Table of Contents Dedication Title Page Copyright Page Analytic Contents of Research Techniques Preface Acknowledgements About the Author PART I - Preliminary Considerations CHAPTER ONE - The Selection of a Research Design THE THREE TYPES OF DESIGNS THREE COMPONENTS INVOLVED IN A DESIGN RESEARCH DESIGNS AS WORLDVIEWS, STRATEGIES, AND METHODS CRITERIA FOR SELECTING A RESEARCH DESIGN SUMMARY ADDITIONAL READINGS CHAPTER TWO - Review of the Literature THE RESEARCH TOPIC THE LITERATURE REVIEW SUMMARY ADDITIONAL READINGS CHAPTER THREE - The Use of Theory QUANTITATIVE THEORY USE QUALITATIVE THEORY USE MIXED METHODS THEORY USE SUMMARY ADDITIONAL READINGS CHAPTER FOUR - Writing Strategies and Ethical Considerations WRITING THE PROPOSAL WRITING IDEAS ETHICAL ISSUES TO ANTICIPATE SUMMARY ADDITIONAL READINGS PART II - Designing Research CHAPTER FIVE - The Introduction THE IMPORTANCE OF INTRODUCTIONS QUALITATIVE, QUANTITATIVE, AND MIXED METHODS INTRODUCTIONS A MODEL FOR AN INTRODUCTION SUMMARY ADDITIONAL READINGS CHAPTER SIX - The Purpose Statement SIGNIFICANCE AND MEANING OF A PURPOSE STATEMENT SUMMARY ADDITIONAL READINGS CHAPTER SEVEN - Research Questions and Hypotheses QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES MIXED METHODS RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES SUMMARY ADDITIONAL READINGS CHAPTER EIGHT - Quantitative Methods DEFINING SURVEYS AND EXPERIMENTS COMPONENTS OF A SURVEY METHOD PLAN COMPONENTS OF AN EXPERIMENTAL METHOD PLAN SUMMARY ADDITIONAL READINGS CHAPTER NINE - Qualitative Procedures THE CHARACTERISTICS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH STRATEGIES OF INQUIRY THE RESEARCHER’S ROLE DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES DATA RECORDING PROCEDURES DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION RELIABILITY, VALIDITY, AND GENERALIZABILITY THE QUALITATIVE WRITE-UP SUMMARY ADDITIONAL READINGS CHAPTER TEN - Mixed Methods Procedures COMPONENTS OF MIXED METHODS PROCEDURES THE NATURE OF MIXED METHODS RESEARCH TYPES OF MIXED METHODS STRATEGIES AND VISUAL MODELS DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES DATA ANALYSIS AND VALIDATION PROCEDURES REPORT PRESENTATION STRUCTURE EXAMPLES OF MIXED METHODS PROCEDURES SUMMARY ADDITIONAL READINGS Glossary References Author Index Subject Index I dedicate this book to Karen Drumm Creswell. She is the inspiration for my writing and my life. Because of her, as wife, supporter, and detailed and careful editor, I am able to work long hours and keep the home fires burning during the years that I devote to my job and my books. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there for me.
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Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches/John W. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4129-6556-9 (cloth) ISBN 978-1-4129-6557-6 (pbk. Social sciences—Research—Methodology.
Social sciences—Statistical methods.72—dc22 2008006242 Printed on acid-free paper 08 09 10 11 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Analytic Contents of Research Techniques Chapter 1. The Selection of a Research Design • How to think about what design you should use • Identifying a worldview with which you are most comfortable • Defining the three types of research designs • How to choose which one of the three designs to use Chapter 2. Review of the Literature • How to assess whether your topic is researchable • The steps in conducting a literature review • Computerized databases available for reviewing the literature • Developing a priority for types of literature to review • How to design a literature map • How to write a good abstract of a research study • Important elements of a style manual to use • Types of terms to define • A model for writing a literature review Chapter 3. The Use of Theory • The types of variables in a quantitative study • A practical definition of a quantitative theory • A model for writing a theoretical perspective into a quantitative study using a script • Types of theories used in qualitative research • Options for placing theories in a qualitative study • How to place a theoretical lens into a mixed methods study Chapter 4.
Writing Strategies and Ethical Considerations • Assessing how the structure of a proposal would differ depending on a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods design • A writing strategy for drafting a proposal • Developing a habit of writing • Differences between umbrella thoughts, big thoughts, little thoughts, and attention thoughts in writing • The hook-and-eye technique for writing consistency • Principles of writing good prose • Ethics issues in the research process Chapter 5. The Introduction • Differences among quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods introductions • The deficiency model for writing an introduction • How to design a good narrative hook • How to identify and write a research problem • How to summarize literature about a research problem • Distinguishing among different types of deficiencies in past literature • Considering groups that may profit from your study Chapter 6. The Purpose Statement • A script for writing a qualitative purpose statement • Considering how the script would change depending on your qualitative strategy of inquiry • A script for writing a quantitative purpose statement • Considering how the script would change depending on your quantitative strategy of inquiry • A script for writing a mixed methods purpose statement • Considering how the script would change depending on your mixed methods strategy of inquiry Chapter 7. Research Questions and Hypotheses • A script for writing a qualitative central question • Considering how this script would change depending on the qualitative strategy of inquiry • A script for writing quantitative research questions and hypotheses • Considering how this script would change depending on the quantitative strategy of inquiry and the different types of hypotheses • A model for presenting descriptive and inferential quantitative questions and hypotheses • Scripts for writing different forms of research questions into a mixed methods study Chapter 8.
Quantitative Methods • A checklist for survey research to form topic sections of a survey procedure • Steps in analyzing data for a survey procedure • A complete survey methods discussion • A checklist for experimental research to form sections for an experimental procedure • Identifying the type of experimental procedure that best fits your proposed study • Drawing a diagram of experimental procedures • Identifying the potential internal validity and external validity threats to your proposed study Chapter 9. Qualitative Procedures • A checklist for qualitative research to form topic sections of a quantitative procedure • The basic characteristics of qualitative research • Determining how reflexivity will be included in a proposed study • The differences between types of data collected in qualitative research • Distinguishing between generic forms of data analysis and analysis within strategies of inquiry • Different levels of analysis in qualitative research • Strategies for establishing validity for qualitative studies Chapter 10. Mixed Methods Procedures • Understanding a definition of mixed methods research • How timing, weight, mixing, and theory relate to a mixed methods design • The differences among the six models for mixed methods inquiry • How to draw a mixed methods procedure using appropriate notation • The different writing structures for mixed methods research Preface PURPOSE This book advances a framework, a process, and compositional approaches for designing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research in the human and social sciences. Increased interest in and use of qualitative research, the emergence of mixed methods approaches, and continuing use of the traditional forms of quantitative designs have created a need for this book’s unique comparison of the three approaches to inquiry.
This comparison begins with preliminary consideration of philosophical assumptions for all three approaches, a review of the literature, an assessment of the use of theory in research designs, and reflections about the importance of writing and ethics in scholarly inquiry. The book then addresses the key elements of the process of research: writing an introduction, stating a purpose for the study, identifying research questions and hypotheses, and advancing methods and procedures for data collection and analysis. At each step in this process, the reader is taken through qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. The cover illustration depicts a mandala, a Hindu or Buddhist symbol of the universe.
Creation of a mandala, much like creation of a research design, requires looking from the vantage point of a framework, an overall design, as well as focused attention on the detail—a mandala made of sand can take days to create because of the precise positioning of the pieces, which sometimes are individual grains of sand. The mandala also shows the interrelatedness of the parts of the whole, again reflecting research design, in which each element contributes to and influences the shape of a complete study. AUDIENCE This book is intended for graduate students and faculty who seek assistance in preparing a plan or proposal for a scholarly journal article, dissertation, or thesis. At a broader level, the book may be useful as both a reference book and a textbook for graduate courses in research methods.
To best take advantage of the design features in this book, the reader needs a basic familiarity with qualitative and quantitative research; however, terms will be explained and defined and recommended strategies advanced for those needing introductory assistance in the design process. Highlighted terms in the text and a glossary of the terms at the back of the book provide a working language for understanding research. This book also is intended for a broad audience in the social and human sciences. Readers’ comments since the first edition indicate that individuals using the book come from many disciplines and fields.
I hope that researchers in fields such as marketing, management, criminal justice, communication studies, psychology, sociology, K-12 education, higher and postsecondary education, nursing, health sciences, urban studies, family research, and other areas will find the third edition useful. FORMAT In each chapter, I share examples drawn from varied disciplines. These examples are drawn from books, journal articles, dissertation proposals, and dissertations. Though my primary specialization is in education and more broadly the social sciences, the illustrations are intended to be inclusive of the social and human sciences.
They reflect issues in social justice and examples of studies with marginalized individuals in our society as well as the traditional samples and populations studied by social researchers. Inclusiveness also extends to methodological pluralism in research today, and the discussion incorporates alternative philosophical ideas, diverse modes of inquiry, and numerous procedures. This book is not a detailed method text; instead, I highlight the essential features of research design. I like to think that I have reduced research to its essential core ideas that researchers need to know to plan a thorough and thoughtful study.
The coverage of research strategies of inquiry is limited to frequently used forms: surveys and experiments in quantitative research; phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, case studies, and narrative research in qualitative research; and concurrent, sequential, and transformative designs in mixed methods research. Although students preparing a dissertation proposal should find this book helpful, topics related to the politics of presenting and negotiating a study with graduate committees are addressed thoroughly in other texts. Consistent with accepted conventions of scholarly writing, I have tried to eliminate any words or examples that convey a discriminatory (e., sexist or ethnic) orientation. Examples were selected to provide a full range of gender and cultural orientations.
Favoritism also did not play into my use of qualitative and quantitative discussions: I have intentionally altered the order of qualitative and quantitative examples throughout the text. Readers should note that in the longer examples cited in this book, many references are made to other writings.