A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Ninth Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers

by Kate L. Turabian

Book Overview

When Kate L. Turabian first put her famous guidelines to paper, she could hardly have imagined the world in which today's students would be conducting research. Yet while the ways in which we research and compose papers may have changed, the fundamentals remain the same: writers need to have a strong research question, construct an evidence-based argument, cite their sources, and structure their work in a logical way. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations--also known as "Turabian"--remains one of the most popular books for writers because of its timeless focus on achieving these goals.

This new edition filters decades of expertise into modern standards. While previous editions incorporated digital forms of research and writing, this edition goes even further to build information literacy, recognizing that most students will be doing their work largely or entirely online and on screens. Chapters include updated advice on finding, evaluating, and citing a wide range of digital sources and also recognize the evolving use of software for citation management, graphics, and paper format and submission. The ninth edition is fully aligned with the recently released Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, as well as with the latest edition of The Craft of Research.

Teachers and users of the previous editions will recognize the familiar three-part structure. Part 1 covers every step of the research and writing process, including drafting and revising. Part 2 offers a comprehensive guide to Chicago's two methods of source citation: notes-bibliography and author-date. Part 3 gets into matters of editorial style and the correct way to present quotations and visual material. A Manual for Writers also covers an issue familiar to writers of all levels: how to conquer the fear of tackling a major writing project.

Through eight decades and millions of copies, A Manual for Writers has helped generations shape their ideas into compelling research papers. This new edition will continue to be the gold standard for college and graduate students in virtually all academic disciplines. Bestselling, trusted, and time-tested advice for writing research papers The best interpretation of Chicago style for higher education students and researchers Definitive, clear, and easy to read, with plenty of examples Shows how to compose a strong research question, construct an evidence-based argument, cite sources, and structure work in a logical way Essential for anyone interested in learning about research Everything any student or teacher needs to know concerning paper writing

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 022643057X
• ISBN13: 9780226430577
• Release Date: April 2018
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Easy to use!

This manual is very user-friendly. It's a must for anyone writing papers in the respected fields in which it is intended. It is worth every penny.

User-friendly manual for the best, most flexible reference style

I can't compare this edition to the previous ones as I've never owned the old ones but I can say this manual is very user-friendly. I bought it only seeking a comprehensive manual of style for a bibliography/referencing, which it has. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it has very useful information about how to tackle the research process as well. The manual is extremely comprehensive without being confusing. The aesthetics are great. Also, the Chicago manual style is better than APA and MLA in my opinion, and I've used them all. A good tool for budding researchers and students alike.

Chip off of the old block.

This edition of Turabian follows in a long line of excellent editions of the manual. It is very well put together and some improvements have been made including some much needed updating to abbreviations and some other matters. An excellent tool that is an absolutely essential addition to any busy student's library.

7th Edition of Turabian Is a Great Improvement

The 7th edition of Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers features significant new material, a more user-friendly arrangement, much-needed rules for online resources, and an eye-friendly, two-tone typeset format. Editors Booth, Colomb, and Williams have adapted material from their The Craft of Research and inserted it as Part I of the 7th edition. Researchers now get both a style guide and a research guide in one book. The three-part format for the 7th edition also makes it easier to navigate. Part I is the new research guide; Part II is the rules for source citation; Part III is the style guide. In the 6th edition, the first chapter was a guide to the parts of a research paper which then had to be compared to the formats and sample layouts in the last chapter. The new edition combines all this material together in Appendix A along with instructions that are updated to reflect common word processor settings. And the index at the back of the volume now references items by page number rather than chapter and section, a great improvement in my opinion. The 7th edition brings Turabian up-to-date by including rules and examples for citing online sources. Part II also separates the instructions for notes/bibliography style from the instructions for parenthetical/reference list style. What had been a completely separate chapter for citing public documents is now helpfully included with the rest of the citation rules. Part II of edition 7 now includes over 100 pages of citation examples compared to the 26 pages in chapter 11 of the 6th edition. One weakness that is not corrected in the new edition is that Turabian's official stance for encyclopedias and other reference works is still that they should only be cited in notes. (17.5.3, p.191) Nothing acknowledges the difficulties of citing scholarly encyclopedia or dictionary references where signed articles are the norm. One can, however, adapt the instructions for edited collections on p.179 to sufficiently cite academic reference works. Finally, the blue-and-black typesetting makes it much easier to distinguish in-text examples and to move one's eye from section to section. It is fitting that the 7th edition has been published on the 20th anniversary of Kate Turabian's death. The many improvements in this edition will ensure its place on student bookshelves for years to come.

Finally, Turabian is digital!

Sure, the style found in the "Turabian Guide" is an adaptation of the Chicago Manual of Style. But, it is easily accessible and far easier on the average student's budget- not to mention it is widely accepted by most Universities and Colleges. So here we are again, a style guide- that now has references examples that pertain to Microsoft software- which most students use- examples for citing websites, podcasts, and all manner of modern (2007) electronic media, and in addition, it now lays out a method for writing a quality paper...so how did it work? Well, I received an "A" for my first production under the new 7th edition! Kate has extended her service as a reference and research guide to students everywhere that English is the lingua franca!