Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches

In this Third Edition of his bestselling text, John W. Creswell explores the philosophical underpinnings, history, and key elements of each of five qualitative inquiry traditions: narrative research, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study. In his signature writing style, the author relates research designs to each of the traditions of inquiry in a highly accessible manner. He compares 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. 

"This text provides a wonderful introduction, using accessible language, to theories and practices related to the design and conduct of qualitative inquiry. Moreover, it remains a good first resource for students who want to pursue qualitative inquiry; that is, they can return to this text to review fundamental concepts and to find references to other resources about specific topics, approaches, and strategies."
- Carey E. Andrzejewski, Auburn University

To find out more about John Creswell and his work, please visit: sagepub.com/johncreswell and johnwcreswell.com

Available with Perusall―an eBook that makes it easier to prepare for class
Perusall is an award-winning eBook platform featuring social annotation tools that allow students and instructors to collaboratively mark up and discuss their SAGE textbook. Backed by research and supported by technological innovations developed at Harvard University, this process of learning through collaborative annotation keeps your students engaged and makes teaching easier and more effective. Learn more. 

John W. Creswell, PhD, is a Professor of Family Medicine and Senior Research Scientist of

the Michigan Mixed Methods Program. He has authored numerous articles and 34 books on

mixed methods research, qualitative research, and research design. While at the University of

Nebraska–Lincoln, he held the Clifton Endowed Professor Chair, served as Director of the

Mixed Methods Research Office, co-founded SAGE’s Journal of Mixed Methods Research, and

was an Adjunct Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan and a consultant to

the Veterans Administration Health Services Research Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was

a Senior Fulbright Scholar to South Africa in 2008 and to Thailand in 2012. In 2011, he co-led

a National Institutes of Health working group on the “best practices of mixed methods research

in the health sciences,” served as a Visiting Professor at Harvard’s School of Public Health and

received an honorary doctorate from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. In 2014, he was

the founding President of the Mixed Methods International Research Association. In 2015, he

joined the staff of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan to Co-Direct the Michigan

Mixed Methods Program. In 2017, he coauthored the American Psychological Association

“standards” on qualitative and mixed methods research. The fourth edition of this book on

Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design won the 2018 McGuffey Longevity Award from the U.S.

Textbook & Academic Authors Association. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he gave virtual

keynote presentations to many countries from his office in Osaka, Japan. Updates on his work

can be found on his website at johnwcreswell.com.