A realist approach for qualitative research

• Main Author: Maxwell, Joseph Alex 1941- (Author)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, California SAGE Publications 2012
• Subjects: Qualitative research; Social sciences > Research; Research > Methodology
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.
• Physical Description: xiii, 222 pages 24 cm
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index
• ISBN: 9780761929239; 0761929231

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