THE OBJECT OF
MEETING IN A RESEARCH LODGE
Bro. Robert
Eugene Juthner, P.D.D.G.M.
Inaugural
Address
(81-09-26)
PART 1 -
INTRODUCTION
Though the
purpose of this paper is partly characterized by its
title, the author will attempt to go beyond the mere
justification for conducting Masonic research, by
discussing some of the do's and don'ts of research
writing, and research into matters of Masonic
interest. In covering these matters which the
writer believes to be essential for research to
produce honest and unbiased results, the reader
should keep in mind that none of the statements
herein are meant to be dogmatic or to discourage the
would-be, first-time investigator by the sheer
number of considerations to be obeyed; the intention
is quite to the contrary: to encourage Masonic
research which will lead to useful conclusions and,
through this paper, to provide a set of guidelines
which can be tailored to specific applications.
Ordinarily,
the division of a paper into parts, and the use of
sub-titles should be avoided. In this case it is
expected that some future researchers may want to
use this paper as a reference manual, therefore, to
facilitate locating points of interest, the paper is
divided into four parts: an introduction, a
discussion of the types of research, the tools of
research, and writing the research report.
As will be
quite evident to the Masonic reader, the title was
chosen in allusion to a certain passage in the
General Charge given during the installation
ceremonies in this and many other Grand
Jurisdictions. There it is said that
The object .
. . of meeting in the lodge is of a two-fold nature,
namely, moral instruction and social intercourse.
Our meetings are intended to cultivate and enlighten
the mind, to induce the habit of virtue, and to
strengthen the fundamental principles of our order:
Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. (and)..... the
chief point in Freemasonry (is) to endeavour to be
happy ourselves, and to communicate that happiness
to others. (1)
There are
several more pertinent statements following the
quoted passage, but it may suffice for the purposes
of this paper just to recall this description of the
object of meeting in what could be termed a
"degree-granting institution", namely a constituent
lodge devoted to the making of Masons. How then
does a research lodge differ from her members'
mother lodges?
1 Alberta,
The Grand Lodge of, Ceremony for investing
the Officers
of a Lodge, 1973, p. 35
A recent
Canadian Masonic publication, Meeting the Challenge,
devotes the following few lines to a description of
a research lodge:
Research
lodges and other masonic research groups hold
regular meetings at which original papers are read;
these papers are then published in the form of
"Transactions" which are sent to all members of the
group. Most of the papers deal with matters of
history. Sometimes as well these bodies will try to
provide answers to specific questions about the
reasons for certain Masonic customs. The lodges are
usually permitted to accept
non-resident
members into a "Correspondence Circle." (2)
This
description fits FIAT LUX LODGE OF RESEARCH quite
well, but it is the sincere hope of this writer that
papers dealing with "matters of history" will not
occupy the number one position among future research
work, but that some of the work will be aimed at
providing valid and reliable data which can be used
for better informed decision-making on the floor of
Grand Lodge.
Mackey's
Encyclopedia of Freemasonry is silent on the subject
of research lodges, a circumstance easily explained
by the fact that its copyrighted first edition dates
from 1873, whereas Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076
of London, the first research lodge, was warranted
in 1884, Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, copyright
1961, offers an enumeration of research lodges and
associations in the British Isles, the United
States, and even Canada by mentioning the Toronto
Society for Masonic Study and Research, but it
neglects to mention those in other parts of the
world, such as Austria, Finland, France, Germany,
Guyana, New South Wales, New Zealand, South Africa,
South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia) and
Western Australia. (A more complete listing may be
found in the appendix to this paper.) Coil justly
accords Quatuor Coronati the status of premier
research lodge in the world,
. . . which
has furnished the example for all subsequent
research
lodges. (3)
He is less
kind to others when he goes on to say,
The name
(research lodge) has, however, been more popular
than has actual research, so that the title is often
used by lodges that do very little research. Such a
lodge requires a working membership of dedicated
students and a location near one of the great
Masonic libraries . . . (4)
It is well
for the brethren of a fledgling research lodge to
heed Brother Coil's warning regarding the quality of
actual research work. What an Alberta lodge can do
about his other statement, concerning the proximity
of "one of the great Masonic libraries" remains to
be seen or, in other words, poses a problem to be
solved.
Part VIII of
the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Alberta
provides for research lodges in this Grand
Jurisdiction. Article 1000 (1) states,
Lodges for
the purpose of conducting research in any or all
aspects of Craft Masonry may he formed with the
consent of the Grand Master and The Grand Lodge of
Alberta. (5)
2 Canada in
the Province of Ontario, Grand Lodge of, Meeting the
Challenge,
1976, p. 72
3 H. W. Coil,
Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, 1961, p. 523
4 ibid.
5 Alberta,
Grand Lodge of, Constitution, 1980, p. 97A
Extracts from
other significant passages are:
1010 (1)
Research Lodges may admit as subscribing members
those who desire to be aware of and support the
progress of Masonic
research in
Alberta, but who do not desire full membership . . .
(6)
and
1012 (2)
Research Lodges shall not initiate, pass, or raise
candidates, but when tyled may exemplify parts or
all of any degree of Craft Masonry. (7)
Of these
three articles, the first quoted gives an extremely
broad mandate to a research lodge, namely to conduct
research in any or all aspects of Craft Masonry.
The only restriction implied is in the word "Craft",
but there is no limitation as to Masonic Craft rites
practised throughout the world. Likewise, and
fortunately, there is also no restriction as to the
topic or field of concentration, such as history,
organization, lineage, jurisprudence, the liberal
arts and social sciences, ritual and symbolism, and
philosophy. Had the Masonic lawgivers expanded on
that mandate, the challenge to the brethren in a
research lodge would have diminished.
The second
quotation corresponds to the statement by Coil,
quoted earlier, regarding correspondence circles, or
subscribing memberships, as they are termed in
Alberta. A pool of subscribing members is
important, not so much to finance I:he research
lodge's publications, as it is more likely that in
case of deficit the regular members will pick up the
slack, but to enlarge the audience and thus to make
the efforts of the researchers and authors
worth-while. Implied in this is the desire to raise
the work of the research lodge above the suspicion
of self-centredness to the level of service to the
Craft at large.
The third
quotation was included here to emphasize that it is
not in the province of the research lodge to make
Masons but, if found desirable, to make degrees of
Craft Masonry, or parts thereof, the object of
exemplification. This particular aspect may remain
among the rare occasions in the life of the research
lodge, but the mechanism for it is embodied in the
Constitution.
All of these
last three quotations assist us in answering the
question "what is the object of meeting in a
research lodge?" Quite evidently, many more objects
or objectives can be added, introducing the opinions
of learned and experienced brethren; for the
purposes of this paper, however, the above
references to existing literature shall suffice.
Aside from this, how shall one justify the formation
of a research lodge? There are no statistical data
to support a voiced need for such a body, mainly
because there had been no prior research into that
problem! Therefore, the following statement is
completely unresearched; it is pure conjecture on
part of the writer, but probably quite accurate:
There was a desire for in-depth studies into matters
Masonic among some (by far not all) brethren in the
jurisdiction, which crystallized into rumblings
communicated to some in authority. They in turn,
selected one brother with proven potential to carry
the torch, and to gather around him others of like
inclination so as to make something tangible out of
what had hitherto been a mass of primordial
protoplasm. - This may have been the way in which
FIAT LUX LODGE OF RESEARCH came about.
6 ibid., p.
97B
7 ibid., p.
97C
Before we go
any further, it is well to define the term research.
We have all heard the supposed witticism to the
effect that when one copies from one source he is
guilty of plagiarism, but when
he copies
from several sources, he has conducted research!
That is not very kind. The unabbreviated Oxford
International Dictionary offers the following
definition:
An
investigation directed to the discovery of some fact
by careful study of a subject; a course of critical
or scientific inquiry. (8)
The key words
here are "discovery", "careful" and "critical".
A Dictionary
of Psychology (by James Drever) defines research
thus:
Systematic
scientific investigation in pursuit of knowledge, or
confirmation, in any field. (9)
Standard
dictionaries provide various, mostly similar and
never contradictory definitions, but they rarely
enlarge on the intricacies of the research process.
There are different approaches to research, partly
because of the difference in raw data, and partly
because of the difference between fields of study.
To explain, there is a marked difference between the
study of the behaviour of rats in a clinical
experiment, research into historical events, and an
opinion poll. Naturally, we deal with entirely
different data and must, therefore, use an entirely
different approach each time. Tyrus Hillway
distinguishes between three "Types of Research"
(10). He calls these types "Fact-Finding", "Critical
Interpretation" and, for the want of a better name
"Complete Research." "Fact-Finding Research"
consists of a search for facts without any attempt
to generalize or to use these facts to solve a
problem. This type of research may be important in
laying the ground work for further studies. Hillway
explains by use of the following examples, which
could easily be translated into Masonic areas of
concern:
Suppose a
scholar is investigating the history of a certain
college. He collects old records, catalogues,
newspaper accounts, letters, diaries, and so on to
establish the facts of the institution's growth and
development. . . . Unless he is seeking to prove
some generalization about the college, his task
essentially consists of factfinding.
The same
would ordinarily be true for a scholar attempting to
write the biography of some notable person in his
field. Unless the study goes into such matters as
an evaluation of the person's character, an
assessment of the benefits derived from his
contributions to the field, or judgments of a
similar nature, the work involved in the study
amounts almost entirely to fact-finding.
A scholar who
compiles a bibliography of all books and articles
published on a certain topic . . . or a statistical
examination of . . . any one of a vast number of
activities in scholarship which involve making a
record of the facts relating to a situation which is
being investigated - such a scholar is conducting
research on the factfinding level. (11)
8 Oxford
International Dictionary, 1958, p. 1712
9 Drever, A
Dictionary of Psychology, 1964, p. 248 10 Hallway,
introduction to Research, Ch. 7, pp. 99-106 11
Ibid., p. 100
Freemasonry,
closely connected to philosophy and literature, may
however be
dealing with ideas a great deal more than with
facts. We realize that much, if not all of our
traditional history has no foundation whatsoever in
recorded history, and is included in our teachings -
not because it is historically true - but because of
the great and immutable Truths (with a capital T) it
conveys. Such research may then consist primarily of
a critical interpretation of these ideas. Hillway
states,
Probably the
only method of approach to the question would be an
analysis and classification of the opinions
expressed and a critical interpretation of them,
showing in a logical way the strength and weakness,
the reasonableness or unreasonableness, of each
opinion found and of any further ideas on the matter
which the scholar himself might have. Then, having
reasoned out in his own mind a logical and
acceptable answer to the question, the scholar might
state this answer as his own considered opinion.
This often results in an essay rather than in a
research report. (12)
We can
readily see the difference between these two
approaches; in the first case we dealt with
fact-finding and its reporting; in the other, where
conclusions rest chiefly upon logic and reasoned
opinion, we deal with critical interpretation. This
process is not without value, especially in Masonic
research, because it enables us to arrive at
conclusions on matters about which clearly
established facts are scarce or even non-existent.
Hillway mentions three particular characteristics
which must be present in critical interpretation.
First, the argument must agree with known facts and
principles in the field under investigation; second,
the arguments must be clear and reasonable, and must
follow logic; the steps in reasoning that led to the
conclusions must be clearly demonstrable, and the
whole reasoning must be " . . . so impeccably honest
and so thoroughly complete that the reader will be.
. . impelled by it to accept the scholar's
conclusions. Third, the argument must have an
outcome representing the reasoned opinion of the
researcher, an opinion based on accepted facts and
principles, and supported by logic as well as all
available evidence. In this context Hillway warns
against conclusions which rely on the scholar's
intuitive or general impressions rather than upon
specific and reasoned argument. (13)
Hillway's
third type of research, which he calls Complete
Research, makes use of both fact-finding and
reasoning. Fact-finding alone does not usually solve
problems, and critical interpretation, while often
meant to solve a problem may not always be based on
factual evidence but sometimes relies on mere
speculation. Complete research, on the other hand,
is said to have the following characteristics:
first, there has to be a problem to be solved;
second, it requires a body of evidence mostly
provable facts and occasionally expert opinions -;
third, analysis of that evidence and its testing
with regard to the problem; fourth, arranging the
evidence into logical arguments so as to lead to the
solution of the problem; and fifth, a definite
answer or conclusion solving the problem. (14)
From the
foregoing it is evident that Complete Research makes
great demands on the scholar as it requires long and
painstaking search for factual evidence, complete
searches of available literature, and the weighing
of the results of previous investigations done by
others.
12 ibid., pp.
101-102
13 Ibid., pp.
102-103 14 Ibid., pp. 103-105
Another
authority on research, John W. Best of Butler
University, stresses the point that "Research
involves gathering new data or using existing data
for a new purpose from primary or first-hand
sources. . . . merely reorganizing or restating what
is already known and what has already been written
is not research." (15)
This verdict
is apt to deliver a stunning blow to both the
efforts and the ego of this writer who,
therefore,must seek solace in the hope of bringing
into focus,for the purposes of research to be
conducted by members of FIAT LUX LODGE OF RESEARCH,
some of the basic elements of scientific inquiry
already well known to the research community.
Best points
out that
Research
always involves an analysis of the relationships
between causes and effects which imply the
possibilities of empirical testing. Certain
interesting problems do not lend themselves to
research procedures because they are metaphysical;
they cannot be tested empirically. Research rejects
revelation and dogma as methods of gaining reliable
knowledge and accepts only what can be verified by
observation. (16)
It is well
for the would-be researcher in matters Masonic to
remember this because so much in Freemasonry is in
the realm of metaphysics. This statement is not
meant to discourage the Masonic scholar from delving
into areas such as philosophy or symbolism, quite
the contrary, but to emphasize the importance of the
right choice of research method which lends itself
to solving the problem at hand.
What Hillway
called an "impeccably honest" approach, Best puts
into these words:
The
researcher strives to eliminate personal feeling and
bias. There is no attempt to persuade or to prove an
emotionally-held conviction. The emphasis is on
testing rather than on proving the hypothesis.
Although absolute objectivity is probably as elusive
as pure righteousness, the researcher tries to
suppress bias and emotion in his analysis. (17)
This passage
should be read, and re-read, until firmly entrenched
in the mind and attitude of every Masonic
researcher. Too often personal bias rears its ugly,
or rather unscientific, head in papers delivered
before Masonic audiences, something that, hopefully,
is never to happen in this lodge. But, what does
this mean? This "impeccable honesty" or "absence of
bias," demanded of any researcher and, therefore
also of the Masonic scholar, directs him to report
on all of his findings and to base his conclusions
and recommendations on everything unearthed by him
without deleting what has come up which contradicts
his original hypothesis, or pet idea. In other
words, the outcome of one's research project might
completely contrast a point one wanted to make but,
nevertheless, it must be reported. Only that
constitutes honest research, no matter how unpopular
the conclusions may be. Therefore, research must be
a process of testing, rather than proving, implying
an objectivity that lets the data lead where they
may.
15 Best,'
Research in Education, 1970, p. 9
16 Ibid.
17 ibid., p.
10
Hallway,
cited earlier in this paper, also has an answer to
the question,
What is not
Research?
The beginning
scholar sometimes imagines that, when he has
recorded the opinions of a great many experts upon
some subject and then announced his own opinion, he
has done research. This is not the case. To know
the opinions of others may be helpful, but it solves
no problems. Problem solving can be accomplished
scientifically only through gathering and weighing
the factual evidence.
Furthermore,
the beginning scholar is likely to think that,
because he has invented a plausible theory to
explain the phenomenon he is investigating, his work
has been completed. The theory still remains to be
tested and proved - that is, the scholar must
marshal his evidence in support of his idea. Too
many scholars fall in love with hypotheses which
have no support except their inventors' faith. (18)
Let it not be
said that all this is well as far as the world of
science is concerned but that it has no application
to Masonic lay research, as witness the entry
customarily printed in the inside cover of Ars
Quatuor Coronatorum, the transactions of the premier
research lodge. Under the heading "About the
Quatuor Coronati Lodge" we read, among other things,
Inevitably
they (the founders) became known as the Authentic
School", leaders in a new style of Masonic Research
which shunned those baseless and imaginary studies
that had bedeviled Craft historians for more than a
century. (19)
Although the
reference here is primarily to previous efforts to
link modern Freemasonry with hoar antiquity for the
purpose of lending more respectability and to
overawe the reader, the articles published in Ars
Quatuor Coronatorum, and the integrity of the
editor's blue-pencil evident in them, show beyond
any doubt that the "impeccable honesty" referred to
earlier is rigidly applied to their publications,
regardless of theme. This we must emulate in FIAT
LUX and its publication Vox Lucis.
PART 2 -
TYPES OF RESEARCH
Earlier in
this paper we have discussed Hallway's three types
of research, the "fact-finding", the "critical
interpretation", and the so-called "complete
research." To this writer's mind they are not so
much types, but rather methods, or possibly levels
of research, thereby reserving the term "type" to a
characterization of three entirely different kinds
of research. These are agreed on by many authors as
Historical Research, Descriptive Research and
Experimental Research. Historical Research is said
to describe what was, Descriptive Research what is,
and Experimental Research what will be.
HISTORICAL
RESEARCH
Obtaining
knowledge about the past has always intrigued men in
general, and Freemasons in particular, but the
historian's approach has changed considerably
through the ages. It was not uncommon among early
writers to create
18 Hillway,
op.cit., p. 106
19 Quatuor
Coronati, A.Q.C., any issue
literary
masterpieces in place of objective reports of
happenings.
Also, for centuries, objective truth often yielded
to a glorification of the church or the state. This
state of affairs has been largely overcome by now,
although at times personal or national bias is still
evident in the reporting. Properly done, historical
research is carried out by collecting facts from the
past, by examining and verifying them, and by
presenting those facts in a report that will stand
the test of critical examination. Historical
research, therefore, is a critical search for
truth. When engaged in gathering the facts, primary
sources such as the testimonies of eye witnesses or
actual objects used in the past, relics that can be
directly traced to the event under investigation,
are the basic materials of historical research.
Secondary
sources may be less trustworthy, as they represent
materials based on third-, fourth- and fifth-hand
information. They can, however, serve useful
purposes by leading the researcher to work
previously done in the field and to primary sources
which he should consult. During the stage of
examining and verifying, the researcher checks each
fact or account of past happenings meticulously, to
determine its trustworthiness, and if suspecting
that a document contains errors, to endeavour to
detect whether they are unintentional or deliberate
deceptions. A 20th Century historian must be careful
not to read into documents of earlier periods the
conceptions of later times, and he will really have
to show his competence when comparing conflicting
testimonies pertaining to the same event or
condition in history.
Not unlike
the physical scientist, the historian too formulates
hypotheses to be tested, but the types of hypotheses
and procedures for testing differ from those of the
physical scientist because some of the factors he is
investigating may be unmeasurable or unrecorded, and
historical phenomena may have many more complicated
interrelationships than physical science phenomena.
Historians cannot set up experiments in which they
can control conditions; therefore they must confine
their examinations to the relevant data available.
Their credibility judgments may then be arrived at
by the use of a confidence scale, ranging from near
certainty at one end to considerable doubt on the
other. It follows that historical researchers must
above all be cautious to a fault, in accepting
evidence as reliable and trustworthy.
The
reliability of a historical research report,
however, is not merely determined by how critically
the historian examined his source materials but also
by how well informed he is about the past and the
present. His interpretation of the struggles among
the tribes of Israel, for example, will depend a
great deal on how much he knows about early Jewish
society, his knowledge of psychology and human
behaviour and his familiarity with the past and the
present, so as not to misinterpret important events
from the past. In this context, Marc Block writes,
. . .
misunderstanding of the present is the inevitable
consequence of ignorance of the past. But a man may
wear himself out just as fruitlessly in seeking to
understand the past, if he is totally ignorant of
the present. (20)
Earlier in
this paper the statement was made that "Historical
Research is said to describe what was." This can be
an end in itself, but it is more likely that the
researcher would want to generalize, and predict
future events on the basis of his findings, as
physical scientists would do. Not all historians
agree that this can be done. Those taking the
negative view do so because, they say, past events
were often unplanned and
developed
because of the influence of one or few individuals
leading to results which will never be repeated;
witness
20 Block, M.,
The Historian's Craft, 1953, p. 43
reports may
suffer from doubtful competence or doubtful
objectivity; the historian cannot control the
conditions of observation or manipulate the
significant variables. Those who contend that
historical investigation may have characteristics of
scientific research activity present these
arguments: the historian also delimits a problem,
formulates hypotheses, gathers and analyzes data,
tests hypotheses, and formulates generalizations or
conclusions; he may have witnesses who have observed
the event from different vantage points and he
subjects the evidence to critical analysis in order
to establish its authenticity, truthfulness and
accuracy; in reaching conclusions he employs
principles of probability as do physical scientists;
and
Although it
is true that the historian cannot control the
variables directly, this limitation also
characterizes most behavioral research, particularly
nonlaboratory investigations in sociology, social
psychology, and economics. (21)
On the topic
of generalization in historical research, M. I.
Finley comments:
. . . the
question at issue is the nature of the historian's
function. Is it only to recapture the individual,
concrete events of a past age, as in a mirror, so
that the progress of history is merely one of
rediscovering lost data and of building bigger and
better reflectors? If so, then the chronicle is the
only correct form for his work. But if it is to
understand however one chooses to define the word -
then it is to generalize, for every explanation is,
or implies, one or more generalizations. (22)
On the
writing of the historical research report, Best
says,
No less
challenging than research itself is the writing of
the report, which calls for creativity in addition
to the qualities of imagination and resourcefulness
. . . Research reports should be written in a style
that is dignified and objective. However, the
historian is permitted a little more freedom in
reporting. (23)
To conclude
this section of the present paper, an enumeration of
common faults which plague beginners'
historical-research projects is given below, again
in the words of John W. Best:
1. Problem
too broadly stated.
2. Tendency
to use easy-to-find secondary sources of data,
rather than sufficient primary sources . . .
3. Inadequate
historical criticism of data, due to failure to
establish authenticity of sources and
trustworthiness of data. For example, there is often
a tendency to accept a statement as necessarily true
when several observers agree. It is possible that
one may have influenced the other, or that all were
influenced by the same inaccurate source of
information.
4. Poor
logical analysis resulting from:
(a)
Oversimplification - failure to recognize the fact
that causes of events are more often multiple and
complex than single
and simple.
(b)
overgeneralization on the basis of insufficient
evidence, and false reasoning by analogy, basing
conclusions upon superficial similarities of
situations.
21 Best, op.
cit., pp. 98, 99
22 Finley,
M.I., "Generalizations in Ancient History", 1963,
p. 34
23 Best,
op.cit., pp. 109, 110
(c) Failure
to interpret words and expressions in the light of
their accepted meaning in an earlier period.
(d) Failure
to distinguish between significant facts in a
situation and those that are irrelevant or
unimportant.
5. Expression
of personal bias, as revealed by statements lifted
out of context for purposes of persuasion, assuming
too generous or uncritical an attitude toward a
person or idea (or being too unfriendly or
critical), excessive admiration for the past . . .
or an equally unrealistic admiration for the new or
contemporary, assuming that all change represents
progress.
6. Poor
reporting in a style that is dull and colourless,
too flowery or flippant, too persuasive or of the
"soap-box" type, or improper in usage. (24)
DESCRIPTIVE
RESEARCH
Descriptive
Research describes and interprets present
conditions, prevailing practices, trends and
attitudes, presently held beliefs and points of
view, or ongoing processes. In the words of John
Best,
The process
of descriptive research goes beyond mere gathering
and tabulating of data. It involves . . . analysis
and interpretation of the meaning or significance of
what is described . . . comparison or contrast . .
. measurement, classification, analysis and
interpretation.
. . . merely
describing what is does not comprise the entire
research process . . . conclusions will be based
upon comparisons, contrasts, or causal relationships
of various kinds. Thus, the discovery of meaning is
the focus of the whole process. (25)
We are here
dealing with a research method which is particularly
appropriate for investigations in the behavioral
sciences, and therefore of interest to a Masonic
research body, provided its members set their goals
higher than the mere reporting of what transpired in
the past. The results of descriptive research, in
Freemasonry, may well lead to strategies and
policies from which future generations of Masons can
profit. By its techniques, old errors can be
discovered, and new and better ways could be pointed
out in the conclusions. Best lists three types of
information, requisite to such a study, and three
steps required to solve a given problem:
The first
type of information is based upon present
conditions.....gathered by a systematic description
and analysis of the present situation.
The second
type of information involves what we may want. What
conditions are desirable?
The third
type of information is concerned with how to get
there. It may involve the opinions of experts, who
presumably know best how to reach the goal.
The first
step involves systematic analysis of present
conditions. The second step projects goals for the
future. Step three considers how to reach those
goals, which have been established by the analysis
of step two. (26)
24 ibid., p.
110
25 Ibid., pp.
116, 117
26 Ibid., pp.
118, 119
Not all
writers are in agreement on how to classify
descriptive studies. One convenient break-down into
three categories would list (1) survey studies, (2)
interrelationship studies, and (3) developmental
studies. The following discussion will explain
them.
SURVEY
STUDIES
When trying
to solve problems, governmental, political, and
industrial or business organizations often conduct
surveys, be they broad or narrow in scope. Survey
data may be collected (by the use of questionnaires
or interviews, or both) from every member of a given
population or from a carefully selected,
representative sample.
The survey
method gathers data from a relatively large number
of cases at a particular time. It is not concerned
with characteristics of individuals as individuals.
It is concerned with the generalized statistics that
result when data are abstracted from a number of
individual cases. It is essentially
cross-sectional. (27)
One well
known type of this category is the Opinion Poll,
widely applied to gauge public opinion in matters of
political prognosis or of market research. It may
well have its application to matters Masonic,
especially when the law-givers and organizers are
willing to listen to the rank and file.
In our
culture, where so many opinions on controversial
subjects are expressed by well-organized
special-interest groups, it is important to find out
what the people think. Without a means of public
opinion, the views of only the highly-organized
minorities are effectively presented. (28)
Another type
of the same category which may have practical value
in Masonic research, is Documentary Analysis. Here,
written records, rather than opinions, are examined,
much as in historical research (but historical
research is more often concerned with the distant
past, and descriptive research with the present).
Documentary Analysis may aid in describing present
conditions and practices that prevail in various
lodges and their communities, or in grand lodges and
their respective states or provinces. By it we can
find not only the apparent differences in practices
and customs, but also the underlying attitudes,
biases, interests, values, and psychological trends
of the populations investigated. Other survey types
common to areas such as business and industry, e.g.,
job analyses and market research, are outside the
scope of this paper.
INTERRELATIONSHIP STUDIES
When it is
not sufficient to obtain a description of the
existing
status of the
matter under investigation, and it is necessary to
trace the relative interdependence of two or more
groups, or phenomena, then one of the types of
interrelationship studies will apply. Within that
category, some writers distinguish between Case
Studies, Causal-comparative Studies and Correlation
Studies. Not all of these are seen by this writer
to be of benefit to research projects conducted by a
research lodge. For example, it is doubtful whether
a method heavily relying on mathematical processes
as they are involved in correlation studies, will
have any widespread application to Masonic research.
In a Case
Study, an extensive investigation is carried out
into a specific social unit - a person, family,
group, or community. Such institutions as business
groups, churches, corrective institutions,
hospitals, industrial concerns,
27 Ibid., p.
120
28 Ibid., p.
125
social
service agencies, schools and universities, and
fraternal organizations have been studied by this
method in the past. The focus of attention, in a
Case Study, is on the typicalness of the
organization studied, to isolate all factors which
sets it apart from others in society.
When the
focus of attention is directed toward a single case
or a limited number of cases, the process is
personalized . . . The case method probes deeply,
and intensively analyzes interaction between the
factors that produce change or growth..... showing
development over a period of time. (29)
As in social
research, case studies have been made of all sizes
of communities and all types of individuals
belonging to various racial, political, religious or
trade groups, or having achieved positive ends in
life such as executives, leaders or other men and
women of fame, or just the opposite, such as
alcoholics, drug-addicts, criminals and juvenile
delinquents, and school drop-outs. To cite two
examples, demittees from Masonry could be studied by
this method in order to formulate hypotheses for
overcoming the problem, as could Masons in general,
to ascertain what motivated them to join in the
first place.
Case studies
are similar to surveys, but instead of gathering
data concerning a few factors from many respondents,
an intensive study is made of a limited number of
representative cases. The case study can reveal a
wealth of information that the survey cannot
produce. Pauline Young claims that,
. . . the
most meaningful numerical studies in social science
are those which are linked with exhaustive case
studies describing accurately the interrelationships
of factors and of processes. (30)
All types of
studies have their own limitations. When conducting
a case study, the investigator must guard against
his own and his subject's desire to present the
right answer, against poor memory, unconscious
biases as well as deliberate deception, data based
on faulty perception, and the like. When properly
conducted, case studies can make useful
contributions to the body of knowledge.
Causal-comparative Studies go one step further.
They are of use when the investigator tries to
discover not only what a phenomenon is like, but, if
possible, how and why it occurs. They lend
themselves to finding out what factors accompany
certain
events, conditions, or practices. There may or may
not be a place for Causal-comparative research in
Masonic studies, and it would be very interesting to
see the outcome of such a probe into the
interrelationship of educational lodge programming
and the effect it has on members' attendance, or a
score of other possibilities. This method has been
used outside our sphere of immediate concern in
studies dealing with highway deaths and their causes
and in cancer research, not all of which is
laboratory-based. It must be recognized, however,
that this method cannot be applied indiscriminately,
and that conclusions must be carefully examined.
One of the
most serious dangers of causal-comparative research
is the post-hoc fallacy, the conclusion that,
because two factors go together, one is the cause
and the other the effect . . . Failure to single out
the really significant factor, failure to recognize
that events often have multiple rather than single
causes, basing conclusions on a too limited number
of occurrences, and failure to recognize that
factors may go together without having a
cause-effect relationship, may lead the researcher
to false or misleading conclusions. (31)
29 Ibid., p.
127
30 Young,
P.V., Scientific Social Surveys and Research, 1956,
p. 230
31 Best,
op.cit., pp. 131,132
DEVELOPMENTAL
STUDIES
The category
of developmental studies will be dealt with here
under two sub-headings: Follow-up and Trend
Studies. These are concerned not only with the
existing status of phenomena under investigation and
their interrelationships, but also with the changes
that occur as time goes on. Time may mean a matter
of months, or of years.
Follow-up
Studies, by some writers termed Growth Studies, are
conducted, basically, to establish what individuals
had profited from certain experiences as time
progressed. From this brief explanation it is quite
evident that this is one method of research which is
meaningful to the educator. However, an attempt
will be made to suggest an application of the method
to certain Masonic
The follow-up
study investigates individuals what has happened to
them, and what has been the impact upon them of the
institution and its program. By examining their
status or seeking their opinions, one may get some
idea of the adequacy or inadequacy of the
institution's program. (32)
The
"institution's program", in Masonic terms, may well
be the approach taken by a lodge, or its Master,
regarding the education of candidates, the
enlightenment of older members, or any and all
activities and fraternal interrelationships in the
life of a lodge. The newly raised brother, when
asked, may say that he was impressed, and he may add
some other complimentary comments. A Follow-up
Study, five, ten or twenty years later, may yield
valuable information regarding the "adequacy or
inadequacy" of the "program". (It should be
understood that all this is not meant to encroach on
the basic teachings, tenets and philosophy of
Freemasonry.)
Trend
Studies, also termed Predictive Studies could, at
least in theory, be applied to matters of Masonic
concern; whether or not a full study of that nature
will ever be conducted in this jurisdiction, remains
to be seen. Outside Masonry such studies
are of value,
as they may effectively guide business, industry and
community leaders in their decision making duties.
These studies are to identify trends and to predict
what is likely to take place in the future. This
type of research may combine the historical,
documentary, and survey techniques. The researcher
gathers information from documentary sources that
describe past and present events or conditions and,
after comparing the data, i.e., studying the rate of
change and the direction it takes, he predicts
events or conditions which may prevail in the
future.
This type of
study furnishes valuable data for planning programs,
in whatever area they may be. of course, such
predictions are estimates, representing tentative
conclusions only. Wars, economic recessions, great
technological discoveries, and many other unforeseen
events could hasten or arrest the process of growth
or development. (33)
Because of
the many unforeseeable factors connected with social
change, trend analyses may vary greatly in certainty
of prediction: the long-range type is merely an
estimate, short-term predictions possess greater
certainty.
32 Ibid., p.
135
33 ibid., p.
136
EXPERIMENTAL
RESEARCH
The third
type of research, Experimental Research, may be the
most sophisticated of the types discussed, and it is
widely applied in areas where controlled experiments
can be conducted to test hypotheses relating to what
results will be obtained if certain conditions are
met. Often, such studies involve control groups
which are not exposed to the same changes as the
experimental groups studied. It could be argued
that even this method has its application to the
study of phenomena identified within a voluntary
organization such as the Freemasons, but it would
take a great deal of convincing this writer that an
experiment involving Masons, or Lodges, or both,
could be conducted, and could, at the same time,
serve a useful purpose and satisfy a definite need.
PART 3 -
TOOLS OF RESEARCH
Very early in
the planning stage of a research project the
investigator will choose the type of research
procedure which he determines to yield the kind of
data necessary to test his hypothesis. He will
weigh the merits of the various methods for
collecting evidence, and from the available tools,
he will select the most appropriate for his purpose.
Each inquiry
begins with the statement of the problem; from it
arises the formulation of a hypothesis or
hypotheses. The nature of the latter will determine
the selection of the appropriate tool or
instrument. Each of these may lend itself to the
acquiring of particular data and sometimes several
different instruments must be employed to obtain the
information required. The researcher must,
therefore, be familiar with these tools, the nature
of the data they produce, their advantages and
disadvantages, and the extent of their reliability,
validity, and objectivity. The tools to be
discussed include the Questionnaire, the
Opinionnaire, the Interview, and Observation. Other
instruments, such as sociometric and psychological
testing
and
inventories, as well as methods of laboratory
experimentation, will not be discussed because of
their dubious applicability to Masonic research.
THE
QUESTIONNAIRE
When
gathering data from a population sample to answer
questions of a factual nature, a Questionnaire will
represent a suitable instrument. When opinions
rather than facts are desired, the proper instrument
to be applied is termed an Opinionnaire or Attitude
Scale.
Questionnaires may be mailed out to the respondents,
or they may be administered in person. The latter
approach has the advantage of establishing rapport
between the researcher and his subjects, and of
clarifying details should that be necessary.
The mailed
questionnaire is probably both the most used and
most criticized data-gathering device. It has been
referred to as the lazy man's way of gaining
information, although the careful preparation of a
good questionnaire takes a great deal of time,
ingenuity, and hard work. There is little doubt
that the poorly constructed questionnaires that
flood the mails have created a certain amount of
contempt . . .
Filling out
lengthy questionnaires takes a great deal of time
and effort, a favour that few senders have any right
to expect of strangers. The unfavourable reaction is
intensified when the questionnaire is long, the
subject trivial in importance, the items vaguely
worded, and the form poorly organized . . .
Unless one is
dealing with a group of respondents who have a
genuine interest in the problem under investigation,
who know the sender, or who have some common bond of
loyalty to a sponsoring institution or organization,
the rate of return is frequently disappointing . . .
Although the
foregoing discussion may seem to discredit the
questionnaire as a respectable research technique,
the attempt has been to consider the abuse or misuse
of the device. Actually, the questionnaire has
unique advantages and, properly constructed and
administered, it may serve as a most appropriate and
useful data-gathering device in a research project.
(34)
In the third
paragraph of the above quotation, Best probably
referred to alumni of a certain college as the
recipients of a questionnaire sent to them by a
graduate student of their alma mater, and their
inclination to respond out of a feeling of loyalty
and, perhaps, affection, remembering the days when
they were the ones asking favours. This writer can
see a very definite application of that quotation to
Freemasons as possible respondents to a survey which
deals with aspects very near and dear to them.
Questionnaires may be designed in a closed or an
open form, or in a combination of both, depending on
the nature of the problem and the character of the
respondents.
THE CLOSED
FORM QUESTIONNAIRE
This type
calls for short responses which may be represented
by check marks, by yes-or-no replies, or by
rank-ordering on some scale. Sometimes, provisions
are made to insert short answers in blank spaces, a
category "other" may be added, or an instruction
such as "kindly specify", to enable the researcher
to classify
even
unanticipated responses. The following example
illustrates the closed form in one of its
variations:
Why did you
desire to become a Freemason?
Please
indicate three reasons in order of importance,
using number 1 for most important, 2 for the second
most important, and 3 for the third most
important: RANK
(a) Example
set by a friend
(b) Advice of
a friend
(c)
Reputation of the Craft
(d)
Literature perused
(e) Good
fellowship expected
(f) Economic
returns expected
(g) Other
(please specify)
34 ibid., pp.
161, 162
THE OPEN FORM
QUESTIONNAIRE
Rather than
forcing the respondents to choose between rigidly
limited responses, an open-form questionnaire
permits them to answer freely in their own words and
their own frame of reference. There are, however,
disadvantages to this method which at first view
appears superior to the closed form: having no clues
to guide their thinking, they may unintentionally
omit important information, and if they lack the
ability or the time to give considerable thought to
the questions, they may not provide useful data.
Also, the task of categorizing, tabulating, and
summarizing their many different and complex answers
may be very difficult and time consuming. Using the
same example given above, an open-form item would
simply read:
Why did you
desire to become a Freemason?
and
sufficient space would be provided to accommodate
the answer. QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION
Both kinds of
questionnaires, in order to yield accurate data,
require the asking of precisely worded questions
that are apt to elicit unambiguous answers. It must
be remembered that often the same words mean
different things to different people, a fact that
calls for carefully defining and qualifying terms
that could easily be misinterpreted. Best points
out the following:
Be careful in
using descriptive adjectives and adverbs that have
no agreed-upon meaning . . . Frequently,
occasionally, and rarely do not have the same
meanings to different persons. One respondent's
occasionally may be another's rarely. Perhaps a
stated frequency - times per week, times per month -
would make this classification more precise.
The same
author offers a concise, eight-point advice under
the heading,
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD QUESTIONNAIRE
1. It deals
with a significant topic, one the respondent will
recognize as
important enough to warrant spending his time on ...
2. It seeks only that information which cannot be
obtained from other sources.
3. It is as
short as possible, only long enough to get the
essential data . . .
4. It is
attractive in appearance, neatly arranged, and
clearly duplicated or printed.
5. Directions
are clear and complete, important terms are defined,
each question deals with a single idea, all
questions are worded as simply and as clearly as
possible.....(providing for) unambiguous responses.
6. The
questions are objective, with no leading suggestions
as to the responses desired . . .
7. Questions
are presented in good psychological order,
proceeding from general to more specific responses .
. .
8. It is easy
to tabulate and interpret. It is advisable to
preconstruct a tabulation sheet, anticipating how
the data will be tabulated and interpreted, before
the final form of question is decided upon. This
working backward from a visualization of the final
analysis of data is an important step in avoiding
ambiguity in the questionnaire form.
35 Ibid., p.
165
36 Ibid., p.
170
All of the
above is good advice. In addition it should be
stated that it always pays dividends for a
researcher first to submit his questionnaire items
to his peers for criticism (in the Masonic research
lodge probably to a number of the members who are
knowledgeable in that particular area of research),
and also to administer the instrument to a small
group in a trial run, in order to ascertain whether
the questionnaire in its original form does indeed
elicit the type of responses needed, or whether it
requires further refinement. Then the necessary
changes can be made before the research instrument
is administered to the target population.
THE
OPINIONNAIRE
When instead
of factual information the researcher aims to obtain
individuals' personal feelings or attitudes, the
opinionnaire is the instrument frequently used.
Although oral methods can be employed, the most
frequent method uses a type of questionnaire that
differs from the previously discussed only in the
phrasing of the questions. It is quite likely that
an individual, when confronted with a question of
some substance, will react by voicing an opinion
which he believes conforms to expected values (which
may be the case in Masonic research). This kind of
response may be given consciously or unconsciously;
in either case, that should be anticipated by the
researcher who should construct his instrument
accordingly. The respondent may not even have given
the question any serious thought until confronted
with it. That also has to be taken into account.
Best offers words of wisdom:
Even
behaviour itself is not always a true indication of
attitude. When politicians kiss babies, their
behaviour may not be a true expression of affection
towards infants. Social custom or the desire for
social approval make many overt expressions of
behaviour mere formalities, quite unrelated to the
inward feelings of the individual . . .
With these
limitations in mind, psychologists and sociologists
have explored an interesting area of research,
basing their data upon the expressed opinions of
individuals. Several methods have
been
employed:
1. Asking the
individual directly how he feels about a subject.
This technique may employ a.....questionnaire of the
open or closed form. It may employ the interview
process, in which the respondent expresses his
opinion orally.
2. Asking the
individual to check the statements in a list with
which he is in agreement.
3. Asking the
individual to indicate his degree of agreement or
disagreement with a series of statements about a
controversial subject.
4. Inferring
his attitude from his reaction to projective
devices,
through which he may reveal his attitude
unconsciously.
(A projective
device is a data-gathering instrument which
conceals its
purpose in such a way that the subject cannot guess
how he should respond to appear in his best light.
Thus, his real characteristics are revealed.) (37)
Among the
techniques developed to measure opinions elicited by
opinionnaires or public opinion polls, are those of
L. L. Thurstone (38) and R. Likert. (39) Thurstone
constructed an attitude scale by assembling a large
number of statements concerning a topic, some mildly
favourable, favourable, and strongly
37 Ibid., pp.
173, 174
38 Thurstone,
L.L. and E.J. Chave, The Measurement of Attitudes,
1929
39 Edwards,
A. and K.C. Kenney, in Journal of Applied
Psychology, XXX, 1946.
favourable -
others mildly unfavourable, unfavourable, and
strongly unfavourable. A hundred or more judges
sorted these statements into piles, indicating their
own judgments as to the degree to which the
statement was favourable or unfavourable. For
example, following Thurstone, we may approach the
public with a survey which would sort the following
statement as extremely favourable to the Masonic
order:
"All public
servants should belong to a Masonic lodge."
Similarly, the following would be sorted as
unfavourable; "Masonic lodges should be forbidden by
law."
The extremes,
as cited here, are easily defined, but it is much
more difficult to verbalize (intelligently and with
purpose) the various stages in between. When all
responses are gathered, the number of times each
statement is included in the several piles, is
tabulated, assigned a value and a position given it
by the judges. Statements that are too broadly
scattered in the judges' sorting, are discarded as
ambiguous or irrelevant.
Another
method, that of R. Likert (1932), eliminates the use
of judges. It is as reliable as Thurstone's method,
and it is simpler. The respondent gives his answers
along a 5-point scale: strongly agree, agree,
undecided, disagree, strongly disagree. This method
arbitrarily gives a weight of 1 to 5 to the
alternative answers, and the same numerical values
are always given; for example:
"Appoint
Freemasons to public office" - strongly agree:
5 "Exclude Freemasons from public office" - strongly
disagree: 5
Although the
answers differ, they receive the same weight because
they both reveal a favourable attitude toward
Freemasons. The total score for each subject is the
sum of the values assigned to each item that he
checked.
If the
instrument consisted of 25 items, the scores would
be interpreted thus:
#Items:
Value: Score: Interpretation:
25 x 5
= 125 Most favourable response possible
25 x 4
= 100 Favourable response
25 x 3
= 75 Neutral attitude
25 x 2
= 50 Unfavourable response
25 x 1
= 25 Most unfavourable response possible
As in the
case of the questionnaire discussed earlier, it is
advisable that a pilot run be conducted to isolate
weak items and items that do not sufficiently
discriminate between respondents who obtain high and
low scores on the attitude scale.
The
interpreter should bear in mind that the 5 points on
the scale are not necessarily equally spaced, e.g.,
the interval between "strongly agree" and "agree"
may not be of the same magnitude as that between
"agree" and "undecided'.' Another word of caution is
in order: although the opinionnaire is designed for
anonymous responses, some individuals may still give
answers according to what they think they should
feel, rather than how they really feel. In spite of
these limitations, opinion measurement has merit in
the area of social research.
THE INTERVIEW
Many people
are more willing to communicate orally than in
writing, therefore, they will provide the required
data more readily in the friendly atmosphere of an
interview than on a questionnaire. Interviews can
also be conducted in the exploratory stage of
research, to be followed up by other means.
Some
interviews, termed Structured Interviews, are
rigidly organized and formal: the same questions are
presented in the same manner and order to each
subject. Even the same introductory and closing
remarks are used. Unstructured Interviews are
flexible, and although preplanned questions are
asked, they
may be altered to suit the subject and the
situation. This approach allows the interviewer to
follow up unexpected
clues and to
penetrate behind the initial answers. Best states,
After the
interviewer gains rapport, or establishes a
friendly, secure relationship with the subject,
certain types of confidential information may be
obtained that an individual might be reluctant to
put in writing. The interviewer can explain the
purpose of his investigation, and can explain more
clearly just what information he wants. If the
subject misinterprets the question, the interviewer
may follow it with a clarifying question. At the
same time, he may evaluate the sincerity and insight
of the interviewee . . .
The
preparation for the interview is a critical step in
the procedure. The interviewer must have a clear
conception of just what information he needs. He
must clearly outline the best sequence of questions
and stimulating comments that will systematically
bring out the desired responses. A written outline,
schedule or check list will provide a set plan for
the interview, precluding the possibility that the
interviewer will
fail to get
important and needed data . . .
When
interviews are not recorded by tape or other
electronic device, it will be necessary for the
interviewer to take written notes, either during the
interview or immediately thereafter . ..
As a
data-gathering technique, the interview has unique
advantages. In areas where human motivation as
revealed in reasons for actions, feeling, and
attitudes is concerned, the interview can be most
effective.
. . . This
technique is time-consuming, however, and one of the
most difficult to employ successfully. (40)
OBSERVATION
The last of
the "tools" of descriptive research to be discussed
in this paper, is direct observation as a
data-gathering technique. It may be used to obtain
data on human activities or on material objects. In
Masonic terms, the former may entail an objective,
comparative study of Brethren in action, or of
Lodges in action; the latter could be a study
concerned with all the Lodge premises in the
jurisdiction: their age and state of repair,
materials of construction, number and size of rooms,
furniture, facilities, works of art, but also the
financial end, utilization by other organizations,
and other relevant aspects. Best contributes the
following thoughts:
. . .
observation as a research technique must always be
expert, directed by a specific purpose, systematic,
carefully focused, and thoroughly recorded . . .
The observer
must know just what to look for. He must be able to
distinguish between the significant aspects of the
situation and factors that have little or no
importance to the investigation. of course,
objectivity is essential, and careful and accurate
methods of measuring and recording are employed.
The use of the check list, score card, or some other
type of inquiry may help to objectify and
systematize the process . . . (41)
40 Best,
op.cit., pp. 186, 187
41 Ibid., p.
182
PART 4 - THE
RESEARCH REPORT
This paper is
prepared for the sole purpose of being presented to
FIAT LUX LODGE OF RESEARCH; therefore, the following
discussion concerning the writing of the report will
not touch on the customary requirements associated
with university theses and dissertations, reports to
institutions like the National Research Council, nor
on the preparation of articles to be published in
scientific journals. Any omissions of do's and
don'ts the reader may discern, have been committed
for just that reason. What remains is what still
applies to a Masonic research paper, and it conforms
to the usages of the academic community.
THE FORMAT
Unless the
paper is brief (and few thoroughly researched papers
can be brief), it should contain the following: (a)
the title and author; (b) an abstract or precis, (c)
the body of the report consisting of hypotheses, the
evidence and associated features, and the
conclusions; (d) a summary restating the conclusions
(this is not a duplication of the abstract up
front); (e) appendices if applicable; and (f)
acknowledgements and the bibliography. At times it
may be advisable to place a table of contents ahead
of the body of the report; this applies when it is
a lengthy
paper and when it is subdivided into distinct
sections or chapters.
The abstract
contains all of the report in condensed form, for
the benefit of the peruser who will gain from it
sufficient information on whether or not the paper
is of interest or concern to him. The summary at
the end, if thought to be valuable, recapitulates
the salient points or findings of the study but
does not
explain the why and how of the research techniques
used. In a sense, the use of an abstract, the body
of the report of course, and a summary, complies
with one of the recommended practices speakers are
advised to use: "First you tell them what you are
going to tell them; then you tell them; and
afterwards
you tell them
what you told them."
The body of
the report itself should be properly introduced. It
depends upon the subject and its complexity whether
this can be done in a sentence or two, or whether
the introduction amounts to something like a
chapter. In any case, acquainting the reader with
what is to follow, is a necessary step in preparing
him for properly understanding the author's work. A
good introduction stimulates interest and motivates
the reader to peruse the document to its end.
The next
step, within the body of the report, consists of the
presentation of the evidence and its analysis.
Because of the wide variety of studies and kinds of
data that exist no specific direction can be given
for organizing this section of the report. The
conclusions announce whether the findings of the
study confirmed or rejected the original
hypotheses. If the
conclusions
are found to modify the existing theory, this fact
is discussed. If the investigation raised questions
that suggest further research, this is stated.
The summary
has been briefly explained above. In addition, one
should remember not to treat it as an afterthought
and not to contaminate it by allowing previously
held convictions, not tested by the research study,
to creep in. It should be written so that a person,
reading only the summary, may obtain real benefit
from it.
THE STYLE OF
WRITING
Campbell's
style manual, adopted for this publication, and
adhered to by this writer, is listed in the
bibliography, but the Brother who undertakes to do
research for the benefit of FIAT LUX LODGE OF
RESEARCH and her publication, Vox Lucis, will do
well enough as long as he adheres to good usage,and
presents his report in a creative, clear and concise
style. The editor will do the rest, but he is
happiest when he has little to amend.
The findings
of a study are of little value if they are not
communicated effectively. Entertaining, amusing, or
persuading the reader is not the objective of the
researcher, nor does he merely discuss his opinions
concerning a problem. His arguments must be based
on the factual data he has collected, and he must
report whether they confirm or reject his
hypothesis. The writer must also anticipate that
his report will be read by knowledgeable and
discerning readers, experts in the field, who may
question the interpretations he placed upon the data
and the accuracy of the footnotes. A research
report must stand the test of critical scholarship
supplied by other investigators.
Since a
pompous presentation impedes rather than increases
understanding, an able writer puts his report into
simple straightforward words and sentences, and
defines unfamiliar terms
or uses them
in a context from which their meaning can be
inferred. Nevertheless,a formal rather than
colloquial style is employed, but formal writing
need not drain all spontaneity and individuality
from the ideas to be conveyed. Also, familiar,
concrete nouns arouse clearer mental images than
carefully planned profundities.
Of course,
the generally accepted rules of correct English
usage should prevail. The report is written in the
third person; personal pronouns such as I, me, we,
you, our, and us - are not
used.
Simplified spelling is not acceptable in research
reports. Punctuation must conform to good usage and
must be consistent. Needless to say the spelling
must be correct, whether concerning English words or
foreign terms. The editor casts a watchful eye over
these matters, and the proofreader watches out for
correct syllable division (to avoid the horrible
word "syllabification"). The past tense is used when
referring to what the present researcher or other
investigators before him have done. The present
tense is used when referring the reader to material
before him and
when mentioning general truths and well-established
principles.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A research worker
acknowledges his indebtedness to other authors not only
as a matter of honesty and courtesy, but also as a means
of indicating the quality and thoroughness of his
investigation. To some readers, especially other
researchers, the footnotes and bibliography are as
important as the textual material. Therefore, the writer
of a research paper should include all the information
that others will need to locate the source materials
with a minimum of effort. There are specific style
rules in existence, for footnotes as well as
bibliography listings. These will be discussed
hereunder.
QUOTATIONS
Studding a report
indiscriminately with quotations is a sign of shoddy
workmanship and of little original effort. However,
quotations are of genuine value when presenting ideas in
the words of their originators, properly crediting them
for their thoughts (an approach used throughout this
paper). At times, a writer would paraphrase, rather
than quote verbatim, from the work of another author; in
that case he will credit the source by a superscript at
the end of the passage, while all the time having used
his own words rather than those of the original. A
footnote will give credit to the author. Quotations as
such, however, are word for word reproductions from the
source, also followed by a superscript and appropriate
documentation in the footnote, but it must be remembered
that absolutely no change in the words, even the
spelling and the punctuation, use of capital letters or
not, and the like, must be made. One does have the
liberty, however, to omit irrelevant portions from the
paragraph quoted by replacing them with three spaced
dots:..... and continuing, or ending the quotation as
may be appropriate. Under no circumstances must
anything be changed from the original text.
Short direct
quotations not over three typewritten lines may be
enclosed in quotation marks and run into the text,
except where for the sake of emphasis they are made to
stand out from the rest of the text. Long direct
quotations, of more than three typewritten lines in
length, are set off from the rest of the text in a
separate indented paragraph or paragraphs, and are
single-spaced.
FOOTNOTES
Vox Lucis, the
publication of this Research Lodge, has adopted one of
the most widely used forms of footnoting, that of
providing the explanatory, bibliographical information
or a cross-referencing with other parts of the text, on
the same page on which the passage referred to appears.
This is done by repeating the superscript (consecutively
numbered throughout the paper) below a line at the
bottom of the page, and then listing the following; the
author's name, the title (of the article or journal, or
of the book), the year of publication if desired, and
the page number on which the quotation may be found.
(More specific source data are given in the
bibliography, which see.)
To save space,
full bibliographical information is given in the
footnotes only the first time that a reference is made
to a source; thereafter, the commonly accepted
abbreviations are used:
Ibid. (from Latin
"ibidem" = in the same place) indicates the same page of
the same work as in the immediately preceding reference.
Ibid., p. 8 This
also refers to the same work, but to a different page.
ibid. can be used as many times as necessary, provided
that no intervening references to other books occur. If
there are intervening footnotes, and the writer recites
a work previously footnoted, he uses
op.cit. (from
Latin "opere citato" = in the work cited) following the
author's name and, therefore, with a lower case o:
Smith, op.cit.,
p. 234
When reference is
made to more than one title (book or article) by the
same author, op.cit. cannot be used, but instead the
author's name, title, and page reference must be given.
When a second but nonconsecutive reference follows,
referring to the same work and the same page previously
cited, one uses the term
loc.cit. (from
Latin "loco citato" = in the place cited), also preceded
by the author's name, e.g., Smith, loc.cit.
As articles to be
published in Vox Lucis are first presented to the editor
and the proofreader, the author need not concern himself
too much with all the details of capitalizing and
italicizing footnote information; the proofreader will
look after that, but he should supply the editor and the
proofreader with all essential material required for
inclusion in the footnotes. In other words, it is more a
matter of content than of style.
THE BIBLIOGRAPHY
As with the
footnotes, bibliographical data must be supplied in
their essentials. While footnotes cite exact places
where cited or paraphrased material can be found, the
purpose of the bibliography is quite different. It
lists in alphabetical order all the references used by
the writer. The alphabetical order refers to the
surnames of the (principal) authors, not to the titles
of the works used. The bibliography must include all
the sources which were consulted (and usually cited
somewhere in the text), but no more. It would be poor
practice, bordering on the unethical, to build up an
impressive bibliography by listing works related to the
study but not used at all.
The listing of
bibliographical information follows this sequence:
(1) Surname of
the author, followed by given name or initials, e.g.,
Block, Marc, Finley, M. I.,
(2) The title,
taken from the title page in full, underlined in the
manuscript and to be printed in italics, e.g.:
The Historian's
Craft, (manuscript) The Historian's Craft, (as printed),
or in the case of an article, the title is placed
between quotation marks and the name of the publication
is underlined or italicized, e.g.,
"Generalizations
in Ancient History" in Generalizations in the Writing of
History.
(3) Edition
number, if more than one, e.g., 2nd ed.,
(4) Volume number
if more than one. In the case of periodicals month, day
and year may be required.
(5) Place of
publication, followed by colon, e.g., Englewood Cliffs:
(6) Publisher,
e.g., Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
(7) Year of
publication, e.g., 1970. This year will be found on the
title page, or on the second page, and may be the year
of the copyright.
An examination of
the bibliographies appearing in Vox Lucis, and the
following general rules will answer some common
questions:
(A) If a book has
two or more authors, the second and third authors' names
are written in the normal order of given names and
surnames, e.g., Aspeslet, A. O., R. J. L. Borland and W.
J. Collett, If there are more than three authors, the
name of the first is given, followed by et al. (and
others), e.g., Aberdeen, R. G. J. et al.,
(B) If a book is
published under the name of an editor, this is so
indicated by (ed.) in parentheses, e.g., Fox, F. G.
(ed.),
(C) When two or
more works by the same author or editor are listed, the
first entry gives the name in full; subsequent entries
need not repeat the name but an unbroken line of about
six spaces in length can be used as a substitute. The
titles of that author's work are then alphabetized under
his name.
(D) When
identifying the place of publication, the name of the
city is sufficient if it is well known; otherwise the
country should be given also.
(E) When quoting
from an encyclopedia composed of articles by numerous
authors, this should be done as shown in this example:
Walzer, Richard R. Arabic Philosophy", Encyclopedia
Britannica, 1959, Vol. 2
When the
encyclopedia does not list individual contributors, this
format applies:
Coil, H. W.,
"Apron Lecture", Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, 1961, p.
64.
In the case of
well known encyclopedias, other publishing information
may be omitted.
(F) Dictionaries
are sometimes included in bibliographies when it was
found necessary to cite specific definitions. These are
treated in the
same way as encyclopedias.
Many more
specialized cases can occur, therefore, the writer
should - the editor and proofreader must - consult an
authoritative source on bibliographical style such as
the one by W. G. Campbell listed in the bibliography of
this paper.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alberta, The
Grand Lodge of, Ceremony for Investing the officers
of a Lodge, Calgary, 1973
----,
Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Alberta, Calgary,
1969/1980
Best, John W.,
Research in Education, 2nd ed., Englewood Cliffs:
Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1970
Block, Marc, The
Historian's Craft, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.,
1953
Campbell, W. G.,
Form and Style in Thesis writing, 3rd ed., Boston:
Houghton-Mifflin Company, 1969
Canada in the
Province of Ontario, Grand Lodge of, meeting the
Challenge, Hamilton: Masonic Holdings, 1976
Carr, Harry
(ed.), Ars Quatuor Coronatorum London: Quatuor Coronati
Lodge No. 2076, any recent edition
Coil, Henry
Wilson, Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, New York: Macoy
Publishing & Masonic Supply Company, Inc., 1961
Drever, James, A
Dictionary of Psychology, Harmondsworth, Middlesex,
England: Penguin Books Ltd., 1964
Edwards, Allen L.
and Katherine C. Kenney, "A Comparison of the Thurstone
and Likert Techniques of Attitude Scale Construction",
Journal of Psychology, Vol. XXX, February 1946, pp.
72-83
Finley, M. I.,
"Generalizations in Ancient History" in L. Gottschalk
(ed.), Generalizations in the writing of History,
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963
Hillway, Tyrus,
Introduction to Research, 2nd ed., Boston:
Houghton-Mifflin Company, 1964
Onions, C. T.
(ed.), The Oxford International Dictionary, Unabridged,
Toronto: Leland Publishing Company Limited, 1958
Thurstone, L. L.
and E. J. Chave, The Measurement of Attitudes, Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1929
Young, Pauline
V., Scientific Social Surveys and Research, Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1956 Used with permission. |