Practical Research: Planning and Design, 7th Edition [Paperback]

Paul D. Leedy (Author), Jeanne Ellis Ormrod (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0139603603 | ISBN-13: 978-0139603600 | Publication Date: June 13, 2000 | Edition: 7

For graduate or advanced undergraduate research courses. This easy-to-read manual is for the beginning researcher in any discipline. Practical Research guides the student, step by step, through the research process, from problem selection through writing up results. Ideally suited for self-instruction, the text provides all of the basics necessary to complete an undergraduate or graduate research project in any discipline. It is appropriate as either a primary or supplementary textbook in graduate or advanced undergraduate research courses.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Practical Research is a comprehensive guide to research methodology. Ideally suited for self-instruction, the text provides all of the basics necessary to complete an undergraduate or graduate research project in any discipline.

Features of the seventh edition:

• Guidelines, Checklists, Computer Prompts, and excerpts from actual research projects guide the reader through all phases of the research process.
• Many new topics have been added, including: On-line research, evaluating literature, identifying appropriate measurement instruments, criteria for evaluating qualitative research, cross-sectional studies, and observation studies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 318 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 7 edition (June 13, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0139603603
• ISBN-13: 978-0139603600
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #104,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > Science & Math > Experiments, Instruments & Measurement > Methodology & Statistics
  • #88 in Books > Education & Reference > Education > Research

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy To Read and Understand, September 15, 2002

By 

Mr. JKW "jkw" (Honolulu, Hawai'i) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Practical Research: Planning and Design, 7th Edition (Paperback)

Research, it is safe to say, is probably not the average person's favorite course to take in school. The subject itself, for most, is bland and boring and probably not very accessible from a learning standpoint.

Enter Leedy and Omrod. "Practical Research" is just an outstanding book to learn research from or to teach a research course with. First off, the book is small and it is written in simple language with "practical" examples. This makes the subject a lot more accessible to the average reader. Second, it contains lots of helpful hints and checklists to help make the learning process easier. The companion website for this book contains practice tests that the students can use to gauge their learning (as well as e-mail results to get feedback from the instructor).

Though the book is short, it is still very thorough and to the point. There is no tradeoff in quality of information for brevity which is a great point in favor of this book. Overall, this book is a superior learning tool because it communicates the research process very clearly. A student at any level, be it, middle school, secondary school, undergraduate or graduate, can easily learn the research process from this text.

We used this as one of the texts for a graduate level research methods course I took and it was a big hit with all enrolled in the class.

Here's a quick rundown of the books topics:

1. What is Research?

2. Research Tools

3. Identifying the research problem

4. Literature Review

5. Research design planning

6. Research proposal writing

7. Qualitative research

8. Historical research

9. Descriptive research

10. Experimental and Causal-Comparative designs

11. Statistical techniques for quantitative data analysis

12. Writing and publishing the research report

Overall, "Practical Research" is a great learning solution whether you are independently trying to learn research methods or if you are an instructor looking for a great textbook for your class.

Highly Recommended

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Research Writing, December 23, 2008

By 

Rheadawn Brown "RDBrown" (Smyrna, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Practical Research: Planning and Design, 7th Edition (Paperback)

This is a good tool for research writing; however, the newer edition has some newer tips for Internet-based research that isn't mentioned in-depth in this edition.