Courtroom

Taken from "Research to the Point" by Allan A. Metcalf, the 2nd edition of the book, published by Harcourt Brace & Company in 1995 in Florida, pages 5 and 6.

"Efficient, successful research requires the use of your judgment at every stage. You will understand the necessary attitude if you imagine yourself involved in a courtroom trial. A trial always tests a proposition, a hypothesis: that someone (or something) does or did something. Lawyers bring evidence, and witnesses offer testimony, for and against this hypothesis. The judge considers the evidence, decides for or against the hypothesis, and then writes an opinion, using the evidence to support this decision. When you write a research paper, you are the judge.

In fact, for a research paper you also have to take the part of the lawyer on both sides. You find the evidence and the witnesses and arrange for their testimony. But above all, you are the judge. As a good judge, you will consider all sides of the question. You will also rule digressions out of order and will determine the case as efficiently as possible. Your time is too valuable to waste."