_Practical Steps to the Research Process for Middle School_ is a book which attempts, largely successfully, to offer just what its title promises. Stanley's book offers a variety of methods for introducing students and instructors alike to the idea that research is in fact a process, including step-by-step lesson plans and techniques which detail each step in that process, from finding and developing a topic to collecting the information, organizing it, and creating a final project. The book shows exactly how to plan and prepare for teaching students about the research process, a process which is often overlooked in the rush to assign essays and other projects which require a modicum of research.

If anything, the book attempts to do too much, with the first sections devoted to very specific instructions for the neophyte library/media specialist. Stanley gets a bit bogged-down in such details as the scheduling of the media center, designing a master calendar, and so forth for the book to be entirely successful at accomplishing its stated goal. In fact, out of the four main sections within the book, only one is devoted to the actual research process, with perhaps a bit too much emphasis placed on the value and importance of note-taking as a part of the process.

Still, _Practical Steps to the Research Process for Middle School_, which is primarily aimed at an audience of library/media specialists, is a useful source, with many charts and other graphics that could be taken directly for use as handouts or overheads. In fact, the book would be a useful source for any middle school instructor interested in teaching his/her students more about the research process.