Practical Research: Planning and Design

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:

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

For a wide variety of graduate or undergraduate research courses.

Written in uncommonly engaging and elegant prose, this text is a "do-it-yourself, understand-it-yourself” manual designed to help research students in any discipline understand the fundamental structure of quality research and the methodical process that leads to genuinely significant results. It 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.

Suited for the core text in any introductory research course or even for self-instruction, this text will show students two things: 1) that quality research demands planning and design; and, 2) how their own research projects can be executed effectively and professionally.