Practical Research: Planning and Design (8th Edition)

Written in uncommonly engaging, lucid, and elegant prose, this book is an “understand-it-yourself, do-it-yourself” manual designed to help readers 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 to study, 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. This book will show readers two things: 1) that quality research demands planning and design; and, 2) how their own research projects can be executed effectively and professionally. For researchers and research analysts in any discipline.

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


Great book for senior projects and thesis   October 7, 2003
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

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.


Practical Research Book Review   February 2, 2006
Claudia G. Monterrubio (Stillwater, OK)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Great book, it is very easy to follow and understand. It provides great samples and guides on how to do a research paper. I certainly would recommend it to anyone that needs help or guidance on research project writing.


Great research textbook   November 4, 2007
Michelle Klaahsen-Wilson (Iowa, USA)
Practical Research: Planning and Design (8th Edition)

The book in question was purchased for a course in Research, for Master's level learning. It is a very informative book which really seems to get to the heart of the matter. It applies to the subject well, and helps a lot.


Practical Research: Planning and Design   May 15, 2008
Connie (North Carolina)
A great book for a graduate student like me. It helps you how to pick a topic, have some questions concerning a topic, and make them into a research that is in your words. It is an excellent book for a beginning researcher, guiding him or her step by step, through the entire research process with practical suggestions. It is a great book if you want to have a quality research in any discipline. Good luck.