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This review has been accessed  times since July 29, 2001
Leedy, Paul. D, and Ormrod, Jeanne E. (2001). Practical
Research: Planning and Design. (7th Ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Pp. xx + 318
$55 ISBN 0-13-960360-3
Reviewed by Marie Miller-Whitehead
Tennessee Valley Educators for Excellence
July 29, 2001
It is difficult to argue with success. Practical
Research: Planning and Design has taken the buffet table
approach: it provides an overview, compendium, and thesaurus
of general principles of qualitative and quantitative
research quite remarkable in breadth. Continuously in print
since 1974, the seventh edition of Leedy and Ormrod's
paperback research handbook has gone high-tech, now
featuring a Companion Website online research tutorial
designed by Dan Kaufman as well as a syllabus management
system for professors. Following the precepts of programmed
instruction, the new features provide additional distance
learning capability to a book intended by its authors to be
suitable for self-instruction (Gagné, 1985;
Gagné, Briggs, & Wager, 1992).
The online
ancillaries could prove more tempting to professors than
their students, products of the information age and
computerized classrooms, although the content may seem
overly simplistic to experienced researchers seeking the
theoretical, the arcane, or detailed and indepth analyses
specific to their particular field of research such as
social work, education, English literature, chemistry, or
history. However, Practical Research is quite
readable, and eminently suitable as a resource for the
undeclared major seeking direction or for an introductory
graduate or undergraduate course on the scientific method,
providing a soupçon of examples ranging from
accounting, cartography, history, international relations,
and education to urban studies. Beginning researchers who
wonder what they will be doing for the next 30 years in
their chosen field of research may find some of the answers
here. The text provides content analyses of parts from six
different dissertations and while not a style manual the
brief examples generally conform to either APA or the
Chicago Manual of Style. Students who intend to submit
formal research proposals would be well advised to obtain a
copy of the appropriate style manual.
The book is
well organized into five sections: fundamentals, focusing
the study, qualitative methodologies, quantitative
methodologies, and preparation of the research report. Each
of the twelve chapters provides an overview of accepted
standards and practices relative to the chapter topic, with
step-by-step directions for its completion. While the
authors emphasize the use of electronic media, e-mail, and
online database resources as organizational tools for
research they do not omit discussion of the pencil and
paper, note and bibliography card method for those who
prefer or are limited to the more traditional approach.
Each chapter contains visual organizers, suggestions for use
of figures, graphs, and tables, brief examples of actual
research and results, checklists, a project, at least one
quiz, and concludes with a brief list of references to
established authorities. The layout is visually pleasing
and computer prompts appear in appropriate places to direct
the student to an online tutorial or class bulletin
board.
The authors
emphasize the importance of inquiry and familiarity with the
data, suggesting that their data be organized in as many
ways as possible to identify patterns that might lead to
research questions and significant discoveries; however,
several of the examples could lead the unwary student to
make the assumption that cause and effect relationships
exist in the data when this is unlikely to be true, for
example a data set in which test scores are progressively
higher according to alphabetical order of the students'
names. Therefore, each chapter should be read and studied
carefully and visualized within the context of the preceding
chapters. Although sections on content analysis and
factorial designs are included, research questions related
to more specialized qualitative and quantitative techniques
might naturally lead to reading additional texts.
Research
ethics, permissions, and protection of subjects are
mentioned in this latest edition, albeit briefly, but an
important area for most student researchers and their
professors that receives little attention here is selecting
and working with a faculty committee who will approve and
direct the research, a step that generally precedes the IRB
approval process (Cone & Foster, 1993; Sjoberg & Nett, 1968;
Sproull, 1995). This is an area that should be addressed by
the course professor as early as possible so that students
will be aware of the importance of the role of student and
faculty committee relationships in completion of a research
program.
References
Cone, J. D., & Foster, S. L. (1993). Dissertations and
theses from start to finish: Psychology and related fields.
Washington, D.C.: American Psychological
Association.
Gagné, R. M. (1985). The conditions of
learning. (4th Ed.). New York:
Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
Gagné, R., Briggs, L., & Wager, W. (1992).
Principles of instructional design. Fort Worth:
Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.
Sjoberg, G., & Nett, R. (1968). A methodology for
social research. New York: Harper.
Sproull, N. (1995). Handbook of research methods: A
guide for practitioners and students in the social
sciences. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.
About the Reviewer
Marie Miller-Whitehead, Ph.D.
Director
Tennessee Valley Educators for Excellence
TVEE.ORG
P.O. Box 2882
Muscle Shoals, AL 35662
Email: marie@tvee.org
Homepage: http://members.aol.com/tnmarie/mmm.htm
Research interests include program evaluation and research,
school district accountability indicators, computer assisted
learning, educational politics and policy, educational
equity for minorities and underserved populations.
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