Critical Thinking in the Research Process: Asking the Right Questions, Exploring Different Views, and Interpreting Findi

1. Chapter 7 Thinking Critically about the Research Process Technical Communication, 12th Edition John M. Lannon Laura Gurak

2. Searching for information Recording your findings Documenting your sources Writing the document The Procedural Stages of the Research Process

3. The Inquiry Stages of the Research Process • Ask the right questions • Explore a balance of views • Achieve adequate depth in your research • Evaluate your findings • Interpret your findings

4. Ask the Right Questions • The answers you uncover can only be as good as the questions you ask • Explore a Balance of Views • What do informed sources have to say about this topic? • On which points do sources agree? • On which points do sources disagree?

5. Achieving Adequate Depth

6. Evaluating Your Findings • Is this information accurate, reliable, and relatively unbiased? • Do the facts verify the claim? • How much of the information is useful? • Is this the whole or the real story? • Do I need more information?

7. Interpreting Your Findings • What are my conclusions and do they address my original research question? • Do any findings conflict? • Are other interpretations possible? • Should I reconsider the evidence? • What, if anything, should be done?

8. Primary vs. Secondary Sources • Primary research means getting information directly from the source by conducting interviews and surveys and by observing people, events, or processes in action. • Secondary research is information obtained second hand by reading what other researchers have compiled in books and articles.

9. Web-based Secondary Sources • Subject directories • Search engines • Wikipedia

10. Web-based Secondary Sources • General commercial, organizational, and academic Web sites • Government Web sites • Online news outlets and magazines • Blogs • Wikis • Internet forums and electronic mailing lists • E-libraries • Periodicals databases

11. Sources for Primary Research • Unsolicited inquiries • Informative interviews • Surveys and questionnaires • Observation and Experiment

12. Guidelines for Researching on the Internet • Expect limited results from any one search engine or subject directory. • When using a search engine, select keywords or phrases that are varied and technical rather than general. • When using Wikipedia or other online encyclopedias, check out the footnotes. • Consider the domain type. • Identify the site’s purpose and sponsor. • Look beyond the style of a site. • Assess the currency of the site’s materials. • Assess the author’s credentials and assertions. • Use bookmarks and hotlists for quick access to favorite Web sites. • Save or print what you need before it changes or disappears. • Download only what you need; use it ethically; obtain permission; and credit your sources.

13. In-person interviews Phone interviews Email interviews Fax interviews Informative Interviews

14. Stages of an Interview • Plan the interview • Prepare the interview • Conduct the interview • Conclude the interview

15. Surveys and Questionnaires • A Survey helps you to form impressions of the concerns, preferences, attitudes, beliefs, needs, or perceptions of a large, identifiable group by studying representatives of that group. • A questionnaire is the tool of a survey.

16. Stages of a Survey • Define the purpose and the target population • Identify the sample group • Define the survey method • Analyze samples

17. Personal Observation and Experiments • Always the Final Step - Make sure you have a plan and take detailed notes immediately

18. Any Questions? For additional help reviewing this chapter, please visit the Companion Website for your text at http://www.pearsonhighered.com/lannon.