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This volume from the Applied Social Research Methods series is a practical, how-to text
useful for any researcher conducting qualitative research. Graduate students and researchers
new to qualitative methods are an obvious audience. However, researchers experienced in
using qualitative methods may find Maxwell’s approach useful, especially in writing pro-
posals (e.g., for grant funding) or perhaps when faced with a challenge in terms of position-
ing a qualitative project within a discipline dominated by quantitative methods.
If you have read the first edition (Maxwell, 1996) you will find the structure of the text
and many of the writing exercises and stories familiar. The additions to this edition provide
worthwhile expansion of core concepts in qualitative research, including the importance of
connecting with a research paradigm. Maxwell notes that qualitative research can be use-
ful to address a variety of questions and is not restricted to one ontological stance. He
writes from a realist perspective and is explicit about his position; however, the themes of
the book and the writing exercises are useful for qualitative research broadly, and thus, they
should not be disregarded by researchers whose stance differs from Maxwell’s position.
The book, like the original edition, consists of seven chapters packed with how-to advice
and exercises the reader can apply to his or her own research ideas. The book is based on
Maxwell’s model for qualitative research (which he calls the interactive approach), covered
in the first chapter. The model, which consists of five sets of concepts (goals, conceptual
framework, research questions, methods, and validity), forms the structure for the text.
Chapters 2, 3, and 4 highlight processes such as explicating the researchers’ goals, exam-
ining the conceptual framework for the study, and arriving at research questions that will
drive the research process. Chapter 5 addresses what the researcher actually will do—the
methods to be used in the study. Chapter 6 covers an explanation of how the concepts of
validity and generalization are approached in qualitative studies. The final chapter offers
advice on writing a qualitative-research proposal, an example of which is found in the
appendix.
The text is written very conversationally, as if the book is talking to the reader! For
example, chapter 2 is titled “Why Are You Doing This Study?” In this chapter, the
researcher is challenged to consider her or his personal, practical, and intellectual goals for
the study. Personal values and researcher identity are noted as important elements to con-
sider. The exercise for readers to complete in this chapter is to write a “researcher identity
memo” specific to the person and the project. This exercise is intended to help one see what
he or she brings as strengths and weaknesses to a particular project. Chapter 3 is titled
“What Do You Think Is Going On?” It teaches thought experiments to help clarify unstated
premises and assumptions brought to the project, and it champions the need to challenge
one’s own theories in use as a researcher planning a qualitative project. When tackling
the subject of research questions, Maxwell’s chapter 4 asks “What Do You Want To
Understand?” The distinction between research questions and hypotheses is made as is the
distinction between research questions and questions that end up on the interview guide (or
those used in the fieldwork generally). This leads nicely to the next chapter, on methods,
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394 Organizational Research Methods
References
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2000). Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Maxwell, J. A. (1996). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Prasad, P. (2005). Crafting qualitative research. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.