Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
"On dissertation proposals on which I have served, Patton is by far the most cited qualitative research text."
Ian Baptiste, Penn State UniversityThe book that has been a resource and training tool for countless applied researchers, evaluators, and graduate students has been completely revised with hundreds of new examples and stories illuminating all aspects of qualitative inquiry. Patton has created the most comprehensive, systematic, and up-to-date review of qualitative methods available."I am dazzled by the extent of the material that this book describes and clarifies. Patton has shifted the focus of the text to qualitative inquiry in general, which includes qualitative evaluation. New examples from his own work and that of others serve to clarify and deepen understanding of qualitative research topics and processes. New discussion of many current issues and debates in qualitative scholarship (autoethnography, ethical issues of informed consent and confidentiality, focus group/group interviews, computer-assisted analysis, the complexity of creating criteria for judging the quality of qualitative research, etc.) will bring readers up-to-date with the variety in perspectives about (and the variety within) qualitative inquiry. Most of the chapters in the book have been substantially reorganized in ways that augment the reader’s understanding. When anyone asks me about conducting qualitative inquiry, I will say: ‘Get Patton’s book’." Corrine Glesne, author of Becoming Qualitative ResearchersThe Third Edition has retained and expanded upon the exhibits, which highlight and summarize major issues, guidelines, the summative sections, tables, and figures as well as the sage advice of the Sufi-Zen master, Halcolm. This revision will help readers integrate and make sense of the great volume of qualitative works published in the past decade. "Clearly, this is a vastly improved, much more comprehensive, cogently systematic, and timely review-a tour de force, one might say-of the field of qualitative research, in terms of the theoretical, conceptual, methodological, and normative dimensions/foundations of qualitative research. This is one of the strengths of the volume. It seeks to bring together theory and practice/methods without overburdening one or the other--this is as rare as it is commendable, not to mention extremely useful, not only for the professional researcher, but for the "non-professional" as well."Lester Edwin J. Ruiz, New York Theological Seminar New to the Third Edition:
Integrates and makes sense of the great volume of qualitative works published in the past decade
Offers strategies for enhancing quality and credibility of qualitative findings by presenting a new framework for differentiating five contrasting and competing sets of standards for judging the quality and utility of findings
Unravels the complexities of mixed methods and triangulation
Explains the new issues and approaches to fieldwork as well as providing detailed analytical guidelines, including software and computer-assisted options
Explores, compares and contrasts 16 different theoretical and philosophical approaches to qualitative inquiry
Examines alternative interviewing strategies and approaches, including focus group interviews, group interviews, and cross-cultural interviews
Identifies the latest Internet resources
Pedagogical features to enhance the reader’s understanding of the material:
Exhibit Boxes: Summarize and illuminate major points within chapters
Chapter Opening Stories by Halcolm: Use wit and humor to engage the reader in reflecting upon the puzzles and lessons of qualitative research
Foundational Questions: Orient the reader to the "meat" of the material being presented
End of Chapter Appendices: Provide excerpts of detailed examples of particular techniques, such as open-ended interviews, case studies, etc.
Comparison Tables: Organize, compare and contrast different approaches, strategies, and paradigms
Original Cartoons:Created from the book’s material, illuminate and poke fun at chapter concepts
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
great book for qualitative research
Customer Rating:
This is one of the few books focussing on qualitative research alone. Great book for those new entrants in the big world of research!
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Customer Rating:
This book was needed for class. I wouldn't have purchased it otherwise. The book came to me in excellent condition and a timely manner.
One of the BEST!!
Customer Rating:
I don't know why we didn't use this book in our classes! This is simply one of the most concise, clear, well elaborated books out there! Written in simple English - it's a must for anybody interested in learning about qualitative research.
Superb Text and Reference Book
Customer Rating:
In all my years of schooling, this is the first text book that I actually read cover-to-cover and most of it twice. Patton has an accessible, human style of writing. He writes with the voice of a mentor and guide. The content is superb. Particularly useful is Patton's use of summarizing tables. These provide for a quick reference and side-by-side comparisons that help simplify, but not dumb down, complex issues such comparitive theory and sampling approaches. Patton's work is also a great jumping off point for more complex research because the book is well indexed and his references broad and authoritative. If I was only going to buy one qualitative research book, this would be it.
Qualaitative Research and Evaluation methods
Customer Rating:
I found this book to be quite thorough in its presentation of qualitative techniques needed for Research, although very dry in some parts. The author could have reduced the amount of pages with less stories.
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