Research without Tears: From the First Ideas to Published Output

Citation

Holland, M. (2009), "Research without Tears: From the First Ideas to Published Output", The Electronic Library, Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 879-880. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470910998614

Research without Tears is aimed at those beginning PhD research or preparing for publication in scholarly or peer reviewed journals. The book covers three main areas:

1. 1.

   First Research Paper;

2. 2.

   Working on a PhD; and

3. 3.

   Publishing Research.

The book draws on John Creedy's many years of experience in doing research, writing books and papers and editing journals. Examples used in the book are from the field of economics, however, the advice is relevant to any researcher in the social sciences.

Research without Tears is short at just over 100 pages, clearly presented and well structured. In fact it illustrates in its execution all the good advice on writing style Creedy gives to his readers.

The tone of the book is slightly patrician, as you might expect from a senior academic sharing advice and experience with junior colleagues. Sharing experience is the key to understanding the value of this book to potential readers. As Creedy says in his preface, many aspects of research can only be understood through experience, and learning everything from experience is a costly and painful exercise.

The suggestions given in the book are direct and practical. The section on “Writing a research paper” for example has lists of hints on clear writing, things to avoid and checklists. Some of the best advice is in the section on “Working on a PhD”, especially the question of the relationship with a supervisor clearly informed by insights from research supervision. Top of the list of things not to do is “Never look pained or unwilling to try suggested changes”.

Research without Tears will be an excellent counter to the many books that focus only on the research process and research methods. It would enhance any collection on research methods in the social sciences. It is hard to think of any research student who would not be grateful for the advice it gives. Colleagues in the library and information world who are thinking of publication would also benefit from reading the sections on “Publishing in journals”. Although you will recognise things you already know there is great benefit in seeing advice succinctly and clearly presented.