
This ground-breaking book makes the case for employing a realist philosophical perspective in qualitative research. Joseph Maxwell argues for critically applying a realist ontology to a number of important theoretical and methodological issues. The book outlines critical realism...

Are cultural and material phenomena equally real? How can one study the relationships between cultural constructions, social behavior and material conditions and draw a valid conclusion from the data? In contrast to interpretive or constructivist positions, realism supports the...