Composing Inquiry
Methods and Readings for Investigation and Writing
Published on 20. February 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
648 pages
978-0-13-192291-4 (ISBN)
Description
The first composition text to present in-depth primary and secondary research methods, disciplinary readings and writing instruction to facilitate authentic investigations.
Composing Inquiry
is a reader/rhetoric that takes seriously the call to engage undergraduates in intellectual work. All of the readings included here serve to illustrate methods of research and investigation used in various academic disciplines, and all inspire similar projects that can be done by undergraduate students as they learn to work on their writing. Unlike traditional readers, Composing Inquiry also includes chapters meant to help students understand methods of inquiry commonly used by scholars to collect data or test theories. These method chapters can be used in conjunction with the readings or independently, depending on the program/course goals or the preferences of individual teachers.
Composing Inquiry
is a reader/rhetoric that takes seriously the call to engage undergraduates in intellectual work. All of the readings included here serve to illustrate methods of research and investigation used in various academic disciplines, and all inspire similar projects that can be done by undergraduate students as they learn to work on their writing. Unlike traditional readers, Composing Inquiry also includes chapters meant to help students understand methods of inquiry commonly used by scholars to collect data or test theories. These method chapters can be used in conjunction with the readings or independently, depending on the program/course goals or the preferences of individual teachers.
More details
Content
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1
What is Inquiry? 1
Why Inquiry: Why Composing? 3
Literacy 3
Reading and Writing Together 6
Strategies for Active Reading 6
Posing Questions 11
Using This Book 16
Inquiry and the Internet 18
Internet Resources 18
Web Sites Referenced in this Chapter 19
CHAPTER 2: Presenting Inquiry: Rhetorical Choices and Writing Issues 20
What Does Audience Have to Do With It? 20
Discourse Communities and Genre Expectations 22
Framing Your Work 25
Developing an Argument Through Analysis 29
Including the Work of Others: Paraphrases, Quotations, Citations 31
Arrangement 33
Foregrounding 33
Headings 34
Transitions 35
Clarity and Style 39
Sentence Length 39
Word Choice 39
An Eye Toward Revision 42
Internet Resources 45
Web Sites Referenced in this Chapter 46
CHAPTER 3: Observing 47
Special Materials: Visuals 53
Special Materials: Artifacts 63
Ethical Considerations in Observing 67
Working on Writing Observations 69
Summary Descriptions to Generalizations 70
Vivid Details versus "Objective" Language 72
Student Essay: Observation of a Place 74
The Fields of Dreams Hattie Wellington 75
Student Essay: Visual Analysis 78
Web Pages in the Automobile Industry Christopher Perin 78
Internet Resources 82
Web Sites Referenced in this Chapter 84
Links to the Readings 84
Assignments Using Observation 84
Assignments Working with Visual Materials 85
Assignments Working with Artifacts 85
CHAPTER 4: Interviewing 86
Ethical Considerations and the 4 C's of Responsible Interviewing 88
Staging the Interview 90
Stage One Thematizing: Crafting Two Kinds of Questions 90
Stage Two Designing: Practical Matters 92
Stage Three Interviewing: Semi-Structured Conversation 95
Stage Four Transcribing: From Oral to Written Form 96
Stage Five Analyzing: Paying Critical Attention 98
Stage Six Verifying: Evaluating Your Findings 98
Stage Seven Reporting: Shaping for Audiences 99
Special Case: Focus Groups 99
Special Case: Oral Histories 101
Working on Writing Interviews 102
Form of Presentation 102
Quotations 103
Student Essay: Case Study Interview 106
A Sociolinguistic Interview Bryan McLucas 106
Sociolinguistic Interview Transcript 109
Student Essay: Oral History 114
Columbine: A Day to Remember Samantha Sanderson 114
Internet Resources 118
Web Sites Referenced in this Chapter 118
Links to the Readings 118
Assignments Using Interviewing 118
Assignments Working with Focus Groups 119
Assignments Working with Oral Histories 119
CHAPTER 5: Working with Numbers 120
Part I: Interpreting Numbers: Some Basics 121
Types of Numbers: Raw Numbers, Percentages, Measures of Central Tendency (Mean, Median, and Mode), Rates 121
Reading Survey Reports 124
Data Analysis 130
Data Analysis Example: A Survey of Students Attending Large and Small School 136
Part II: Collecting Your Own Numbers: Surveys 136
Steps for Conducting a Survey 138
Ethical Considerations 144
Working on Writing from Numbers 145
Acknowledging Limits 146
Incorporating Graphics 149
Student Essays: Survey 152
Satisfaction Among First-Year University of Miami Students Kenny Rosina 152
Rosina's Survey 156
Rosina's Data Table 158
Internet Resources 159
Web Sites Referenced in this Chapter 159
Links to the Readings 159
Assignments Working with Numbers 159
Assignments Working with Surveys 160
CHAPTER 6: Working with Texts 161
Part I: Inquiry into Texts 162
Part II: Close (or Critical) Reading 166
Facets of a Critical Reading 169
Special Material: Music and Public Speech 173
Special Material: Archives 176
Informal Archives 176
Library and Institutional Archives 177
Ethical Considerations 181
Working on Writing from Texts 182
Summarizing for Your Own Purposes 182
Accuracy in Representing Others 185
Balancing Your Words with the Words of Others 190
Student Essay: Textual Analysis of Literary Texts 192
The Freudian Uncanny in Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" Stephen Fuller 192
Student Essay: Analysis of Spoken Language 202
The Effects of Columbine Samantha Sanderson 202
Internet Resources 205
Web Sites Referenced in this Chapter 205
Links to the Readings 206
Assignments Working with Texts 205
Assignments Working with Archives 207
Assignments Working with Music and Public Speech 207
Sample Projects 208
Project 1: The Water Project 208
Project 2: Local History 211
Project 3: Public Space 214
Project 4: Organizational Needs Assessment 216
Internet Resources Referenced in Sample Projects and Assignment Sequences 220
Assignment Sequences 221
Between Writing and Knowing 222
Collective Memory 226
Considering "Public" 231
Constructing Public Spaces 235
Cultural Politics and Public Discourse 239
Cultural Politics and Public Discourse II: Shaping Values 243
Direct Observation 247
Ethnicity in America: Identity 250
Ethnicity in America II: Defining America 253
Examining Visuals 255
Expanding a Trends Report 260
Eye on Campus 265
Gender Investigations 269
Histories: Official and Unofficial 272
Humanizing Numbers 275
Investigating Artifacts 279
Material Culture 283
Reading Media 286
Reclaiming the Past 290
Representing Community 294
Trying Out Interview 298
Visual Rhetoric: Photographs 301
Working with Texts 305
Readings
Robin F. Bachin 309
Courage, Endurance and Quickness of Decision: Gender and Athletics at the University of Chicago, 1890-1920
Rina Benmayor 326
Narrating Cultural Citizenship: Oral Histories of First-Generation College Students of Mexican Origin
Leo R. Chavez 346
Developing a Visual Discourse on Immigration
Leah Dilworth 357
Handmade by an American Indian: Souvenirs and the Cultural Economy of Southwestern Tourism
Janis L. Edwards and Carol K. Winkler 369
Representative Form and the Visual Ideograph: The Iwo Jima Images in Editorial Cartoons
Michael Frisch 391
American History and the Structures of Collective Memory: A Modest Exercise in Empirical Iconography
Mark Allan Jackson 413
Is This Song Your Song Anymore: Revisioning Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land"
Jeffrey P. Jones 433
Forums for Citizenship in Popular Culture
Julie Eklund Koza 446
Rap Music: The Culture Politics of Official Representation
Maria Len-Rios, Shelly Rodgers, Esther Thorson, and Doyle Yoon 465
Representation of Women in News and Photos: Comparing Content to Perceptions
Peirce Lewis 479
Common Landscapes as Historic Document
Melanie Lowe 494
Colliding Feminisms: Britney Spears, "Tweens," and the Politics of Reception
Catherine A. Lutz and Jane L. Collins 510
The Photograph as an Intersection of Gazes
National Endowment for the Arts 530
Trends in Literature Participation, 1982-2002
Julies David Prown 541
The Truth of Material Culture: History or Fiction?
Paul A. Shackel 554
Public Memory and the Search for Power in American Historical Archaology
Steve Spence 575
Van Gogh in Alabama, 1936
David Thelen 597
Remembering the Discovery of the Watergate Tapes
James Boyd White 625
Human Dignity and the Claim of Meaning: Athenian Tragic Drama and Supreme Court Opinions
Judy Young 642
A Bowlful of Tears Revisited: The Full Story of Lee Puey You's Immigration Experience at Angel Island
Photo Credits 625
Index 627