KENDALL HUNT PUBLISHING Research Methods

Dr. Rodriguez’s Research Methods textbook is an outstanding presentation of research methods for serious researcher students. Written in turbulent times with the SARS Coronavirus 2 pandemic in its peak, Daniel Rodriguez’s textbook incorporates timely real world events in each chapter and explains them in ways that everyone can capture. Indeed, his explanations of the different essential research concepts in each chapter are very detailed and are designed to enlighten even the most serious student while never forgetting that not every student comes to the classroom with the same learning history and resources. Therefore, his chapters include content from the most basic but essential concepts, such as types of variables and research designs, to the most complex, including how to write winning National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, and how to estimate sample sizes for research studies using freely available software. This textbook is geared to the most serious student who wants to succeed in research, regardless of academic background. However, in his usual style, Dr. Rodriguez presents content in ways that make comprehension accessible. As he notes regularly in his lectures, “you must explain content in ways that anyone can understand, regardless of educational background”, and his writing embodies this belief. Indeed, Dr. Rodriguez’s beliefs about learning and his style are evident in every word written in every chapter, from the first in which he introduces the art of learning, to the last in which he details the grant writing process. Dr. Rodriguez’s style is empathetic and sympathetic in that he understand what students go through, sits with them in their anxieties about succeeding in the field, but then provides them with the tools necessary to make their research dreams a reality. Therefore, this textbook is a keeper that students will want to remain on their shelves throughout their careers, as it will continue to be a valuable resource to access whenever planning and carrying out a new study.