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In this book, we provide: a brief theoretical account of realist interviewing including how it differs from mainstream quantitative research; guidelines for preparing and conducting a realist interview; a step-by-step guide to conducting each stage of within and between case componential and structural data analysis; and, a reflection on the limitations of realist interviewing and analysis. Data from the first author's Master's thesis (Anderson, 2015) is used to illustrate this analysis and provide real-life examples. Thus, realist interviewing is applied to the study of university students' academic motivation using two dominant motivational theories: Achievement Goal Theory and Self-Determination Theory. We believe that when the variable-based approach has exhausted its capacities within a specific area of social science research, it should be complemented or replaced by a case-based, idiographic approach rooted in the realist paradigm. Thus, we hope this manual provides a useful template by which additional psychological research may be conducted.

Realist Interviewing: Componential and Structural Analyses Applied to Motivation Research