Practical Research: Planning and Design, 7th Edition (Paperback)

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

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

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.

From the Publisher

Practical Research is dedicated to one end: to teach students basic research methodology and scientific method. The approach of this text is broad. The research principles set forth in this text are equally applicable to all disciplines where the tenets of the scientific method are valid for the solution of problems and the ultimate pursuit of truth. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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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 (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #354,029 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 82 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 (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A valuable book with some useful advice., October 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Practical Research: Planning and Design (Paperback)

This would be a very useful book for anyone who is interested in the philosophy of research, or who is writing a research proposal, or simply trying to work out what to do for their research project. Chapter 1 includes "What research is" and "What research is not" - a good start! Other chapters look at the tools of research, how to choose a problem, reviewing related literature, statistical techniques for looking at data and so on. A particularly useful section looks at common reasons for project bids to be rejected (Ch 6). There's plenty of good advice throughout the book.

I found the computer prompts less useful. They covered things like email, newsgroups and the internet which I already use extensively. However, for a student just starting out they would be useful pointers.

Since the book is not specific to any level or subject of research there are bound to be parts that are not relevant to the individual reader. But I feel there is something for everyone.

Overall, I think this would be a useful book for a research group leader to have on their bookshelf.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for senior projects and thesis, October 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Practical Research: Planning and Design (Paperback)

I have been trying to organize my thoughts for my thesis for quite sometime. One of my advisors suggested this book to help jump start things. The book outlines the literature review, abstract, etc and gives great examples as it goes. This book helped save my sanity during such a hectic time. The discussions about email and the internet are very outdated, however for those new to computers and internet research, it is a great intro.