Plenty of books tell you how to do research. This book helps you figure out WHAT to research in the first place, and why it matters.
The hardest part of research isn’t answering a question. It’s knowing what to do before you know what your question is. Where Research Begins tackles the two challenges every researcher faces with every new project: How do I find a compelling problem to investigate—one that truly matters to me, deeply and personally? How do I then design my research project so that the results will matter to anyone else?
This book will help you start your new research project the right way for you with a series of simple yet ingenious exercises. Written in a conversational style and packed with real-world examples, this easy-to-follow workbook offers an engaging guide to finding research inspiration within yourself, and in the broader world of ideas.
Read this book if you (or your students):
• have difficulty choosing a research topic
• know your topic, but are unsure how to turn it into a research project
• feel intimidated by or unqualified to do research
• worry that you’re asking the wrong questions about your research topic
• have plenty of good ideas, but aren’t sure which one to commit to
• feel like your research topic was imposed by someone else
• want to learn new ways to think about how to do research.
Under the expert guidance of award-winning researchers Thomas S. Mullaney and Christopher Rea, you will find yourself on the path to a compelling and meaningful research project, one that matters to you—and the world.
Thomas S. Mullaney is professor of history at Stanford University and a Guggenheim fellow. His books include The Chinese Typewriter: A History and Your Computer is on Fire.
Christopher Rea is professor of Asian studies at the University of British Columbia. His books include Chinese Film Classics, 1922–1949 and The Age of Irreverence: A New History of Laughter in China.
- 聚焦研究起点，解决选题迷茫
- 倡导自我中心研究，挖掘内在动力
- 提供实用练习，转化兴趣为问题
- 人文学科本科生与研究生
- 面临选题困境的科研初学者
- 寻求研究灵感的学术工作者
- 配合书中练习同步操作，勿仅阅读
- 接纳初期想法的幼稚与不连贯
- 避免迎合外部评判，坚持内省
- 实操性强，有效梳理研究思路
- 帮助厘清话题、问题与难题关系
- 治愈学术焦虑，重塑研究初心
本导读基于书籍简介、目录、原文摘录、短评和书评生成，不等同于全文精读。
- "This book is designed to be practical, first and foremost, providing specific and tested techniques to help you • choose a research topic; • transform this topic into a set of concrete and compelling questions; • identify the underlying problem motivating the questions you’re asking; • deal with the"
- "你需要做许多研究才能找到正确的问题。而为了回答这些问题，你需要做更多的研究，随后生成更多的问题。"
- "一个学生和墨磊宁在讨论历史课论文的几个备选话题。学生说论文主题是中国的风水学。……毫无疑问，风水是一个有潜力且吸引人的话题，但墨磊宁还是不太清楚学生的关注点在哪里。学生对这个话题的**问题**是什么？其重要性？为什么是**风水**？ 这名学生凭借「优等生」的措辞能力，而且明显在谈话之前做了演练，用课程中的关键术语和概念进行了解释。学生说，风水提供了一个研究「中国现代性」的角度，可以检测中国从「传统」到「现代化」转型期间的「知识生产」情况。所有的展示内容都非常精彩。 但是，学生的表述中还是缺少一些重要的东西。 好吧。但你**为什么***选择风水呢？如果你的主要动机是了解「中国现代性」，那你不一定"
- "**对话时态度坚定且不随意评判**。无论是研究者还是他们的智囊团，对于他们有关理性的假设都没有给予否定。在头脑风暴的阶段，我们很容易因为消极的思维习惯或诸如：「你的假设是错误的：非西方的风俗也是理性的」这样的评价而过早地停止探索；或者是使用一些高级语言进行自我打压，比如说：「我对理性的理解显然是被社会建构出来的。」请阻止此类倾向。更好的做法是让问题自由发展，无论它们现在看起来有所么不重要、幼稚、零散、不连贯，甚至存在偏见。你做独立研究也好，合作研究演好，这个阶段就只管提出问题。我们稍后再讨论该如何使用这些问题。"
- "你也应该专注于提出由你的知识、假设和兴趣推动的问题。不要试图「由外向内」思考。也就是说，提问时不必迎合某些假想的外部评判者。 这名学生其实比大多数人都幸运。在谈话前做的大量自我反思，已经让学生非常明确这个话题对其个人而言有何意义，学生只需要把自己的想法说出来而已。 其他人则面临更大的挑战。我们有时会被某个话题吸引，却完全不清楚缘由。说得更准确点儿，一部分的我们知道为什么，而余下的那部分，不得不处理「你为什么感兴趣」的那个部分，却依然毫无头绪。"
显示全部
The Fruits of Opportunism
Wordcraft
Authoritarian Apprehensions
Materials of the Mind
On Descartes' Passive Thought
Palmyra