Practical Research Planning and Design

An engaging, cross-disciplinary guide to research methodology
Practical Research: Planning and Design is a do-it-yourself, how-to manual for planning and conducting research. Suitable for a wide variety of courses in basic research methodology, the book uses a conversational tone, step-by-step instructions, and practical suggestions to guide the reader from the selection of a problem to the preparation of a completed report.

The 12th Edition has been updated to include the latest technology-based strategies and online tools. Other key changes include a better balance between quantitative and qualitative methods and the addition of a new chapter on action research.

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Jeanne Ellis Ormrod holds a B.A. degree in psychology from Brown University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in educational psychology from The Pennsylvania State University. For more than twenty years she was a faculty member at the University of Northern Colorado, where she taught courses in learning and cognition, educational psychology, measurement, and research methods; she is currently Professor Emerita of Psychological Sciences at UNC. Dr. Ormrod has published numerous research articles but is probably best known for this book and several other textbooks: Human Learning (7th ed., 2016); Educational Psychology: Developing Learners (9th ed., coauthored by Eric and Lynley Anderman, 2014); Essentials of Educational Psychology (5th ed., coauthored with Brett D. Jones, 2018); and Child Development and Education (6th ed., 2016, all editions coauthored with Teresa McDevitt).

Paul D. Leedy is late of the American University.

PART I: THE FUNDAMENTALS  
1. THE NATURE AND TOOLS OF RESEARCH                                              
PART II: FOCUSING YOUR RESEARCH EFFORTS                                             
2. THE PROBLEM: THE HEART OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS                  
3. REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE                                             
4. PLANNING YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT                                                 
5. WRITING THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL                                                     
PART III: RESEARCH DESIGNS                                                                                
6. DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH                                                                         
7. EXPERIMENTAL, QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL, AND EX POST FACTO DESIGNS                                                                                                                  8. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS                                                    
9. MIXED-METHODS DESIGNS                                                                      
10. ACTION RESEARCH                                                                                   
PART IV: DATA ANALYSES                                                                                       
11. ANALYZING QUANTITATIVE DATA                                                      
12. ANALYZING QUALITATIVE AND MIXED-METHODS DATA                  
PART V: RESEARCH REPORTS                                                                                
13. PLANNING AND PREPARING A FINAL RESEARCH REPORT                

APPENDICES                                                                                                                
Appendix A: USING A SPREADSHEET: MICROSOFT EXCEL                                   
Appendix B: USING SPSS                                                                                                
GLOSSARY                                                                                                                      
REFERENCES