 | Writing Empirical Research Reports: A Basic Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| List Price: | $55.50 |
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Average customer review:
(6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Sales Rank: #41387 in Books
- Published on: 2007-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: .60" h x 8.40" w x 10.80" l, 1.05 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 162 pages
Most helpful customer reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent reference
By al1027
I found this book as a PhD student when I first began writing research reports and since then, I have used it as a reference guide to help keep my writing focused and organized.
From what I understand, this book is not meant to teach you how to write or to help you generate content. If you have nothing to write about or if your ideas do not logically make sense, your writing (or lack thereof) will reflect this. What this book does offer is a series of simple, straightforward guidelines (with numerous before-and-after examples) on how to express yourself in the format of a standard research report. Furthermore, the book describes each section of a research paper and explains how that section fits in with the paper as a whole. These descriptions can help give new writers a sense of how to structure their arguments to make the most of the research report format.
Finally, I wholeheartedly disagree with the earlier reviewer who believes that simply being at the higher levels of academia means that one must have already succeeded as a writer. If this were the case, then every paper published would be well-constructed, lucid and easily accessible to others in the field. Anybody who has read more than a dozen articles knows that this is far from true. Furthermore, having a lengthy history of writing (various papers in school, admission essays, etc) does not guarantee that someone will be able to easily write up a complex study with multiple experiments drawing from an extensive body of literature. If your education is worth anything then you will likely find that the demands of writing become greater as one progresses through academia because the projects become more complex and the audience more discriminating.
Many thanks to the authors for putting together such a valuable and concise guide!
38 of 48 people found the following review helpful.
Being Forced to Take the Bait
By doomsdayer520
I'll let you in on a perfect get-rich scheme. Enter the college textbook market.
Mr. Pyrczak is certainly not responsible for the completely ridiculous nature of that market, but his book is a perfect example of the problem. College textbook publishers have perfected the art of manufacturing flimsy, inconsequential, and ultimately un-educational books, selling them at horrifically inflated prices, and encouraging professors to require students to buy them. This particular book is somehow required at my graduate program with extremely little merit. This appallingly weak volume doesn't nearly justify its twenty-plus dollar price tag and can be considered far beneath the abilities of the advanced students who are required to use it. Look no further than the introduction for proof. Pyrczak first admits that the book is not meant to be a style manual or a discussion of the mechanics of word usage. That explains how skinny the book is, but it certainly doesn't explain the price. Then there is the admission that the entire book is based on generalizations which may or may not be useful for particular academic situations. The next admission is that experienced writers will often feel free to violate any of the guidelines covered herein. See pages v-vi for all of the above in plain view, and then wonder why the book even exists.
Speaking of experienced writers, I and others like me didn't get to the academic levels at which this book is required without having known these "guidelines" for years and years. Thus, this volume is far beneath its intended audience - that is, those who are required to purchase it. For example, I am not impressed by middle school-level pointers like "The importance of a topic should be explicitly stated in the introduction," nor do I need an entire chapter on how to create a title. This book should be sold to teens who are writing for the first time, and for about one-third the price. As for me, I've been reeled in and clubbed over the head, like the type of big dumb fish that the publishers assumed me to be. [~doomsdayer520~]
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.Happy!
By mike
Happy with the product. All is fine...... this will serve the pupose I was looking for. Thank you very much!
http://astore.amazon.com/amazon-book-books-20/detail/1884585752
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