This ground-breaking book makes the case for employing a realist philosophical perspective in qualitative research. Joseph Maxwell argues for critically applying a realist ontology to a number of important theoretical and methodological issues. The book outlines critical realism and considers its implications for how we conceptualize meaning and culture, causation, and diversity. The author applies critical realist ideas and approaches to the design and methods of qualitative research, and presents two in-depth case studies of projects he conducted, describing how realist (and other) perspectives informed the research, the methods, and the conclusions.

"Maxwell′s book is an outstanding accomplishment. He has connected a tremendous amount of past and present knowledge in it. I especially like the discussions of causation, ′validity′, and the methodological significance of viewing culture as distributed." - Burke Johnson, University of South Alabama

"This  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, emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Huddersfield

"This is the only book that I′m aware of that links issues of epistemology and ontology so directly with qualitative methodologies."- Marianna L. Litovich, Wesleyan University