Research?

How do researchers usualy do their research? Do they take one obscure book and go by it and reject any dispute as to the veracity of their single source?

Just curious, as usual?

One of the most popular books on Audie Murphy is full of misinformation. When I first started researching the man, I came across it. At first, since most of it was negative, I became disheartened, and might have given up my quest. Instead, I decided to look into where the author got the information, and realized that much of what was written did not have a source listed, that much of the information from listed sources involved one person, whose agenda was questionable, and that, when I looked deeper into many of the remaining sources, much of what they wrote was taken out of its full context, altering the intended messages.

This biased source became my main reason for writing my own book. I wanted to correct the damage done by the negative agenda of the other author.

As a writer of researched information, I tend to get a bit testy with those who promote misinformation, either through their writing, or promotion and blind belief in unsubstantiated writing of others.

Just me.

Ann

Ann,

Thank you. I like your method.

alice

Quote :

How do researchers usualy do their research? Do they take one obscure book and go by it and reject any dispute as to the veracity of their single source?

James) Absolutely not!



The references in my own book "The Gods " cover pages 247 to 266 - books and articles, all that I read cover to cover - some from the journal Nature, others from the journal Science.

There are 5 appendices - one covering the physics of orbital motion, and another how to solve problems in Spherical trig

In my research about the Egyptians in the UK - I first became an expert in reading and interpreting the Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts. Then I read every book on the subject. The most fascinating was the Popol Vuh, the sacred word of the Maya-Quiché, because therein are passages from the Jewish Doom and Restoration tradition from Jeremiah 8.13-9.23 (9.24 in English bibles)! There are also passages from the Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts.

Research is a very demanding science - and I perform it in a through and professional manner.

Your’s is a very foolish question

James
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When I started my novel about the JFK assassination, I thought I could rely on my memory about events back then. But then I hit a lot of walls, one of which was the unreliability of my memory. So many things you need to know when you use historical events as a backdrop. I used anything I could find and people I know to verify some things. Every thing from what bushes bloom in Virginia in May to the physical layout of Dealey Plaza to the specifications of certain firearms.

Google was a big help, but you have to find at least two unrelated sources when you use something you find on the Internet. When something is controversial, you have to separate history from opinion and agendas when everything is cited as being factual and no one holds anyone to account for their accuracy.

One of the best resources was Google Earth, which lets me go to places and walk around to get the lay of the land.

Michener said that when he launched a book project, he budgeted $100,000 and a year to travel and do the geographical research. It still takes a year, but you rarely have to leave home.

A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.
Bruce Lee

Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
William Shakespeare

Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.
Euripides

Ann

James,

Thank you for tellling me my question was foolish.

Al,

Thank you for your sound and very helpful input.

Ann,

I saw your response.

Thank you! I feel better.

alice

Quote :

Thank you for tellling me my question was foolish.

James) You are quite welcome - perhaps you'd like to classify it your own self

Quote :

Do they take one obscure book and go by it and reject any dispute as to the veracity of their single source?

Not only is it foolish (as a single source could never qualify as research) - but it contained innuendo unbecoming of an author.


And the poor little ol’me routine is distasteful

James
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James,

Where did I say or imply that I was either poor or little? I am 5'10" in height and hardly destitute.

Talk about inuendo!

Feel free to speak as you wish, however--it is revealing.

poor little ol’me - my dear alice starts each stanza of a poem - hence it becomes a routine of a chronic whiner

Poor little old me
I have just fallen from
A great big tree
And not half hurt
My little old leg and Knee

Poor little old me
What can I do

Poor little old me
Oh how
I wished

etc, etc, etc (as the King of Siam was fond of saying) - and Yes I saw the play!

James
/

James,

You are now in charge of this thread.

Enjoy...

James, is 'The Gods' out yet? It sounds fascinating.

alice

Quote :

James, You are now in charge of this thread.

James) Not a chance - your thread contains innuendo and was ugly from the start

J
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Good question, Alice. I'm a researcher. I don't use Wikipedia as a source but find the links on Wikipedia useful. It has a high SEO rating and is always close to the top on Google search results.

I used to love cross-referencing in libraries -- my husband said that I could find anything! Being good at finding material is not a good indicator about the extent of a researcher's knowledge on any given subject. Finding the material is one thing, understanding it is another thing entirely.

James,

I've moved your thread about Pharaohs to the Writers' Cafe. It's much too serious for the Chatter Box. You'll find it here:

http://www.publishedauthors.org/t6195-lorraine-evans-kingdom-of-the-ark