Qualitative inquiry & research design : choosing among five approaches / John W. Creswell, Cheryl N. Poth.

Introduction to qualitative inquiry and research design -- Philosophical assumptions and interpretive frameworks -- Designing a qualitative study -- Five qualitative approaches to inquiry -- Five different qualitative studies -- Introducing and focusing the study -- Data collection -- Data analysis and representation -- Writing a qualitative study -- Standards of validation and evaluation -- "Turning the story" and conclusion.

"In the Fifth Edition of the bestselling text 'Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches', John W. Creswell and Cheryl N. Poth guide researchers in selecting the best option for their studies by exploring, evaluating, and applying five qualitative research approaches: narrative research, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study. For each of these qualitative inquiry traditions, the authors explore the philosophical underpinnings, history, defining features, common data procedures, and writing structures. With expanded content reflecting technological developments in the qualitative research process, more inclusivity and diversity in examples, and updated references, the Fifth Edition is an ideal introduction to the theories, strategies, and practices of qualitative research."--

"Although multiple audiences, both known and unknown, exist for any text, we direct this book toward academics and scholars affiliated with the social, human, and health sciences. Examples throughout the book illustrate the diversity of disciplines and fields of study including sociology, psychology, education, nursing, family medicine, allied health, urban studies, marketing, communication and journalism, educational psychology, family science and therapy, and other social and human science areas. Our aim is to provide a useful text for those who produce scholarly qualitative research in the form of journal articles, theses, or dissertations. We have pitched the level of discussion to be suitable for upper-division students and beyond into graduate school. For graduate students writing master's theses or doctoral dissertations, we compare the five approaches in the hope that such analysis helps in establishing a rationale for the choice of a type to use. For beginning qualitative researchers, we introduce the philosophical and interpretive frameworks that shape qualitative research, followed by the basic elements in designing a qualitative study. We feel that understanding the basics of qualitative research is essential before venturing out into the specifics of one of the qualitative approaches. We begin each chapter with an overview of the topic of the chapter and then go into how the topic might be addressed within each of the five approaches."-- Taken from Preface, page xv.