Qualitative Research: An Introduction to Methods and Designs

PREFACE

THIS BEGINNING TEXTBOOK, Qualitative Research: An Introduction to Methods and Designs, is designed specifically for students taking their first, and possibly only, qualitative research course. Writing a text for students in education and the social sciences, we set out to serve three main purposes:

1. Provide a broad spectrum of research approaches, ranging from such recognizable investigative areas as historical and ethnographic research to emerging methodologies including autoethnography and arts-based research
2. Detail the basic purposes and processes of research approaches, explaining in each case how they are planned, conducted, and reported
3. Offer explanations and examples of how educational and social scientific research study results ...