Reading and Understanding Research
- Lawrence F. Locke - University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA
- Stephen J. Silverman
- Waneen Wyrick Spirduso
Ideal for students, novice researchers, or professionals, this indispensable resource serves as a road map for readers who need to analyze and apply research findings. It helps them think critically about the credibility of what they are reading by showing them how to identify problems and develop constructive questions.
Key Features
- Assumes no prior knowledge of research procedures
- Provides readers with a step-by-step format for decoding the complex language and formats used in reports and reviews
- Includes the most common formats for both quantitative and qualitative inquiry
- Offers both illustrative examples and powerful training exercises
- Gives specific attention to strategies for critically appraising reported research
- Presents completely updated references as well as an annotated bibliography
Intended Audience
This text is appropriate for both upper-level undergraduate and graduate students across the social sciences enrolled in introductory research courses as well as students in professional preparation programs.
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This is a useful and essential book for graduate students who want to have a solid understanding of research and dissemination of results. I use this book as a complementary textbook for my Educational research course.
The textbook meets the needs of our program, i.e., with a practical focus on research that is useful for clinicians in training.
This text will be used in my summer 2014 methods class. It really allows for students to understand research in a meaningful way.
very practical, clear writing style; accessible to undergraduate students; straight forward and thorough presentation of concepts.
This is a really useful text which I will be strongly recommending to my students. There is an excellent breadth of topics meaning that it is useful for all the students on our wide variety of courses.
easy to read and thorough coverage of material for upper level undergraduates
Very good introductory book for teaching students how to read research. I use it for an interdisciplinary class for first year master's students. They each enter the class with a range of academic experiences and backgrounds. This book is a good place to start.
Book is exactly the right level for our master's program that serves practitioners who need to understand research (but not necessarily conduct it).
We liked this book but are reflecting on which course it might be used in other than the DOL 720 Critical Inquiry course for which we were considering it. I would highly recommend the book it simply didn't work in the course for which we were reviewing it.
Sample Materials & Chapters
Chapter 1 - The Research Report
Chapter 4 - The Use, Misuse, and Misunderstanding of Research