The Bedford Researcher

Complete coverage of the research writing process  

• Part 1, Joining the Conversation, introduces the concept of research writing as a social act. It helps students understand that research writing involves exploring conversations among writers and readers, narrowing their focus to a single conversation, and developing a research question to guide their inquiry.
• Part 2, Working with Sources, establishes the importance of reading critically, evaluating sources, taking notes, engaging with and managing information, and avoiding plagiarism.
• Part 3, Collecting Information, helps students search for information using digital resources, print resources, and field research methods.
• Part 4, Creating Your Document, guides students as they develop their thesis, organize their information and ideas, frame their argument, develop an outline, draft their document, integrate source material, revise and edit their drafts, and design and present their work.
• Part 5, Documenting Sources, provides comprehensive and up-to-date chapters on MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE styles.

Engaging and useful apparatus    Each chapter is structured around a set of Key Questions that enables students to find information quickly and ends with Quick Reference boxes to stress the chapter’s main points. Throughout the book, My Research Project activities, in-depth tutorials, and numerous illustrations and tables teach students how to keep their projects on track.

The design employs clear and accessible illustrations, annotations, checklists, activities, and documentation guidelines — the parts of the text students will return to as they write.

A conversational, student-friendly tone The Bedford Researcher is written in an accessible, easy-to-follow style that treats students with respect, helping them to gain confidence in their ability to write well, conduct research effectively, and think critically. Clear, relevant examples address students’ questions about research writing by concretely illustrating writing, research, and critical reading strategies.

Detailed case studies of real student researchers The work of seven real students are featured throughout the book, providing students with strong examples of research writing in a variety of disciplinary contexts. Their research writing projects -- in the form of traditional research essays, websites, and multimodal essays -- provide accessible models students can use as they conduct their own research and draft their own documents.

Help with analyzing and developing arguments Extensive coverage of argument, both as a writing strategy and as a framework for reading sources critically and actively, is included in Part 4, Creating Your Document. Here students will learn how to establish a position on an issue, how to develop a line of argument, and how to support an argument with reasons and evidence. They will also learn to identify logical fallacies and avoid them in their own writing.

Extensive and up-to-date coverage of digital sources and tools The text offers relevant, hands-on advice for searching for and evaluating audio, video, and other digital sources; searching for e-books; saving and organizing sources with personal and social bookmarking sites and web capture and curation tools; integrating images, audio, and video into multimodal documents and multimedia presentations; and revising and editing with digital tools.