This book provides invaluable guidance for thinking through and planning a qualitative study. Rather than offering recipes for specific techniques, master storyteller Robert Stake stimulates readers to discover "how things work" in organizations, programs, communities, and other systems. Topics range from identifying a research question to selecting methods, gathering data, interpreting and analyzing the results, and producing a well-thought-through written report. In-depth examples from actual studies emphasize the role of the researcher as instrument and interpreter, while boxed vignettes and learning projects encourage self-reflection and critical thinking. Other useful pedagogical features include quick-reference tables and charts, sample project management forms, and an end-of-book glossary. After reading this book, doctoral students and novice qualitative researchers will be able to plan a study from beginning to end. Contents include: (1) Qualitative Research: How Things Work; (2) Interpretation: The Person as Instrument; (3) Experiential Understanding: Most Qualitative Study Is Experiential; (4) Stating the Problem: Questioning How This Thing Works; (5) Methods: Gathering Data; (6) Review of Literature: Zooming to See the Problem; (7) Evidence: Bolstering Judgment and Reconnoitering; (8) Analysis and Synthesis: How Things Work; (9) Action Research and Self-Evaluation: Finding on Your Own How Your Place Works; (10) Storytelling: Illustrating How Things Work; (11) Writing the Final Report: An Iterative Convergence; and (12) Advocacy and Ethics: Making Things Work Better.