As one might expect based on its title, this volume offers a basic introduction to research within the field of applied linguistics, including data collection methods, statistical analyses, and research write-ups. In contrast to other recent research methods volumes (e.g., Mackey & Gass, 2006), Perry frames this volume not as teaching readers how to do applied linguistics research but rather as how to read and critically evaluate this research, along similar lines as Porte (2002).
For novice readers—particularly incoming M.A. students in TESOL, applied linguistics, or related programs (and for those who instruct these students)—this volume is a potentially valuable resource with some important strengths. First, it is accessible to a wide range of students; Perry writes clearly and simply throughout, and his prose is easy to follow in most sections of the volume. Second, this volume contains very useful, practical features, including an appendix of 100 applied linguistics journals (with short descriptions and Web site addresses), detailed descriptions of how to access articles through ERIC, and an index of commonly used terms in applied linguistics research.
Not everyone, however, will share the working assumptions that are evident throughout Perry's presentation. First and foremost, these include the notion that there is a clear divide between producers of research, on the one hand, and consumers of research, on the other (a supposed divide that has been both challenged and crossed, for instance, by several decades of teacher research and action research). Second, even if one accepts that such a divide does exist, one might or might not agree that the best way for budding research consumers to learn about research is by reading about how such research is produced. Many in the field would argue instead that the best way to learn about research is by actually conducting closely mentored, small-scale research projects. Third, satisfied readers will also share Perry's perspective that applied linguistics is generally synonymous with SLA despite the fact that SLA is often characterized as just one aspect of applied linguistics (e.g., Davies & Elder, 2006). Fourth, readers might differ with Perry's position that the major epistemological debates of the last two decades—which have had major ramifications across the social sciences and within discussions of research methods and paradigms in particular—are irrelevant here; side-stepping these debates altogether, Perry, instead, frames methods as a collection of techniques located on several different continua (basic to applied; exploratory to confirmatory; qualitative to quantitative), leaving out the philosophical, paradigmatic differences that motivate these choices. Perry is careful to stress that each of the different approaches or techniques are equally valuable, but his own psychometric background is evident throughout much of the volume, as positivist perspectives are given greater emphasis and tackled more authoritatively than the sections on interpretive approaches.
Even with these caveats, this volume will likely be useful to many. There are ample student exercises and activities (although the majority of these ask students, for instance, to first “find a study that looked for a relationship between two or more variables using either chi-square or the Spearman rho in its statistical analysis” [p. 174], which seem likely to end in at least a few frustrating scavenger hunts). Additionally, the presentation of research basics is comprehensible and straightforward (although perhaps at times a bit too basic; e.g., Perry explains that the title should “inform the consumer what the study is about” [p. 42]). Perry tells us again and again that his own students have found his approach to research methods helpful; this is likely true for a broader subset of incoming applied linguistics M.A. students as well.
