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Empirical Research and Writing: A Thread
One year I taught a heavy load of quant methods where a complete rsch paper was reqd by department. By the 2nd term, I was tired of saying the same thing over & over and started writing handouts. Thus was born ERW. https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/empirical-research-and-writing/book240727
One year I taught a heavy load of quant methods where a complete rsch paper was reqd by department. By the 2nd term, I was tired of saying the same thing over & over and started writing handouts. Thus was born ERW. https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/empirical-research-and-writing/book240727
Empirical Research and Writing is the guide I wish I had when I was first writing research papers as an undergrad. It contains a lot of hidden curriculum stuff about how to *think* like a researcher, not simply mimic one. I tried to be transparent about decision-making processes.
At the same time, I put a lot of effort into preemptively answering student questions to save faculty from repeating themselves. The book (and the additional half a book of online essays) try to capture the full research process at a level that undergraduates can understand.
The original intended audience was undergraduate methods courses and upper-level substantive courses that require an empirical paper, including senior seminars/thesis programs. It has a robust following among those groups, including in non-English-native programs.
To my surprise, however, it's gained a significant following in MA/MSc and first-year PhD courses. It serves to level the field by presuming that all students are missing something.
The publisher's page above contains links to ch 1-2 as sample chapters. These give a really good sense of the kind of practical, pragmatic approach I take to talking about how to do research.
I'd love to hear from people who've used this book in any capacity. I'm also happy to answer questions about the book, the instructor or student resources, or anything else. If you're looking to make your life easier with your research papers next term, won't you consider ERW?
