I work in an academic field at the crossroads of biomedical research and research into higher education practices. (I pursue research about research.) I have familiarized myself with biomedical research practices, but I also wanted to familiarize myself with educational research practices. Biomedical research is heavy on quantitative analysis, but educational research seems to involve qualitative methods much more. I needed deeper introduction to the latter. Creswell’s 650-page opus seemed to fit the bill, and I was not left disappointed.

As expected, this work is especially heavy on qualitative methods. Most – if not all – of its examples come from educational settings. It emphasizes applicability to the practice of teaching, especially in the K-12 arena. The various ways to pursue qualitative research are especially appreciated here – whether explanatory, exploratory, action-oriented, experimental, or correlational.

This book is suitable for graduate-level researchers in the field of education (especially at the K-12 level). It explains from square-one how to identify and pursue a research question; then it covers how to design, implement a study, and analyze the results to address that given research question. Creswell is especially strong when addressing mixed-methods research designs (both qualitative and quantitative) and action research designs.

The text is approachable and easy to read, even for non-native English speakers. Examples are drawn from the field of education and serve to teach the reader more about good instructional practice. Following each chapter sits an example paper to elucidate the principles taught in the proceeding chapter. The content is thorough in both its depth and its breadth. Each chapter also addresses ethical issues (each with its own case study) and contains a guide about how to interpret findings from this style of research.

Especially coming from the biomedical research world, this work seems short on quantitative methods and statistical applications. It engages statistical software use only at a very high level, and I do not recall any mathematical formulae ever being present. That perhaps is its prevailing weakness, but the mainstream of educational research tends to avoid these topics, too. At four editions currently, this work has stood the test of time and has had a global impact. My paperback edition from Pearson India was affordable while not skimping on content. Overall, I have been pleased with my time spent reading this book. ( )