Are cultural and material phenomena equally real? How can one study the relationships between cultural constructions, social behaviour and material conditions and draw a valid conclusion from the data? In contrast to interpretive or constructivist positions, realism supports the insights of critical theory in social and educational research regarding the relationships between actors' perspectives and their actual situations, while avoiding the epistemological objectivism associated with positivism and some forms of post-positivist empiricism. This book will explain how readers can use realism to conceptualize and conduct their qualitative study to get results with greater validity.