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How to Read, Evaluate, and Use Research
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How to Read, Evaluate, and Use Research



June 2023 | 264 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

This text helps students learn how to select, read, understand, and evaluate the research they read. Many texts focus on the process of conducting research and not as much on how students in applied disciplines can assess and apply that research in their future professional lives; this text aims to fill that gap. Organized in the same way as a research article, the book includes a chapter on literature reviews and research questions, followed by three methods chapters (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods), and a chapter on research conclusions and implications. The book includes a wealth of pedagogical features including Learning Objectives, Check Your Understanding questions, a Guided Application exercise in each chapter, suggested further reading, and a glossary. Three research articles, used as exemplars throughout, are included in the appendix to the book.


 
Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview
Organizing Terms and Concepts

 
Why Scientific Literacy Is Important

 
Nature of Data-Driven Research: Introduction to Research Methods

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 2: Introduction and Overview of Data-Driven Articles
Searching for Scientific Evidence

 
How to Cull Through Data-Driven Articles

 
Sections of Data-Driven Articles

 
Results

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 3: Literature Review
What Is Involved in the Construction of a Useful Literature Review?

 
What Are Some of the Potential Goals of a Literature Review?

 
What Is in the Literature Review?

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 4: Methods and Results: Quantitative Approaches
Overview

 
Quantitative Methods

 
Putting It All Together

 
 
Chapter 5: Methods and Results: Qualitative Approaches
Overview

 
Qualitative Methods

 
Looking Out for Rigor

 
Putting It All Together

 
 
Chapter 6: Methods and Results: Mixed Methods Approaches
Overview

 
What Are Some Benefits Associated With Mixed Method Research?

 
What Are Some Purposes of Mixed Method Research?

 
Integration in Mixed Methods Research

 
Looking Out for Rigor

 
 
Chapter 7: Putting it All Together - Discussion, Conclusions, and Implications
Overview

 
Ending a Research Article

 
Putting It All Together—Reading and Evaluating Research From Start to Finish

 

This book will support learning for students and researchers in all avenues. Through introduction and development of key research topics, readers will gain a deeper understanding of some of the important fundamental concepts of research.

Kristina Harshman
Grand Canyon University

The authors provide a well-defined yet simple explanation of how students can find, analyze, and apply research to their own evidence-based practice.

Hollea Ryan
Samford University

This is an excellent and readable resource for doctoral students starting their dissertation process and at the beginning of their work to identify, integrate and apply scholarship to emerging research projects. It is one of the better texts I have seen in recent years that synthesizes the basic concepts for research methods and scholarly inquiry.

Felice D. Billups
Johnson & Wales University

Nichols et al. do a good job showing why research is important. I love that finding peer-reviewed sources is treated as a separate topic
than the literature review.

Trevor Brooks
Brigham Young University-Idaho

I like the different approach to research methods this book provides. Not all students in our course move on to graduate school so this is highly useful for show them how use research in their future careers

Ms Jennifer Hough
Communication Studies Dept, University Of South Dakota
November 16, 2023
Key features
  • Helps students in applied disciplines read, assess, and apply research in their future professional lives
  • Organized in the same way as a research article, the book includes a chapter on literature reviews and research questions, followed by three methods chapters (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods), and a chapter on research conclusions and implications.
  • Contains a wealth of pedagogical features including Learning Objectives, Check Your Understanding questions, a Guided Application exercise in each chapter, suggested further reading, and a glossary.
  • Three research articles, used as exemplars throughout, are included in the appendix to the book.

Sage College Publishing

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