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CHAPTER 6 RESEARCH
CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY
Chapter 6 discusses a detailed process that you can use to ensure responsible and well-crafted research
choices, starting with designing a research strategy, finding relevant materials, and working with the
materials. Chapter 6 also considers evaluating the credibility and usefulness of sources and how to use
the research process to refine arguments, choose and organize quotations, and give proper credit for
the sources used in the speech.
CHAPTER 6 OUTLINE
I. Introduction: Becoming an expert
A. Enough expertise on topic to bring new insights to audience and speak with confidence
B. Sources, ideas, and arguments that justify position = public implications
1. Make a difference in way people think about topic
II. Researching responsibly
A. Research = difference between misinformation and helpful answer to important problem
B. Thorough research = new possibilities and more choices
1. Don’t know answer = best reason to research
2. Can’t be clear and persuasive if only hazy understanding
3. Haziness often = attempt to manipulate or deceive
C. Speaker mastery of details = tend to trust more
1. Brief outline based on current knowledge
2. Identify themes
a. Connect to thesis
b. Look for support
c. Change opinion if needed
C. Design research strategy
1. Where will look
2. How you will look
3. Info you expect to find
a. Focus and goal
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1. Web-based search engines
a. Create a list of search terms
2. Scholarly journals and databases
a. Peer-reviewed articles
b. Gold standard for info from experts
c. Best databases (FAQ)
3. Books
a. Usually organized around broader themes
b. Written for non-specialist audiences
c. More detailed arguments
4. Interviews and conversations
a. With experts, officials with day-to-day experience, people directly affected
b. Contact via email or phone
1. As many different sources as possible
2. Keep a running list of places searched
a. Search engines, versions
1. List
2. Revise as go, trial and error
3. Add new themes, search terms
a. Experiment with synonyms and subtopics
4. Google tips (Remix)
C. Focus search
1. Narrow search terms continually
2. From more general to more narrow
D. New arguments
1. Outline refinements
2. Good quotes, stats for each major claim
V. Gathering materials
A. Organized gathering for future reference
B. Electronic or printed form
1. Read more thoroughly after first search round
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C. Full citation data
VI. Reading your materials and taking notes
A. Reading efficiently
1. Good notes
B. Reading strategies
1. Journal articles
a. Abstract
b. First few paragraphs, last paragraph
c. Section titles
4. Blog entries
a. Non-standard formats
b. No standard shortcut
C. Take notes
1. Arguments
2. Background info
3. Facts, stats, data
4. Quotations
5. Efficient approach
a. Working document
b. Taglines
c. Note-taking software
d. Index card system
VII. Evaluating sources
A. Credibility of source
1. Blogs
a. Only if contributors = informed and trustworthy
i. “About” section
ii. Google search
b. Not edited or peer-reviewed = skepticism
2. News articles
a. Nationally recognized
b. Research staff
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i. Article as guide to others sources
ii. Author as guide to other sources
3. Opinion or advocacy
a. Bias
i. Definition (FAQ)
ii. Can undermine appearance of balanced research
b. Qualification
4. Peer-reviewed articles
5. Wikis
a. In general not reliable except as intro to topic
b. Point to better sources
c. Appearance of shallow or unproductive research
6. Websites and webpages
a. Depends on objectivity and expertise
b. Think tanks = generally reliable
VIII. Revising claims
A. Effective research might = action items
1. Revise claims
2. Change position
3. Additional research
B. Possibly several iterations
C. Sign of good research
IX. Organizing research information
A. Look at all taglines and group into like categories
B. Note most frequent themes and group them
C. Order from most to least useful
1. Quality of source
2. Level of support for claim
3. Other considerations
a. How good quote sounds
b. How robust study data are
c. Other factors
X. Choosing sources for speech
A. Large quantity of research
1. Enables good choices
2. Background vs. speech materials
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C. More sources than can possibly cite, so choose carefully
XI. Citing sources and avoiding plagiarism
A. Must cite sources
1. Give credit
B. Cite sources in two places
1. Body of speech
2. Bibliography
C. Consistent formatting style such as APA (FAQ)
XII. Getting help from research expert
A. Classmate
B. Instructor
C. Research librarian
READING TARGET
This is the instructor-assigned goal for students to consider in their writing, discussion, and individual
reflections:
Read to understand the step-by-step process that you can employ to become a minor expert on
the topic and compose a well-supported speech.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
General strategies and techniques
Use the Questions for Review and Questions for Discussion at the end of Chapter 6 as prompts
for writing or discussion (in class, online, before and after class).
Use the Try It activities in the chapter as the basis for points of discussion, in-class activities, or
assigned work outside of class.
Chapter learning objective: Describe the importance of responsible research
choices
Find an expert. Students have the task of becoming minor experts in the area of their speech
topics. Ask students to identify at least one local minor expert in their circle of friends and
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information?
Better research = better decisions. Have students think about a relatively important personal
decision such as what college to attend or what discipline to study. How did learning about the
options make a difference in their confidence in their final decisions?
Chapter learning objective: Outline an effective and efficient research strategy
Research strategy assignment. For an assigned classroom speech, ask students to answer
questions in writing as the first step in the research process.
▪ What is your topic?
▪ What is your thesis (topic and specific goal)?
▪ With the knowledge you have now, predict the main points of your speech.
▪ Where are you going to find information (be specific)?
▪ What search terms will you use for electronic databases and search engines?
Chapter learning objective: Create search terms for focused online searches
Compare search engines. Ask students to search for information on their speech topics using
two different general search engines, such as Google and Yahoo. What differences do they
notice? Which search engine do they prefer and why?
Written search log. The textbook recommends that students keep a running list of the various
places they look for information. Assign a date for students to bring their logs to class. In small
groups, students skim each other’s logs and make suggestions for other places to search.
Think Tanks and Advocacy Organizations. Ask students to examine the websites for two different
Chapter learning objective: Gather relevant research materials
Find some books. Ask students to search for two to three book titles related to their topics
(through the campus library collection, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or a physical bookstore).
Report to the class or small groups on the challenges they encountered—such as few current
books, only books with a broader topic, too many books (search too broad), and what they
learned about their topics by searching for books.
Research librarians. Invite one of your campus research librarians to come to class and overview
the type of assistance that the librarians provide.
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Chapter learning objective: Evaluate the credibility and usefulness of different
sources
Benefits and pitfalls of kinds of sources. The text lists several kinds of sources that may provide
speech material (blogs, news articles, opinion or advocacy pieces, peer-reviewed scholarly
articles, wikis, other websites). Divide the students into six small groups and assign one kind of
source to each group. Each group will generate a list of the potential benefits and pitfalls with
the assigned source. What do they recommend students do to avoid the pitfalls?
Problem with Wikipedia. Ask students to think of all of the reasons someone might advise
against using Wikipedia (open source, not verified, too general). How can Wikipedia be useful to
someone preparing a speech?
Chapter learning objective: Effectively organize research materials and choose the
most useful ones
Reverse engineering. Using a current news article or a speech transcript from the publisher’s
website, have students find pieces of supporting material (statistics, examples, expert opinion,
facts). After verifying that students have found the information, work together to create a
couple of taglines for one of the pieces of information. Then ask them to write taglines for the
remaining evidence in small groups, with partners, or individually. As a whole group, assess the
organization of the speech or article. Would students recommend moving information to other
places in the speech or article?
Chapter learning objective: Correctly cite your sources
Bibliography tutorials. A number of bibliography and in-text citation tutorials are available
online that can be helpful as homework assignments for students to practice proper citations.
Your institution may have plagiarism and citation materials available. Materials available online
to the public also may be useful to your students.
▪ American Psychological Association (APA) style homepage: http://www.apastyle.org/
▪ Comprehensive tutorial for someone who is unfamiliar with APA style for research papers:
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx
▪ Not a tutorial, but color-coded samples of APA references:
http://www2.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm
▪ Good information about plagiarism, with samples and practice giving credit:
https://www.indiana.edu/~tedfrick/plagiarism/
Show citation generators. Show your students the citation generators available free online to
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MINDTAP AND CENGAGE RESOURCES
Chapter 6 support materials in MindTap include the following:
GLOSSARY OF TERMS IN CHAPTER 6
Abstract: summary at the beginning of a scholarly article
APA format: APA standards for organizing information in a
bibliography
Bibliography: record of your sources
Blogs: a web log, or personal journal, by an individual or a group of
authors
Databases: searchable collections of information that are stored