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.
Table of Contents
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
