A Realist Approach for Qualitative Research

Are cultural and material phenomena equally real? How can one study the relationships between cultural constructions, social behaviour and material conditions and draw a valid conclusion from the data?

In contrast to interpretive or constructivist positions, realism supports the insights of critical theory in social and educational research regarding the relationships between actors' perspectives and their actual situations, while avoiding the epistemological objectivism associated with positivism and some forms of post-positivist empiricism.

This book will explain how readers can use realism to conceptualize and conduct their qualitative study to get results with greater validity.

“This”

“Maxwell′s book is an outstanding accomplishment. He has connected a tremendous amount of past and present knowledge in it. His reading and integration cuts across multiple disciplines. I especially like the discussions of causation, ‘validity’, and the methodological significance of viewing culture as distributed." -- Burke Johnson
“ book is well-written and clearly argued, and does a good job of connecting what are often arcane philosophical issues with the more practical concerns of carrying out qualitative research.” -- Sam Porter
“The information presented is novel. It serves to advance current epistemological thinking in the area of qualitative research. It is the only book I’m aware of that links issues of epistemology and ontology so directly with qualitative methodologies.” -- Marianna L. Litovich
  timely text could at last get us to the tipping point where realistapproaches enter the mainstream of qualitative research. They have gainedwidespread acceptance by philosophers  but continue to be regarded withsuspicion by the dominant tribe of constructivist qualitative researchers. Maxwell provides a convincing case that realism helps to resolve many of theproblems they face without deserting cherished aspects of constructivism. -- Colin Robson

" is a book that should be read by qualitative researchers at any stage of their career and by those critical of the qualitative and realist approach to social science, such is the manner in which Maxwell introduces, negotiates and analyses key issues in research methodology."

Joseph A. Maxwell is a Professor (Emeritus) in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University, where he taught courses on qualitative and mixed methods research. He is the author of Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (3rd ed.; SAGE, 2013), A Realist Approach for Qualitative Research (SAGE, 2012), and papers on qualitative and mixed methods research, program evaluation, sociocultural theory, Native American societies, and medical education. He has a PhD in anthropology from the University of Chicago.

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