About this book

This book is a benchmark in the rising tide of work on qualitative methods. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design's principal task is to broadly map the terrain of options and approachesavailable to those wanting to choose, design, conduct, and write up a qualitative study. The focus is on five types of qualitative traditions of inquiry: biography, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study. The book does a good job of comparatively unpacking the features - including the pros and cons - of each type. Along the way, the reader gets plenty of 'how-to' instructions as well as criteria for selecting, doing and evaluating research. In this way, the reader comes away with a… Read more

This book is a benchmark in the rising tide of work on qualitative methods. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design's principal task is to broadly map the terrain of options and approachesavailable to those wanting to choose, design, conduct, and write up a qualitative study. The focus is on five types of qualitative traditions of inquiry: biography, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study. The book does a good job of comparatively unpacking the features - including the pros and cons - of each type. Along the way, the reader gets plenty of 'how-to' instructions as well as criteria for selecting, doing and evaluating research. In this way, the reader comes away with a comprehensive appreciation of five of the most popular tools of the trade. The juxtaposition of the five types goes beyond technical distinctions (i.e., data collection-analysis strategies); comparative insight is also offered along philosophical, theoretical, and rhetorical dimensions. It is the broad and comprehensive perspective, neatly tied to a set of examples, that makes the book a success.