NEW

The Bedford Researcher

Eighth Edition

Publication Date: February 15, 2024

Spiral-Bound ISBN: 9781319414030

Pages: 480

Comprehensive research and writing guidance for today’s students.

The conversations we are encouraging our students to join and the challenges they face have never been more complex. The Bedford Researcher gives them the tools to contribute to research conversations with thoughtfulness and integrity. Structured around students’ most common writing

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ISBN: 9781319414030
The Bedford Researcher

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ISBN: 9781319558178
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I: Joining the Conversation
1. Getting Started
2. Exploring and Focusing
3. Developing Your Research Question

II: Working with Sources
4. Reading Critically and Actively
5. Assessing and Evaluating Sources
6. Taking Notes
7. Engaging with Information, Ideas, and Arguments
8. Managing Information
9. Avoiding Plagiarism

III: Collecting Information
10. Searching for Information
11. Collecting Information with Field Research

IV: Creating Your Document
12. Developing Your Thesis Statement
13. Developing and Organizing Your Argument
14. Drafting
15. Using Sources Effectively
16. Understanding Document Design
17. Working with Genres and Design
18. Revising and Editing

V: Documenting Sources
19. Using MLA Style
20. Using APA Style
21. Using Chicago Style
22. Using CSE Style

Main sections of the text include:

Part 1: Joining the Conversation focuses on getting started, narrowing a topic, and developing a research question and proposal.
Part 2: Working with Sources establishes the importance of reading critically, evaluating sources, taking notes, engaging with information, and avoiding plagiarism.
Part 3: Collecting Information covers searching for information using digital resources, print resources and field research methods.
Part 4: Creating Your Document focuses on thesis development; organizing information; framing an argument; developing an outline; drafting a document; integrating sources; revising, editing, and designing a document.
Part 5: Documenting Sources provides comprehensive, up-to-date chapters on MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE styles.

Additional resources within the book: Key questions at the beginning of each chapter; checklists that offer brief overviews of a specific research or writing process; “What’s My Purpose” sections that keep students’ projects focused and manageable; “Framing My Argument sections” that help with the development of forming an argument; Information Literacy quick tips on finding and integrating research; “My Research Project Activities” that connect what’s in the text with the student’s on writing process; book tutorials on the various steps in research writing; Quick Reference boxes at the end of every chapter.

Summer 2024 Updates:

New! Exclusive Palmquist Content: AI Guides for Instructors and Students.
Boost AI literacy with How Can I Use Generative AI in My Writing Classroom?, a brief resource by Mike Palmquist that helps college writers understand the opportunities and challenges of AI use in academic settings. Separate instructor and student guides offer support for using AI ethically and responsibly, with assessment to help reinforce concepts. Now available in the Achieve courses for In Conversation, Joining the Conversation, and The Bedford Researcher.

Eighth Edition Updates (2024):

New Chapter 17, Working with Genre and Design extends the discussion of design principles and elements to considerations of genre selection and presentation.
Documentation Chapters (Section 5) now provide system-specific guidance on using tables and figures.
New Student Essays including a problem-solving essay on environmental issues (Chapter 22) and an argumentative essay on the U.S. voting system (in Achieve). Examples from each work can be found throughout the book.
Attention to Ethical and Effective Use of AI-Powered Chatbots with new discussions of the potential uses and abuses of these new tools. Teaching with The Bedford Researcher and Achieve for The Bedford Researcher include further resources to increase students’ literacy around these developments.

“A smartly-written textbook that doesnt overindulge in making students feel dumb or even talked down to. The Bedford Researcher goes further to give students real-life situations and examples that evolve their thinking of writing and their knowledge of rhetorical situations.” — Brandon M. Herring, Missouri Western State University

“The Bedford Researcher is a comprehensive handbook for college-level research writing with excellent models and activities that aid in skill and confidence building…The breakdown of the research process and the abundance of models help students approach a longer writing project with greater confidence.” — Lacy Owen, Skagit Valley College

Mike Palmquist

Mike Palmquist is a professor of English and a University Distinguished Teaching Scholar at Colorado State University, where he has also served as Associate Provost for Instructional Innovation and Director of the Writing Center. He is recognized internationally for his work in writing across the curriculum, the effects of computer and network technologies on writing instruction, and new approaches to scholarly publishing. He is the founding editor of the WAC Clearinghouse (http://wac.colostate.edu), the leading site for communication across the curriculum, and is the author of numerous articles and essays on writing across the curriculum and writing and teaching with technology. He served as an at-large member of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum, which named him a Distinguished Fellow in 2021, and is a trustee of the University Press of Colorado and a member of the editorial boards of several journals. In 2004, he received the Charles Moran Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Field, which recognizes "exemplary scholarship and professional service to the field of computers and writing." In 2006, the CCCC Committee on Computers in Composition and Composition named him Outstanding Technology Innovator. He served as chair of the National Council of Teachers of English College Section Steering Committee and as a member of the NCTE Executive Committee from 2009 to 2011. He also served as the chair of the NCTE College Section Working Group on the Status and Working Conditions of Contingent Faculty. He is the author of Joining the Conversation: A Guide and Handbook for Writers; In Conversation: A Writer’s Guidebook; and The Bedford Researcher.

Achieve for The Bedford Researcher is an online learning system backed by extensive development and research. Proven to increase student engagement and boost performance. Achieve offers:

Access to the ebook to download, read and virtually annotate for a completely flexible experience.
Course and book-specific resources including adaptive quizzing to personalise the experience for students.
Writing tools with multi-draft, pre-built assignments and peer review.
A grade book, assignable assessments with targeted feedback, insights and reporting, instructor resources - all with seamless integration options.
Integrated with iClicker so that instructors and students can benefit in class and remotely from an industry leading student response system.

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About Achieve

Achieve is our online learning system backed by extensive development and research, proven to increase student engagement and boost performance. Achieve offers:

Access to the ebook to download, read and virtually annotate for a completely flexible experience.
Course and book-specific resources. Most Achieve courses come our LearningCurve, our adaptive quizzing engine with personalized question sets and clear feedback based on each student’s correct and incorrect answers.
A grade book, assignable assessments with targeted feedback, insights and reporting, instructor resources - all with seamless integration options.

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