walsh_pg_one.html Are the data up-to-date?

Official Data Usually a good source, although still subject to error. Verify (crosscheck) data wherever possible. Web citations, like other bibliographic references, should be complete—allowing the reader to locate and review the materials cited.

The writing challenge Research writing is often a relatively unpracticed form of writing that can challenge and intimidate students

Good Social Research Writing Begins with good writing. Write to communicate, not to impress. Be aware of the audience and the purpose in writing the report. Avoid presenting someone else’s words or thoughts as your own.

Writing as ‘conversation’ The goal of your write-up is to share your research with others Think of your write-up as a communication process or a ‘conversation’ that demands consideration of your readers

The Presentation as Conversation So tell me what your research is about And why did you choose this topic/question? What do you hope to achieve? I really don’t know much about this topic, can you fill me in? How exactly did you go about doing your research? And what did you find? How would you explain the relevance of what you have done?

The ‘standard’ structure Your write-up can follow a standard structure that generally includes: an introduction literature review methods findings conclusion

Alternate structures Your write-up can also follow an alternate structure that may better suit a particular project’s aims and objectives While alternate structures can allow for more creative expression, the standard format gives readers what they tend to expect

Drafting and redrafting Moving from first to final draft is a multistage process that sees you working systematically through the development of: logic and argument coherence and consistency fluency and readability and finally, copy editing

APSA Citation Style Erskine, Hazel. 1974. “The Polls: Fear of Violence and Crime.” Public Opinion Quarterly 38 (1): 131-15. Ferraro, Kenneth and Randy LaGrange. 1987. “The Measurement of Fear of Crime.” Sociological Inquiry 57 (1): 70-101. Garofalo, James. 1981. “The Fear of crime: Causes and Consequence.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 82 (2): 839-857. Warr, Mark. 1990. “Dangerous Situations: Social Context and Fear of Victimization.” Social Forces 68, 3: 891-907.

Example: Pape (2003)