Rating: 
Summary: Nuts and Bolts of Writing a Research Paper
Review: This book, Educational Research, by L. R. Gay and Peter Airasian is an excellent source with an immense amount of information on how to conduct a research project and write the research paper.Although the main emphasis is on action research in the educational setting, this book provides easy to understand, step by step directions for any research project including choosing a topic, gathering research from both existing materials as well as collecting and analyzing new data, and stucturing the actual final written presentation. Different types of action research, measuring instruments and statistical analyzing methods were also covered thoroughly. The chapters about methods of gathering data were described in great detail. I found the text easy to read (even the more difficult concepts) and explained well enough for a beginning researcher but with valuable information for the veteran, also. The text structure is reader friendly and reviews many of the major concepts in subsequent chapters. I especially found the examples intertwined with the text and the chapter summaries very helpful. Tables and charts were clear and well designed. The authors' style of writing makes the reader feel as if he/she were merely having a very easy discussion about a very difficult idea. After reading this text, anyone would feel more confident with the daunting task of conducting and presenting an action research project.
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