Research Design

Social science

First published: 1994
Print length: 304 pagesSage, 2014

Description

Research Design guides advanced undergraduate and graduate students through the decisions that turn a broad interest into a workable scholarly study. John W. Creswell treats design as the overall strategy connecting a research question to evidence and analysis. He explains how to choose a paradigm, define a study’s purpose, formulate questions or hypotheses, use theory, identify variables, select a study type, and establish why the project matters. Separate principles for qualitative and quantitative research are illustrated with examples drawn from articles and dissertations in the social and human sciences. Chapter exercises ask readers to apply each decision to their own projects, so the book functions both as a conceptual overview and as a practical framework for producing a coherent written research plan.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Academic · Direct · Technical

Pace

Measured

Tone

Cerebral · Earnest

Structure

Reference

Focus

Ideas · Information

Emotional intensity

1 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 4 / 5
Ideas: 4 / 5
Structure: 3 / 5
Background knowledge: 4 / 5

Themes

Knowledge and truthWork

About John W. Creswell

John W. Creswell is an American academic known for his work on mixed methods research and for a substantial body of writing on qualitative and quantitative methodology. His books treat research design as a connected series of decisions, linking philosophical assumptions and research questions to evidence, analysis, interpretation, and reporting. The characteristic method is comparative and practical: Creswell distinguishes traditions without presenting them as mere labels, then shows how their differences shape the conduct of a study. Research Design offers a broad framework for turning an area of interest into a workable project, while Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design examines narrative research, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study on their own terms. Educational Research brings quantitative and qualitative approaches into a common framework, and Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research concentrates on integrating them without making either secondary. As a founding co-editor of the Journal of Mixed Methods Research, Creswell also helped give the field an institutional forum. His work is distinguished by making methodological complexity usable while preserving the reasoning behind different approaches.

About J. David Creswell

J. David Creswell is a psychologist and neuroscientist whose research examines how people adapt to stress and whether specific practices can improve coping, performance, and health. At Carnegie Mellon University, he combines community intervention trials, controlled laboratory experiments, and neuroimaging, moving between subjective experience, brain function, physiological stress responses, and disease-related outcomes. His recurring subjects include mindfulness meditation, self-affirmation, cognitive reappraisal, and meaningful or rewarding activity. The writing reflects an experimental habit of breaking broad claims into testable components. Mindfulness Interventions, for example, assesses randomized-trial evidence across settings, mechanisms, dosage, risks, and community applications. A representative dismantling trial separates present-moment monitoring from acceptance training to ask which element changes biological stress reactivity. As coauthor with John W. Creswell of the sixth edition of Research Design, he applies the same concern with fit and sequence to scholarly practice. The book moves from literature review and question formation through theory, ethics, and the choice among qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, presenting design as a linked series of decisions.

Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: Sage
Language: English
ISBN: 9781506386706

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