Preface ix The Authors xvii PART ONE: THE DESIGN OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 1 1 What Is Qualitative Research? 3 2 Six Common Qualitative Research Designs 22 3 Expanding the Qualitative Paradigm: Mixed Methods, Action, Critical, and Arts Based Research 43 4 Designing Your Study and Selecting a Sample 73 PART TWO: COLLECTING QUALITATIVE DATA 105 5 Conducting Effective Interviews 107 6 Being a Careful Observer 137 7 Mining Data from Documents and Artifacts 162 PART THREE: ANALYZING AND REPORTING QUALITATIVE DATA 191 8 Qualitative Data Analysis 195 9 Dealing with Validity, Reliability, and Ethics 237 10 Writing Up Qualitative Research 267 Appendix: The Methodology Section of a Qualitative Research Study 293 Sharan B. Merriam References 301 Name Index 323 Subject Index 331