Composing Inquiry: Methods and Readings for Investigation and Writing

Encourage the habits of mind necessary for academic and professional life

Curiosity, flexibility, tolerance, precision, deliberation, self-reflection

Introduce students to research methods used in academic disciplines

Observing, interviewing, surveys, numerical and textual analysis

Promote work with different kinds of material

Artifacts, visuals, oral histories, focus groups, numerical data, archives, speech, music, and written texts

Teach common rhetorical strategies and issues of writing as a part of the process of presenting research for different audiences and purposes rather than in isolation

Discourse communities, genre expectations, framing, analysis and argument, quotations, summaries, citations, style and clarity, transitions, headings, graphics

Use readings from academic journals and books across disciplines as models for inquiry and presentation

Undertake longer inquiry projects structured to allow collaboration

Sample projects feature investigations centered on sustainable resources (water), local histories, public space and organizational needs and feature ways for connecting student research to on-going or local research projects

Help students understand strategies for critical and effective reading, posing appropriate questions, revision, and ethical research practice

Special Features:

· Research methods are clearly explained with specific techniques described

· Ethical issues highlighted throughout

· Practice Activities in each chapter

· Sample student writings included in each method chapter

· Internet resources highlighted in each chapter

· Methods chapters linked to readings and assignments

· 23 assignment sequences built around themes introduce methods alone or in combination

· All assignment sequences encourage different kinds of revision and self-reflection

· Final assignment in each sequence can serve to introduce a writing portfolio

· 4 Sample Projects allow for extended focus and collaborative investigations

· 20 readings, all published research that has not been previously anthologized