Provides researchers and students with a step-by-step guide to planning qualitative research. This book presents an approach to the components of design and how they interact with each other. It presents a strategy for creating coherent and workable relationships among these design components and highlights key design issues.

Preface Preface to the First Edition 1. A Model for Qualitative Research Design 2. Goals: Why Are You Doing This Study? 3. Conceptual Framework: What Do You Think Is Going On? 4. Research Questions: What Do You Want to Understand? 5. Methods: What Will You Actually Do? 6. Validity: How Might You Be Wrong? 7. Research Proposals: Presenting and Justifying a Qualitative Study Appendix: An Example of a Qualitative Proposal References Index About the Author

"Using sage advise and specific examples directly from his research methods courses and actual dissertation proposals, the author provides an easy-to-read guide to many of the design issues that often seem vague, mysterious, and daunting to novices when planning qualitative studies. Maxwell delivers on his promise to present "an approach to qualitative research design that both captures what qualitative researchers really do, and provides support and guidance for those embarking for the first time on designing a qualitative study". He creatively uses folktales, movie plots, real-life examples, and the personal stories of graduate students to bring out his and the students' passions for qualitative research." -- Karen Skibba 20060609 "Nice, easy to read, step by step process-oriented text for undergrads." -- Kim Powell "The practical checklists, exercises, stories and scripts, together with the analogies with quantitative research, are extremely useful in helping both graduate students and novice researchers conduct qualitative research. Experienced researcher, too, can find the book helpful, especially in writing proposals for funding." -- Marzieh Tafaghodtari Comparative Book Review 20100602

Joseph A. Maxwell is a Professor in the Graduate School of Education at George Mason University, where he teaches courses on research design and methods and on writing a dissertation proposal. He has published work on qualitative research and evaluation, mixed method research, sociocultural theory, Native American social organization, and medical education. He has also worked extensively in applied settings. He has presented seminars and workshops on teaching qualitative research methods and on using qualitative methods in various applied fields, and has been an invited speaker at conferences and universities in the United States, Puerto Rico, Europe, and China. He has a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Chicago.