Tricks and Tools for Researchers - Becker's "Tricks of the Trade"
Howard Becker's Tricks, as noted in the title of his book Tricks of the Trade, may seem cliche' as far as titles go. Yet, Becker clarifies this concept on page 6 of the book when he states "I am talking about the trade of sociologists or... about the trade of studying society... The tricks I have in mind are tricks that help those doing that kind of work to get on with it, whatever professional title they use."
What exactly are these tricks the author has in mind?
Becker says on page two "That's what a trick is - a simple device that helps you solve a problem. In this case, the device of looking for the network in which definitions arise and are used." In other words, a trick is a solution, and in Becker's book, the content focuses on solving problems, and more specifically, those problems often seen as theoretical.
Throughout the sections of the book, a primary concern (as noted by the author) is in social science research, focusing on the following areas; Imagery, Sampling, Concepts, and Logic.
Imagery suggests controlling the way we see things, "so that we are not simply the unknowing carriers of the conventional world's thoughts." Sampling considers how we choose what we actually look at, and what have in mind when we implicitly formulate our understanding and our thoughts, by maximizing the chance of finding what will make us question what we think we know. Concepts considers the making of our ideas, and new ways to think about things. Logic suggests methods to manipulate ideas through formal logic.
In Becker's final section of the book, Logic, he suggests that there are ways (or tricks, possibly) to get more of what we want to know without getting more data. This logic can be described as a method of manipulating what we know according to a guideline or set of guidelines to produce something new. An example, found on page 146, refers to the use of periodic tables, allowing physicists to learn of new elements.
It is with this in mind that the modern day researcher in the information era must utilize what is already known, to extract knowledge and further information to allow deeper insight into the research topic at hand.
Reference
Becker, Howard S. (1998). Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You're Doing It. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.