The Qualitative Report Volume 8 Number 3 September 2003 447-461 http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR8-3/mccaslin.pdf The Five-Question Method For Framing A Qualitative Research Study Mark L. McCaslin University of Idaho, Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA Karen Wilson Scott University of Idaho, Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA The Five-Question Method is an approach to framing Qualitative Research, focusing on the methodologies of five of the major traditions in qualitative research: biography, ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, and case study. Asking Five Questions, novice researchers select a methodology appropriate to the desired perspective on the selected topic. The Method facilitates identifying and writing a Problem Statement. Through taking a future perspective, the researcher discovers the importance and direction of the study and composes a Purpose Statement. The process develops an overarching research question integrating the purpose and the research problem. The role of the researcher and management of assumptions and biases is discussed. The Five-Question Method simplifies the framing process promoting quality in qualitative research design. A course outline is appended. Key words: Qualitative Research, Five-Question Method, Biography Research, Phenomenology Research, Grounded Theory Research, Case Study Research, and Ethnography Research Introduction Planning a qualitative study for the first time tends to be an intimidating venture for graduate students just entering the field. Even armed with a topic of interest, for a novice in qualitative research, identifying the problem can seem highly problematic in and of itself. “Students often enter a doctoral-level course with little or no previous preparation in qualitative research” (Cobb & Hoffart, 1999). We view graduate students’ general lack of exposure to and experience with qualitative research as a major issue to be addressed in any entry-level qualitative course of instruction. A second major hurtle for the novice qualitative researcher, and perhaps for others, is how to determine the appropriate tradition and then how to construct a canvas and frame upon which a study can be effectively and artistically painted. Creswell (1998) suggests that the tradition of qualitative inquiry selected by a researcher can shape the design of the study. He carefully provides text and tables comparing five major qualitative traditions: biography, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study in six phases of research design (1998). We have found Creswell’s approach to be highly beneficial and included several aspects of it in our own instruction of qualitative design. One of the six phases Creswell (1998) compared across his five selected traditions, “formation of the purpose and