Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry (2nd Edition)
What People Are Saying...
OUTSTANDING INTRODUCTION TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
"Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry is an indispensable resource for anyone looking for rigorous and comprehensive introduction to qualitative methodology. The content and writing style are accessible to novice researchers without sacrificing theoretical depth and nuanced examples required by more experienced scholars.
This text reflects Mayan’s extensive pedagogical expertise, translating years of classroom experience into a skillfully structured and highly practical guide."
- Lesley Pritchard
LESLEY H (via Goodreads)
"Dr. Maria Mayan is a qualitative genius and her way of writing is so accessible, transparent, and honest. My favourite aspect of this book is how practical it is, meanwhile acknowledging broader historical trends and traditions.
Every other doctoral student I know who has read this thinks it’s “the best” out there. I personally have a digital copy and refer to it often, not reading as a whole but conducting search and finds for moments I need clarity.
This book never fails to deliver. I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in qualitative research (students and faculty alike), and also for anyone who wants to read a non-fiction book with an honest and relatable writing style."
A TRUE GUIDE FOR KNOWING & DOING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
"When I was doing my Master's at the University of Alberta, I came across with this book in one of the courses 'Qualitative and Community Based Approaches in Health Research'. Immediately, it became an instrumental and primary book in my MA journey- not just only in this course.
I referred to this book numerous times during my thesis writing process. It was also invaluable in guiding me through developing my research protocol, methodology, data analysis, and thesis findings. It significantly strengthened my understanding of qualitative research, introducing complex concepts like epistemology and ontology or Phenomenology in an accessible and simple way.
This book bolstered my understanding of qualitative research methodology and sharpened my research skills."
- Saba Nuzhat
SHANNON PYNN (via Goodreads)
"I often call this book (and the first edition too) my qualitative research “bible”. This text is a valuable resource for myself and the students I work with, offering both clarity and depth in explaining qualitative methodologies.
It has helped them move from feeling uncertain about qualitative research to being genuinely excited to apply it. Its balance of theory and practical guidance makes it one of the most helpful texts for developing early researchers’ skills."
ESSENTIAL FOUNDATIONAL QUAL. TEXT FOR RESEARCHERS
"This text was listed as recommended reading in a research methods graduate course I took early in my doctoral program. As I have been completing my dissertation, I return to it again and again for all things qualitative research.
I often recommend this foundational text to peers, especially those new to qualitative research methods because of the practical advice and examples provided throughout the text to help students and researchers understand how to conduct qualitative research projects.
The 2nd Edition provides more in-depth information and additional chapters on arts-based research methods, which will be of interest to some researchers as well!"
- Pam Hung
ASHIL (via Goodreads)
"One of the greatest strengths of this incredible work is how accessible it is for beginners while still being foundational for advanced qualitative researchers. As a first-year PhD scholar, I am truly grateful to have come across this book, as it has significantly deepened my understanding of research methodology.
What makes it especially engaging is that every example is drawn from Dr. Mayan’s own research experiences, helping readers connect theory with practice in a meaningful way. The recent edition is particularly impressive because it incorporates newer approaches to qualitative inquiry, including meta-analysis, systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and mixed-methods design, without undermining quantitative approaches.
From basic concepts to methods, ethics, and guidance on what to write, the book provides a clear and comprehensive understanding throughout. Thank you, Dr. Mayan, for this insightful and grounded contribution."
Meet the Author:
Dr. Maria Mayan
Maria is a community-based participatory researcher and a qualitative methodologist. Her community-based research interests are in the area of partnerships and knowledge translation and how citizens, community-organizations, clinicians, industry/business, governments and universities can work together to address disparities and improve health outcomes.
As Assistant Director of the Community University Partnership, Maria frames all of her research from this participatory orientation and in particular, enjoys putting her efforts into local economic development and poverty reduction.
Maria's love of qualitative methods started at the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology where she spent over 10 years studying, teaching and using qualitative methods. She has been invited to teach qualitative inquiry by government, not-for-profits, the private sector, and the academic community worldwide.
Her qualitative expertise has culminated into two books: Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry, available through Routledge (formerly LeftCoast Press) and Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry (Second Edition), also available through Routledge.
One of Maria's most valued activities is joining with colleagues and graduate students to use both conventional and unconventional qualitative methodologies to explore intriguing and pressing health research issues.
MORE REVIEWS
"Maria J. Mayan’s Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry is a valuable and comprehensive guide for both novice and experienced qualitative researchers. What I particularly appreciate about this book is its clarity and accessibility, without sacrificing theoretical depth. It covers foundational concepts, methodologies, data collection and analysis techniques, ethics, and rigor in a concise yet rich manner.
What sets this volume apart is its inclusion of often-overlooked topics such as arts-based research, participatory approaches, and the role of theory in analysis. These elements are rarely addressed with such clarity in introductory manuals. Each chapter also includes practical exercises, which are especially helpful for teaching and for applying concepts in real research settings.
I have found it particularly useful in my own qualitative work, especially for navigating complex methodological decisions and refining research design. I would highly recommend it to students, early-career researchers, and health professionals engaging with qualitative methods for the first time."
LUCA GHIROTTO (via Goodreads)
"Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry by Maria Mayan is a great resource for anyone engaging in qualitative research. It demonstrates her deep expertise in the field, and makes qualitative research feel both rigorous and approachable.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with and learning from Maria, and this book reflects her passion and clarity in teaching qualitative research methods.
What I appreciate most about it is how she guides readers through essential aspects, from theory to rigor, using real examples and thoughtful reflection prompts. The writing is clear and insightful without oversimplifying complex concepts. As someone with a background in quantitative research, I found it especially helpful in prompting me to think more critically and reflexively about my qualitative research decisions.
I highly recommend Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry to graduate students, early career researchers, and experienced practitioners seeking a practical, ethical, and solid foundation in qualitative research."
- Uchechi Anaduaka (via Amazon)
AN ACCESSIBLE AND INSIGHTFUL GUIDE FOR DOING GREAT QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
"For readers like me, with limited experience in qualitative research and half understand of certain methods yet want to use them in my own studies, this book is without doubt a good place to start. The chapters not only offer a thorough introduction to the foundations of qualitative inquiry, commonly used methods, and widely discussed issues, but also provide exercises at the end of each chapter, allowing readers to think through how to apply these theories and methodologies to practical cases.
Through its systematic introduction, I now more clearly understand the relationships among ontology, epistemology, and specific methodologies. Another feature I particularly appreciate is that for every theoretical approach and method, the author includes examples from existing studies. So, if I am interested in a particular approach, I can then follow up by reading the recommended studies and learning from them in depth.
The three chapters on methodologies... inspired me the most. They exposed me to methods I had not encountered before, expanded my sense of what qualitative research can do, and helped me choose a design that better fits my study.
In sum, this book is a clear, highly informative, and practical guide to qualitative inquiry. It strengthened my understanding of relevant concepts, showed me concrete steps I can follow, and directed me to good studies for further learning. For a first qualitative project, it is a dependable guide to start with and to return to."
CHENXI WANG (via Goodreads)
"Essentials has been a valuable companion for this applied researcher. Working in the private sector means that we do not always get the time and space to do in-depth exploration of theory or philosophy. This book has meant that my research approach has remained rigorous and reliable without having to read the thousands of pages required of Derrida or Foucault. I especially appreciated the sections on methodological coherence and the generous use of citations and examples so that I may dive deeper where I need to.
Mayan's writing is approachable for the layman. Her experience as a teacher shines throughout the pages as she proactively addresses common points of confusion. Personally, I struggle with the more esoteric concepts such as theoretical orientations, epistemologies, and ontologies. She has anticipated this and carefully describes each one.
My one minor critique is that there are few examples of how to adopt the research process for a corporate or agile project management setting. Be aware that you will have to do your own adjustments in these cases.
Overall, this is a fantastic refresher and guidebook for the applied qual researcher, and I have recommended Essentials to my colleagues and juniors working in UX Research."
- Sandra (via Amazon)
A GREAT MANUAL FOR AN APPLIED RESEARCHER
"This text is the first one I go to when I have ANY question about qualitative inquiry. It doesn’t matter if I have a question about paradigms, theory, specific methods, design, rigour - this is where I start (and I often don’t have to go further, unless I need to do a deeper dive into a theoretical or methodological topic).
Dr. Mayan is a master communicator. She takes complex and sometimes daunting topics and explains them in a way that leaves you feeling like you just chatted about qualitative methods over a coffee! I appreciate that I don’t have to spend time trying to decipher what she is saying.
I have the first edition of Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry, which was my go-to text for any topic related to qualitative research because it is so accessible. The second edition is even better. The additions are excellent. I particularly like how she has expanded the sections on paradigms and theory - there is a GREAT table that covers metatheories that is worth the cost of the text!
She has also added an entire chapter on arts-based research. The text is surprisingly concise even though she covers pretty much everything. And it’s a great Christmas gift for all of those quantitative researchers in your life! You will save loads of time explaining topics like ‘saturation’ and ‘rigour’. It doesn’t matter if you are experienced or new to qualitative research, you will use this text."
MAXI MICIAK (via Goodreads)
The second edition of Maria J. Mayan's Essentials of Qualitative Inquiry is written for newcomers interested in applied research, regardless of discipline. It provides what the reader needs to begin to explore, appreciate, and deeply understand our social world.
The new edition maintains the straightforward, conversational style and passionate support for qualitative work of the first edition while addressing numerous changes in the field. Mayan avoids paint-by-number formulas while helping novices learn many of the approaches, methodologies, and techniques used by experienced researchers.
She helps readers confront the ambiguities and ethical issues in doing a field project and addresses some of the main debates in the field. After nearly three decades of teaching this subject herself, Mayan can anticipate and address the most common questions students will raise.
Features of the new edition include:
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More emphasis on theoretical orientations
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Added sections on arts-based research, mixed methods, systematic reviews, and participatory research
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A unique approach to conducting qualitative analysis
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Advice on self-care for the researcher
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Summary tables, appendices with useful tools and templates, and practical exercises at the end of each chapter make this the perfect vehicle to introduce students to the complex world of qualitative inquiry