Beyond Feelings - Vincent Ruggiero.original_ [72]
Books. In addition to the list of books provided in encyclopedias and those you find mentioned in the articles you read, you can consult your library's card or computer catalog, the key to the books available on its shelves. (One valuable source of information is college textbooks in fields related to the issue you are investigating.) Occasionally, if your library is small or if the issue you are investigating is obscure, the library holdings may be limited. In such cases, as in any situation where you are having difficulty finding information or using the reference books, ask your librarian for help. (Remember that librarians are professionals trained to solve the kinds of research problems you may experience.)
All of this may suggest long, monotonous, time-and-energy-consuming research like that required for a doctoral dissertation. But that is a misconception. With a little practice, it is possible to use all the references mentioned, quickly and efficiently. Even books needn't be waded through page by page to find something useful. In a few seconds you can turn to the index (usually at the end) and look for the several headings your issue might be found under, then turn to the appropriate pages and read just those pages. If the book has no index, you can turn to the table of contents, read the chapter tittles and decide which chapters seem most relevant, and then scan them.
HOW MUCH INQUIRY IS ENOUGH?
It would seem easy enough to decide when the inquiry is complete. More often than not, it is not easy at all. One insight can make a great difference. A single fact can upset a mountain of evidence. For example, in the late 1960s and early 1970s most social psychologists would probably have agreed that crowded living conditions are harmful to human beings. Numerous experiments seemed to have settle the matter. Then anthropologist Patricia Draper studied a southwest African treble of hunter-gatherers, the !Kung bushmen. Though their land offers mple space to spread out their settlements and huts, they crowd their dwelling together and often sit in tight groups, literally brushing against one another. Yet they have none of the medical conditions (such as high blood pressure) usually associated with crowding.4 This one fact has caused reexamination of a scientific truism.
How much inquiry is enough? There is no easy answer. It depends entirely on the issue. In some cases, a brief inquiry is enough? There is no easy answer. It depends entirely on the issue. In some cases, a brief inquiry will be more than adequate. In others, an exhaustive inquiry will be incomplete. However, though no absolute statement may be made about the amount of inquiry required, you can be reasonably sure your inquiries are complete when you have made a thorough and careful effort to learn the relevant facts and to consult informed opinion in all fields of study that have a direct bearing on the specific issue you are analyzing. The number of fields to be researched will, of course, vary with the nature of the issue. Here, for example, is a list of the fields that have a direct bearing on three specific issues we identified in the previous chapter.
Specific Issue
Fields with Direct Bearing
At what point, if any during a pregnancy does the fetus become a human being?
Biology
Law
Ethics
Metaphysic
Psychology
Exactly what effect does a punch have on the human body, particularly the brain? What is the cumulative effect of the punches received during ten or fifteen rounds of boxing? During a career?
Anatomy and Physiology
Medicine
Psychology
Is it reasonable or fair to hold people responsible for their actions before they are old enough to understand their