Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach, Third Edition provides researchers and students with a user-friendly, step-by-step guide to planning qualitative research. Joseph A. Maxwell shows how the components of design interact with each other, and provides a strategy for creating coherent and workable relationships among these design components, highlighting key design issues. Written in an informal, jargon-free style, the book incorporates examples and hands-on exercises. "This book uses everyday language that will captivate students′ attention and embed practical knowledge to supplement the technical." --Gaetane Jean-Marie, University of Oklahoma

"The key strengths of the text are the passion and the enthusiasm that Dr. Maxwell has for qualitative research after all these years. I feel I can also utilize these concepts on my own research team and take them out of the classroom and into research team meetings with colleagues." --Deborah Gioia, University of Maryland, Baltimore

"I really liked this book. I found myself taking notes and saying "yes" so many times because Maxwell captures the research process so well and provides many points worth quoting. As a faculty mentor, I particularly see the value of this book for my students who are conducting qualitative dissertations." --Mary S. Enright, Capella University

"The text is incredibly engaging and practical...So many of the issues raised in the book are central to qualitative research, yet often not explicitly discussed in ′public′ venues." - David Carlone, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro"I particularly like the interactive focus and believe that helps students to more realistically engage qualitative research design. It certainly lives up to its billing as a good guidebook, and I appreciate the fact that the author really concentrates on useful content, exercises, insights, and examples, and leaves extensive theory discussions to others." - Sharon L. Caudle, Texas A & M University

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. vii)
• About the Author (p. xi)
• Chapter 1 A Model for Qualitative Research Design (p. 1)
• The Organization of This Book (p. 18)
• The Exercises in This Book (p. 18)
• Notes (p. 21)
• Chapter 2 Goals: Why Are You Doing This Study? (p. 23)
• Personal, Practical, and Intellectual Goals (p. 24)
• What Goals Can Qualitative Research Help You Achieve? (p. 29)
• Notes (p. 38)
• Chapter 3 Conceptual Framework: What Do You Think Is Going On? (p. 39)
• The Value (and Pitfalls) of Research Paradigms (p. 41)
• Experiential Knowledge (p. 44)
• Prior Theory and Research (p. 48)
• The Uses of Existing Theory (p. 49)
• Concept Maps (p. 54)
• Other Uses of Existing Research (p. 64)
• Pilot and Exploratory Studies (p. 66)
• Thought Experiments (p. 68)
• Notes (p. 72)
• Chapter 4 Research Questions: What Do You Want to Understand? (p. 73)
• The Functions of Research Questions (p. 75)
• Research Questions and Other Kinds of Questions (p. 76)
• Research Hypotheses in Qualitative Designs (p. 77)
• General Questions and Particular Questions (p. 78)
• Instrumentalist Questions and Realist Questions (p. 79)
• Variance Questions and Process Questions (p. 82)
• Developing Research Questions (p. 83)
• Chapter 5 Methods: What Will You Actually Do? (p. 87)
• More and Less Structured Approaches (p. 88)
• Negotiating Research Relationships (p. 90)
• Site and Participant Selection (p. 96)
• Decisions About Data Collection (p. 100)
• The Relationship Between Research Questions and Data Collections Methods (p. 100)
• Using Multiple Data Collection Methods (p. 102)
• Decisions About Data Analysis (p. 104)
• Strategies for Qualitative Data Analysis (p. 105)
• Computers and Qualitative Data Analysis (p. 115)
• Linking Methods and Questions (p. 116)
• Notes (p. 120)
• Chapter 6 Validity: How Might You Be Wrong? (p. 121)
• The Concept of Validity (p. 122)
• Two Specific Validity Threats: Bias and Reactivity (p. 124)
• Researcher Bias (p. 124)
• Reactivity (p. 124)
• Validity Tests: A Checklist (p. 125)
• Generalization in Qualitative Research (p. 136)
• Notes (p. 138)
• Chapter 7 Research Proposals: Presenting and Justifying a Qualitative Study (p. 139)
• The Purpose of a Proposal (p. 140)
• The Proposal as an Argument (p. 141)
• The Relationship Between Your Research Design and Your Proposal Argument (p. 142)
• A Model for Proposal Structure (p. 142)
• Notes (p. 159)
• Appendix A A Proposal for a Study of Medical School Teaching (p. 161)
• Appendix B A Proposal for a Study of Online Learning by Teachers (p. 179)
• References (p. 201)
• Index (p. 211)