This classic introduction to the techniques of research and the art of expression is used widely in history courses, but is also appropriate for writing and research methods courses in other departments. Barzun and Graff thoroughly cover every aspect of research, from the selection of a topic through the gathering, analysis, writing, revision, and publication of findings presenting the process not as a set of rules but through actual cases that put the subtleties of research in a useful context. Part One covers the principles and methods of research; Part Two covers writing, speaking, and getting one's work published. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Preface to the Sixth Edition	v
Acknowledgments	vii
List of Figures	xiii
Part I Principles and Methods of Research
1 Research and Report: Characteristics	3
The Report: A Fundamental Form	3
The Historical Outlook Underlies Research and Report	5
Reporting History in Daily Life	5
The Past Is All-Inclusive	7
The Research Reporter and Scholar	8
Historical Writing: Its Origins and Demands	10
2 The ABC of Technique	15
The Prime Difficulty: What Is My Subject?	15
I Have All My Material--But Have You?	19
The Practical Imagination at Work	22
A Note Is First a Thought	26
Knowledge for Whom?	31
Hard Work Makes Royal Roads	34
3 Finding the Facts	37
The Detective and the Clues	37
Library and Internet	39
A Surfeit of Sources	45
Defining the Quarry	46
Cross-Questioning the Book	48
Professional Informants: Reference Books	51
Up-to-Date Reference Works	53
Contemporary Opinion Now and Earlier	59
Finding One's Peers and One's Ancestors	59
Facts and Numbers from Maps	62
What Else Do I Need?	63
4 Verification	67
How the Mind Seeks Truth	67
Collation, or Matching Copy with Source	70
Rumor, Legend, and Fraud	71
Falsification on the Increase	76
Attribution: Putting a Name to a Document	79
Explication: Clearing Up Details in Manuscripts	81
Destroying Myths	85
Identification: Giving Due Credit for Authorship	90
The Snare of Pseudonyms	97
5 Handling Ideas	101
Fact and Idea: An Elusive Distinction	101
Large Ideas as Facts of History	104
Technical Terms: All or None	105
The Technique of Self-Criticism	108
Reporters' Fallacies: How to Avoid Them	110
The Scholar and the Great Ideas	113
6 Truth, Causes, and Conditions	117
The Types of Evidence	117
Probability the Guide	122
Clio and the Doctors	127
Assertion versus Suggestion	131
Note Qualifiers in All Conclusions	133
Skepticism under Control	139
Subjective and Objective: The Right Meanings	142
Knowledge of Fact and Knowledge of Causes	144
On Cause and Measurement	146
7 Pattern, Bias, and Revisionism	149
The Reason of Historical Periods and Labels	149
The Conditions of Pattern-Making	151
The Sources of Bias and Its Correctives	153
The View from Inside	157
Revisionism Good and Bad	160
The Philosophy and "Laws" of History	161
Part II Writing, Speaking, and Publishing
8 Organizing: Paragraph, Chapter, and Part	169
The Function of Form and of Forms	169
The Steps in Organizing	174
The Chapter: Role, Size, and Title	177
Composing: By Instinct or by Outline?	179
Troubleshooting after Lapses	183
The Book Review and the Paragraph	188
9 Plain Words: The War on Jargon and Cliches	193
Keep Aware of Words	193
The State of the Language	195
Jargon: Origin and Sources	196
Be Strict about Signposts	198
Picture All Verbal Images	200
Decide Which Images Are Alive	203
Give Up Omnibus Words and Dressing Gowns	206
Observe Idiom and Implications	207
10 Clear Sentences: Emphasis, Tone, and Rhythm	211
Live Sentences for Lively Thoughts	211
Mismatching of Parts	214
Five-Legged Sheep and Other Monsters	216
Modern Prose: Its Virtues and Vices	218
Punctuating for Smooth Reading	222
Carpentry or Cabinetmaking?	224
The Sound of the Sense	229
11 The Arts of Quoting and Translating	235
Three Recurrent Tasks	235
The Philosophy of Quoting	236
The Mechanics of Quotation	239
Difficulties and Dangers of Translation	243
Dictionaries and "False Friends"	245
Literalism and Paraphrase	247
To Translate Is to "Carry Over"	249
12 The Rules of Citing: Footnotes and Bibliography	257
Types and Functions of Footnotes	257
Footnote Form and Forms	260
Footnoting: When, Where, How Much?	266
The Bibliography: Varieties and Forms	268
13 Revising for Printer and Public	275
Errors and Their Ways	275
Judging the Merits of a Work	277
Revision: Maxims and Pointers	279
Revision: Marks and Symbols	280
The Professional Touch	281
The Handle to a Writer's Works	287
Revision: The Printer and You	289
The Final Pages: The Index	290
Copyright: To Protect and Defend	291
14 Modes of Presentation	293
Composing: By Hand or by Machine?	293
Advantages versus Drawbacks	293
A Few Rudiments for Beginners	295
The Whole Circle of Work: Editing a Classic	297
Speaking What You Have Learned	298
Heading Committees and Seminars	301
The Etiquette of Leadership	304
Making the Most of Time	305
A Few More Recommendations	309
InfoTrac College Edition Terms	311
Index	313

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.