In the first edition of this book, I used two approaches-qualitative and quantitative. I described each in terms of different philosophical assumptions about the nature of reality, epistemology, values, the rhetoric of research, and methodology (Creswell, 1994). Several developments in the last decade have caused a reexamination of this stance
n the past two decades, research approaches have multiplied to a point at which investigators or inquirers have many choices. For those designing a proposal or plan, I recommend that a general framework be adopted to provide guidance about all facets of the study, from assessing the general philosophical ideas behind the inquiry to the detailed data collection and analysis procedures. Using an …