This unique text provides a comprehensive framework for creating, managing, and interpreting qualitative research studies that yield valid and useful information. Examples of studies from a wide range of disciplines illustrate the strengths, limitations, and applications of the primary qualitative methods: in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, ethnography, content analysis, and case study and narrative research. Following a consistent format, chapters show students and researchers how to implement each method within a paradigm-neutral and flexible Total Quality Framework (TQF) comprising four interrelated components: Credibility, Analyzability, Transparency, and Usefulness. Unlike other texts that relegate quality issues to one or two chapters, detailed discussions of such crucial topics as construct validity, interresearcher reliability, researcher bias, and verification strategies are featured throughout. The book also addresses applications of the TQF to the writing, review, and evaluation of qualitative research proposals and manuscripts. Pedagogical Features *Summary tables that highlight important content, such as the application of a method to vulnerable or hard-to-reach populations. *Case studies that illustrate TQF standards in practice for each method. *Guidelines for effective documentation (via thick descriptions) of each type of study. *End-of-chapter discussion topics, exercises, and suggested further reading and Web resources. *Chapters open with a preview and close with a bulleted summary of key ideas. *Extensive glossary. 2021 Winner--American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Book Award

"This unique text provides a comprehensive framework for creating, managing, and interpreting qualitative research studies that yield valid and useful information. Examples of studies from a wide range of disciplines illustrate the strengths, limitations, and applications of the primary qualitative methods: in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, ethnography, content analysis, and case study and narrative research. Following a consistent format, chapters show students and researchers how to implement each method within a paradigm-neutral and flexible Total Quality Framework (TQF) comprising four interrelated components: Credibility, Analyzability, Transparency, and Usefulness. Unlike other texts that relegate quality issues to one or two chapters, detailed discussions of such crucial topics as construct validity, inter-researcher reliability, researcher bias, and verification strategies are featured throughout. The book also addresses applications of the TQF to the writing, review, and evaluation of qualitative research proposals and manuscripts. KEY WORDS/SUBJECT AREAS: case study, content analysis, ethnographic, ethnography, focus groups, interviews, narrative, proposal writing, qualitative research, reliability, research designs, research methods, standards, studies, the literacy, total quality framework, transparency AUDIENCE: Graduate students and instructors in education, sociology, psychology, social work, management, communications, and nursing; researchers and evaluators seeking guidance for their qualitative research work. "--

This book gives a thorough structure to making, overseeing, and deciphering subjective research considers that yield legitimate and valuable data. Cases of concentrates from an extensive variety of orders represent the qualities, impediments, and uses of the essential subjective strategies: inside and out meetings, center gathering dialogs, ethnography, content investigation, and contextual analysis and account look into. Following a reliable arrangement, parts demonstrate to understudies and scientists proper methodologies to execute every strategy inside a worldview unbiased and adaptable Total Quality Framework (TQF) containing four interrelated segments: Credibility, Analyzability, Transparency, and Usefulness. The book additionally addresses utilizations of the TQF to the composition, survey, and assessment of subjective research proposition and original copies. This book indicates how the parts of configuration interface with each other, and gives a methodology to making intelligent and workable connections among these plan segments, featuring key outline issues.

Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition provides researchers and students with a user-friendly, step-by-step guide to planning qualitative research. A bestseller in its First Edition, this invaluable book presents an innovative approach to the components of design and how they interact with each other. The text presents a clear strategy for creating coherent and workable relationships among these design components and highlights key design issues. Based on a course the author taught for seven years at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the work is written in an informal, jargon-free style and incorporates many examples and hands-on exercises.

The bestseller that pioneered the comparison of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research design continues in its Fourth Edition to help students and researchers prepare their plan or proposal for a scholarly journal article, dissertation or thesis.

The Second Edition of An Applied Guide to Research Designs offers researchers in the social and behavioral sciences guidance for selecting the most appropriate research design to apply in their study. Using consistent terminology, the authors visually present a range of research designs used in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods to help readers conceptualize, construct, test, and problem solve in their investigation. The Second Edition features revamped and expanded coverage of research designs, new real-world examples and references, a new chapter on action research, and updated ancillaries.

"The Terry E. Hedrick, Leonard Bickman, and Debra J. Rog text provides a framework for designing research that is adaptable to almost any applied setting and constantly reiterates the need for establishing and maintaining credibility with the client at each level of the research process. Although the applied research book is a practical guide, suitable to accompany any thorough applied design textbook, it does a comprehensive job of presenting the distinction between basic and applied research. It introduces many topics found in the general methodology textbooks. This overlap will help students to feel comfortable in using the general skills in a more specific and complex manner." --Contemporary Psychology "For researchers needing to know how to plan and design applied research projects, Applied Research Design will be a most welcome publication. . . . The writing is clear and concise, graphics are utilized helpfully, and this book will be much appreciated by beginning social scientists who are serious but uncertain about the methodologies possible for doing applied research." --Academic Library Book Review Aimed at helping researchers and students make the transition from the classroom and the laboratory to the "real" world, the authors reveal pitfalls to avoid and strategies to undertake in order to overcome obstacles in the design and planning of applied research. Applied Research Design focuses on refining research questions when actual events force deviations from the original analysis. To accomplish this, the authors discuss how to study and monitor program implementation, statistical power analysis, and how to assess the human and material resources needed to conduct an applied research design to facilitate the management of data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Appropriate for professionals and researchers who have had some previous exposure to research methods, this book will enable the development of research strategies that are credible, useful, and--more important--feasible.