In this Fourth Edition of the bestselling Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design (popularly known as the "five approaches book") John W. Creswell and new co-author Cheryl N. Poth?explore the philosophical underpinnings, history, and key elements of each of five qualitative inquiry traditions: narrative research, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study, putting them side by side, so that we can see the differences. In an accessible writing style, the authors relate research designs to each of the traditions of inquiry. They compare theoretical frameworks, ways to employ standards of quality, and strategies for writing introductions to studies, collecting data, analyzing data, writing a narrative, and verifying results. New in this edition are updated materials on each tradition; more on interpretive frameworks and on ethics, more visual depictions of the five approaches; and two new topical articles used in Chapter 5 and reproduced in full in the appendices.

Philosophical assumptions and interpretive frameworks -- Designing a qualitative study -- Five qualitative approaches to inquiry -- Five different qualitative studies -- Introducing and focusing the study -- Data collection -- Data analysis and representation -- Writing a qualitative study -- Standards of validation and evaluation -- "Turning the story" and conclusion.