Realist ontologies (assumptions about the nature … ontology in much qualitative research, it is puzzling that realism has not had a more direct influence on qualitative research. Methods One promising approach is realist evaluation, which seeks to establish what works, for whom, in what circumstances, in what respects, to what extent, and why. Joseph A. Maxwell is a Professor (Emeritus) in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University, where he taught courses on qualitative and mixed methods research. Mental events and processes are real phenomena that can be causes of behavior, and causal processes can be identified and verified using qualitative methods. This paper introduces the realist approach and explains why it is particularly suited to education research. Despite the early advocacy of an explicitly realist approach to qualitative research by Huberman and Miles (1985; Miles & Huberman, 1994) and others (Hammersley, 1992a; Maxwell, ; SAGE, 2013), A Realist Approach for Qualitative Research (SAGE, 2012), and papers on … Joseph A. Maxwell . play a key role as a growing area of research methods. Sections two and three of this chapter review Volumes 2 and 3 (realist methods, and empirical examples, respectively). Realism refers to a range of ontological and epistemological positions within which research may be conducted. Background: The realist approach is a form of theory-driven evaluation developed to strengthen the explanatory power of evaluation studies and contribute to evidence-based policy and practice. The 'real' can not be observed and exists independent from human perceptions, theories, and constructions. Section four reviews the • A realist theory of causation is quite compatible with qualitative research. A critical realist approach can help us to answer research questions about how and why interventions and programs work within the complexities of primary care. • Validity is not a property of methods… He is the author of Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (3rd ed. Central to the realist tradition is the concept of “security.” Realism sees the insecurity of states as the main problem in international relations. Critical Realism (CR) is a branch of philosophy that distinguishes between the 'real' world and the 'observable' world. Excerpt "Realist review is a relatively new strategy for synthesising research, which has an explanatory rather than judgemental focus. Joseph A. Maxwell is a Professor (Emeritus) in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University, where he taught courses on qualitative and mixed methods research.He is the author of Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach (3rd ed. For our research we undertook a realist approach to identify the contextual factors and mechanisms that influenced whether Lean became a routine part of care delivery, continued to deliver desired outcomes and became the sustained, normalized way of working. Specifically, it seeks to ‘unpack the mechanism’ of how complex programmes work (or why they fail) in particular contexts and settings. It is a generic approach that can be applied to many fields of research, including health and social care. • Diversity is a real phenomenon. Political Realism has been described as the “oldest theory” of international politics, as well as the “dominant” one. In this way, within sections one and two, the reader is given an overview of Volume 1 of this collection.