Synopses & Reviews
Practical Research is a comprehensive and practical guide to research methodology.¿ Suited for self-instruction, this easy-to-read manual guides the beginning researcher, step by step, through the entire research process with practical suggestions. This “do-it-yourself, understand-it-yourself” approach is designed to help research students understand the fundamental structure of quality research in any discipline including:
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Accounting • Agriculture • Anthropology • Architecture • Art Education • Behavioral Research • Biology • Business Administration • Business Communication • Business Education • Business Law • Chemistry • Child and Family Studies • Civil/Construction Technology • Clothing and Textiles • Communications • Computer Information Systems • Counseling • Criminal Justice • Criminology • Decision Science • Economics • Education • Electronic Technology • English • Environmental Technology • Foods and Nutrition • Foreign Languages • Geography • Geology/Oceanography • Government • Health Sciences • History • Hospitality Careers • Insurance • Journalism • Library Science • Literature • Management • Marketing • Mathematics • Mechanical/Industrial Technology • Minority Studies • Music/Musicology • Nursing • Nutrition • Philosophy • Physical Education • Physics/Astronomy • Political Science • Psychology • Real Estate • Religion • Sociology • Social Work • Speech/Speech Therapy • Taxation • Technical Trades • Theater • Theology • Urban Studies
Review
"I wanted to thank you (and Dr. Leedy) for Practical Research!
Home Run!
Bravo!
Kudos!
Woo Hoo!
You have produced the BEST text ever on practical research AND writing a dissertation.
Not only will your work help graduate students understand and navigate the research process, it will also streamline the entire dissertation journey and ease the load for my committee members."
Synopsis
Written in uncommonly engaging and elegant prose, Practical Research: Planning and Design is a "do-it-yourself, understand-it-yourself” manual designed to help students in any discipline understand the fundamental structure of quality research and the methodical process that leads to valid and reliable results. The authors emphasize two things: 1) that quality research demands planning and design; and, 2) how research projects can be executed effectively and professionally.
This text guides the reader, step-by-step, from the selection of a problem, through the process of conducting authentic research, to the preparation of a completed report, with practical suggestions based on a solid theoretical framework and sound pedagogy. With broad coverage applicable to any discipline, Practical Research is valuable to students planning to conduct their own research projects as well as to anyone wanting to participate in thoughtful, methodical evaluation of published research reports.
About the Author
Paul D. Leedy is late of the American University.
Jeanne Ellis Ormrod holds a B.A. degree in psychology from Brown University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from The Pennsylvania State University. For more than twenty years she was a faculty member at the University of Northern Colorado, where she taught courses in learning and cognition, educational psychology, measurement, and research methods; she is currently Professor Emerita of Psychological Sciences at UNC. Dr. Ormrod has published numerous research articles but is probably best known for this textbook and several other Pearson books: Human Learning (6th ed., 2012); Educational Psychology: Developing Learners (7th ed., 2011); Essentials of Educational Psychology (3rd ed., 2012); Our Minds, Our Memories: Enhancing Thinking and Learning at All Ages (2011); and Child Development and Education (with Teresa McDevitt; 5th ed. in press).
Table of Contents
PART I: THE FUNDAMENTALS Chapter 1. The Nature and Tools of Research
PART II: FOCUSING YOUR RESEARCH EFFORTS
Chapter 2. The problem: the Heart of the Research Process
Chapter 3. Review of the Related Literature
Chapter 4. Planning Your Research Project
Chapter 5. Writing the Research Proposal
PART III: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES
Chapter 6. Qualitative Research
Chapter 7. Historical Research
PART IV: QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES
Chapter 8. Descriptive Research
Chapter 9. Experimental, Quasi-Experimental, and Ex Post Facto Designs
Chapter 10. Mixed-Methods Research
Chapter 11. Strategies for Analyzing Quantitative Data
PART V: PREPARING THE RESEARCH REPORT
Chapter 12. Technical Details: Style, Format, and Organization of the Research Report
APPENDICES
Appendix A. Using a Spreadsheet: Microsoft Excel
Appendix B. Using SPSS
REFERENCES