Byard, Vicki

Bibliographic research in composition studies

2009

West Lafayette, IN: Parlor Press

guidelines, researching, bibliographic, composition-studies, Stephen North, research-method, citation, sources, library, database, CompPile

a student-friendly guide to how knowledge is constructed and disseminated in composition studies, as well as a thorough handbook on how to conduct bibliographic research in the discipline. Student readers are taught Stephen North's taxonomy of scholarship, empirical research, and practice so that they can better contextualize the sources they read, and they learn the unique ways that some genres of publication function in composition studies. The book also leads students through the entire process of completing a bibliographic assignment. Students learn to search for and select pertinent sources effectively, how to use major databases and other bibliographic resources to conduct a comprehensive search for disciplinary knowledge, and how to draft and revise an annotated bibliography and a review of literature. Four appendices offer additional support in understanding libraries, journals, and databases, all as they pertain to research in composition studies. The book helps students make sense of a broadly defined discipline and prepares them to become active and independent learners, as well as original contributors to the unending conversation in composition studies. [publisher's blurb]