1. Chapter 6 Researching and Evaluating Source Materials

2. Writers Solve Problems
By distinguishing among different kinds of research
By knowing which sources are relevant to the problem
By knowing where to find those sources
By knowing how to collect and assess sources
By knowing how to incorporate sources into workplace documents

3. Research and the PSA
The problem-solving approach is not a linear process.
Each rhetorical situation requires writers to determine the order of steps that best suits their needs and the needs of their audience.

4. Answering Questions for Specific Audiences
Most writing begins with questions, not answers.
Encountering a question that needs answering helps the researcher define a clear purpose.
The specific audience shapes how that research is presented and discussed.
Audience interests and goals influence the format, organization, and sorts of materials consulted.

5. Primary Sources
Are original materials on which other documents are based
Are the first formal appearance of results in print or electronic documents
Present information in original form, not evaluated, summarized, or interpreted
Present original thinking, report discoveries, and share new ideas

6. Secondary Sources
Describe, interpret, analyze, and evaluate primary sources
Comment on and discuss the evidence and ideas discussed in primary sources
Are usually created after the event or information to which they refer
Often rely upon primary sources, combining them with other sources or applying them to new situations

7. Finding and Evaluating Sources
The real trick for writers and researchers is not finding sources but evaluating them for trustworthiness and accuracy.
There is a connection between where you find things and the likelihood of their being reliable.

8. The World Wide Web Advantages Disadvantages Easy to use and access
Information can be downloaded, stored, and moved around
Offers general information on a wide variety of topics
Disadvantages
Information often unreviewed and unreliable
Search engines can lead to irrelevant results
Good information comes with a price

9. Blogs & Wikis
Blogs often provide up-to-date information and are easy to find, while wikis represent the contributions of numerous participants, and are sometimes moderated.
Avoid basing important decisions on information gathered through either blogs or wikis, since their accuracy is often in question.

10. Databases
Databases consist of indexes or catalogs that contain information about books, journals, newspapers, and government documents.
Many are geared towards specific subject areas.
While many are accessed online, databases provide credible, reviewed, and specialized information that websites often do not.

11. Databases Advantages Disadvantages Trustworthiness
Currency and relevance
Amount of information
Disadvantages
Price of access
Full-text inconsistencies
Longer learning curve

12. Intranets and Archives
Are private, internal networks
Are accessible to certain people
Contain sensitive information
Contain documents for company use
Provide insight into past decisions and policies

13. Intranets and Archives
Advantages
Private or exclusive information
Ease of use
Disadvantages
Restricted access
Difficulties in searching
Incomplete records

14. Researching Visuals
Visual sources can add credibility and professionalism to your ideas.
Determine what you need before beginning a search
Type of visual (graph, illustration, photograph)
What you want to accomplish
Visual style

15. Sources for Visuals Licensed databases Free web resources
Commercial databases

16. Methods for Primary Research
Observations
Inspections
Experiments
Interviews
Surveys
Focus groups

17. Conducting Primary Research
Observation has a researcher observe a situation, location, or process to understand and evaluate it.
Inspection is more active, requiring the researcher to directly interact with the environment.
Both deal with real people and real places.
Both can lead to other forms of primary research.

18. Guidelines for Observations & Inspections
Conduct background research that allows you to better understand the situation in advance
Observe what is typical or normal to establish a base line
Observe what is atypical or unusual to test limits and shortcomings
Confirm availability
Take careful notes
Be prepared with equipment or help from others

19. Experimental Procedure
Determine what you want to know and devise a plan
Conduct your experiment according to the plan, gathering information without any expectation
Analyze the information
Discuss or report the information

20. Interviews
Interviews are a typical means for workplace writers to acquire detailed information helpful to their projects.
Interviewers should:
Consult those with knowledge or expertise
Consider who, what, where, when, and how
Conduct initial research about the interviewee, and focus on short, direct questions

21. Surveys
Allow individuals to answer a series of questions about a particular subject or issue
Offer quantitative, rather than qualitative, information
Usually target people that can provide a particular kind of information
Can sometimes replace an interview, and be implemented on a larger scale

22. Focus Groups
Are group interviews, usually conducted with six to fifteen participants
Are designed to generate conversation within the group to gain a sense of participant response
Provide qualitative research
Are a useful tool for evaluating services, testing new ideas, and getting consumer feedback

23. Preparing for a Focus Group
Know exactly what you want to accomplish
Develop a series of questions
Select participants carefully
Have a detailed plan, including ground rules and a specific agenda
Send a follow-up letter to participants
Plan how you will record the session

24. Facilitating a Focus Group
Introduce facilitators
Explain the purpose of the session
Explain how the session will be recorded
Stick to the agenda
Give participants equal consideration and time
Review answers for accuracy
Thank participants for their time and effort
Follow up

25. Note Taking
There is no one right way that researchers in the workplace take notes.
Most people develop their own means though experience, a means that best suits their own writing habits.
Experienced researchers recognize that they are also beginning to draft as they take notes.

26. Strategies for Note Taking
Save everything that might be relevant
Read the sources carefully
Forget the highlighter; write your own notes
Compose a research narrative
Use a double-entry journal
Keep a problem-solution log

27. Documenting Sources
Documenting sources properly shows that you have used them in an ethical manner.
Give credit to others for their ideas, and you make clear to your readers how you have used sources in your document.
Be aware of the systems of documentation and formatting used in your field.

28. Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined simply as the act of passing off as one’s own the ideas or writings of someone else.
Writers are guilty of plagiarism when they submit documents that borrow ideas, structure, organization, or wording from other sources without properly documenting it.

29. Ethical Use of Sources Quoting Paraphrasing Summarizing
Use only brief quotes
Make sure each quote fills a hole in your writing
Paraphrasing
Capture author's intent and information in your own words
Understand the original thoroughly so that you can reproduce the idea fully
Summarizing
Abbreviate information without compromising its meaning
Cover all points made in the original

30. Ethics in Primary Research
Keep the identities of subjects private, unless given written authorization
Develop unbiased questions
Report results fully and fairly