The Craft of Research (3rd ed.)

Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research (3rd ed.) Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. 317 pp. Paper: $17.00. ISBN 978-02260-6566-3.

Wayne Booth, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph Williams propose an ambitious agenda in their preface: to help

all researchers, not just first-year undergraduates and advanced graduate students, but even those in business and government who do and report research on any topic, academic, political, or commercial . . . to transform a topic into a significant research problem, organize a research report, and write it so that readers will understand it. (p. xi).

I admit my skepticism, at that point, about whether any single volume could accomplish so much for so many. The purpose of this review is to explore the extent to which the book delivers on this aim and how it might be useful to the Review of Higher Education readership.

Surprisingly, the authors do deliver by focusing on the conceptual work that grounds research and writing, clearly articulating the complexity of these processes, and blending practical advice with this conceptual foundation. Thus, the authors' description of the journey from posing research questions to revising research reports gets at the heart of thinking carefully about any research question. Because the book focuses on the core conceptualization of research, it is not limited to any particular methodology or method. Similarly, it is relevant across diverse higher education contexts and for both novice and veteran researchers. It is a valuable resource for readers of Review of Higher...