Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods

"Very thoughtful and thorough coverage of qualitative design and study."

 “The content itself, based in years of thinking, reading, doing, conversing, is a huge strength. Reading the chapters is like sitting at the feet of one of the masters.” 

“I can’t emphasize enough the quality, detail, and depth of the presentation of research design and methods… Students and experienced researchers will appreciate the depth of presentation of potential qualitative paradigms, theoretical orientations and frameworks as well as special methodological applications that are often not covered in other qualitative texts.”

“It is refreshing to see a text that engages the multiple philosophical and historical trajectories within a qualitative research tradition while integrating this discussion so well with the practice of research design, fieldwork strategies, and data analysis.”

Michael Quinn Patton is author of more than a dozen books on evaluation including Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods, 4th ed (2015), Blue Marble Evaluation (2020), Principles-Focused Evaluation (2018), Facilitating Evaluation (2018) and Developmental Evaluation (2011). Based in Minnesota, he was on the faculty of the University of Minnesota for 18 years and is a former president of the American Evaluation Association (AEA). Michael is a recipient of the Alva and Gunnar Myrdal Evaluation Practice Award, the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Evaluation Theory Award, and the Research on Evaluation Award, all from AEA He has also received the Lester F. Ward Distinguished Contribution to Applied and Clinical Sociology Award from the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology. In 2021 he received the first Transformative Evaluator Award from EvalYouth. He is an active speaker, trainer, and workshop presenter who has conducted applied research and evaluation on a broad range of issues and has worked with organizations and programs at the international, national, state, provincial, and local levels. Michael has three childrena musician, an engineer, and an evaluatorand four grandchildren. When not evaluating, he enjoys exploring the woods and rivers of Minnesota, where he lives.

Part 1. Framing Qualitative Inquiry: Theory Informs Practice, Practice Informs Theory Chapter 1. The Nature, Niche, and Value of Qualitative Inquiry Module 1. How qualitative inquiry contributes to our understanding of the world Module 2. What makes qualitative data qualitative Module 3. Making methods decisions Module 4. The fruit of qualitative methods: Chapter summary and conclusion Chapter 2. Strategic Themes in Qualitative Inquiry Module 5. Strategic design principles for qualitative inquiry Module 6. Strategic principles guiding data collection and fieldwork Module 7. Strategic principles for qualitative analysis and reporting findings Module 8: Integrating the 12 strategic qualitative principles in practice Chapter 3. Variety of Qualitative Inquiry Frameworks: Paradigmatic, Philosophical, and Theoretical Orientations Module 9. Understanding the Paradigms Debate: Quants versus Quals Module 10. Introduction to Qualitative Inquiry Frameworks Module 11. Ethnography and Autoethnography Module 12. Positivism, Postpositivism, Empiricism and Foundationalist Epistemologies Module 13. Grounded Theory and Realism Module 14 Phenomenology and Heuristic Inquiry Module 15 Social Constructionism, Constructivism, Postmodernism, and Narrative Inquiry Module 16. Ethnomethodology, Semiotics, and Symbolic Interaction, Hermeneutics and Ecological Psychology Module 17 Systems Theory and Complexity Theory Module 18. Pragmatism, Generic Qualitative Inquiry, and Utilization-Focused Evaluation Module 19 Patterns and themes across inquiry frameworks: Chapter summary and conclusions Chapter 4. Practical and Actionable Qualitative Applications Module 20. Practical purposes, concrete questions, and actionable answers: Illuminating and enhancing quality Module 21. Program evaluation applications: Focus on outcomes Module 22 Specialized qualitative evaluation applications Module 23 Evaluating program models and theories of change, and evaluation models especially aligned with qualitative methods Module 24 Interactive and participatory qualitative applications Module 25 Democratic evaluation, indigenous research and evaluation, capacity building, and cultural competence Module 26 Special methodological applications Module 27 A vision of the utility of qualitative methods: Chapter summary and conclusion Part 2. Qualitative Designs and Data Collection Chapter 5. Designing Qualitative Studies Module 28 Design thinking: Questions derive from purpose, design answers questions Module 29 Date Collection Decisions Module 30 Purposeful sampling and case selection: Overview of strategies and options Module 31 Single-significant-case sampling as a design strategy Module 32 Comparison-focused sampling options Module 33 Group characteristics sampling strategies and options Module 34 Concept and theoretical sampling strategies and options Module 35. Instrumental-use multiple-case sampling Module 36 Sequential and emergence-driven sampling strategies and options Module 37 Analytically focused sampling Module 38 Mixed, stratified, and nested purposeful sampling strategies Module 39 Information-rich cases Module 40 Sample size for qualitative designs Module 41 Mixed methods designs Module 42 Qualitative design chapter summary and conclusion: Methods choices and decisions Chapter 6. Fieldwork Strategies and Observation Methods Module 43 The Power of direct observation Module 44. Variations in observational methods Module 45. Variations in duration of observations and site visits: From rapid reconnaissance to longitudinal studies over years Module 46. Variations in observational focus and summary of dimensions along which fieldwork varies Module 47. What to observe: Sensitizing concepts Module 48. Integrating what to observe with how to observ