This book is a “survival guide” for students and researchers who would like to conduct a qualitative study with limited resources. Qualitative Inquiry in Everyday Life shows how everyday life materials such as books, television, the internet, the media and everyday conversations and interactions can help us to understand larger social issues. Svend Brinkmann helps readers develop a disciplined and analytic awareness informed by theory, and shows how less can be more in qualitative research. Each chapter introduces theoretical tools to think with, and demonstrates how they can be put to use in working concretely with everyday life materials.

This book is a ′survival guide′ for students and researchers who would like to conduct a qualitative study with limited resources. Brinkmann shows how everyday life materials such as books, television, the internet, the media and everyday conversations and interactions can help us to understand larger social issues. As living human beings in cultural worlds, we are constantly surrounded by ′data′ that call for analysis, and as we cope with the different situations and episodes of our lives, we are engaged in understanding and interpreting the world as a form of qualitative inquiry. The book helps its reader develop a disciplined and analytic awareness informed by theory, and shows how less can be more in qualitative research. Each chapter introduces theoretical tools to think with, and demonstrates how they can be put to use in working concretely with everyday life materials.

Qualitative research is designed to explore the human elements of a given topic, while specific qualitative methods examine how individuals see and experience the world. Qualitative approaches are typically used to explore new phenomena and to capture individuals′ thoughts, feelings, or interpretations of meaning and process. Such methods are central to research conducted in education, nursing, sociology, anthropology, information studies, and other disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and health sciences. Qualitative research projects are informed by a wide range of methodologies and theoretical frameworks. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods presents current and complete information as well as ready-to-use techniques, facts, and examples from the field of qualitative research in a very accessible style. In taking an interdisciplinary approach, these two volumes target a broad audience and fill a gap in the existing reference literature for a general guide to the core concepts that inform qualitative research practices. The entries cover every major facet of qualitative methods, including access to research participants, data coding, research ethics, the role of theory in qualitative research, and much more—all without overwhelming the informed reader. Key Features Defines and explains core concepts, describes the techniques involved in the implementation of qualitative methods, and presents an overview of qualitative approaches to research Offers many entries that point to substantive debates among qualitative researchers regarding how concepts are labeled and the implications of such labels for how qualitative research is valued Guides readers through the complex landscape of the language of qualitative inquiry Includes contributors from various countries and disciplines that reflect a diverse spectrum of research approaches from more traditional, positivist approaches, through postmodern, constructionist ones Presents some entries written in first-person voice and others in third-person voice to reflect the diversity of approaches that define qualitative work Key Themes Approaches and Methodologies Arts-Based Research, Ties to Computer Software Data Analysis Data Collection Data Types and Characteristics Dissemination History of Qualitative Research Participants Quantitative Research, Ties to Research Ethics Rigor Textual Analysis, Ties to Theoretical and Philosophical Frameworks The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods is designed to appeal to undergraduate and graduate students, practitioners, researchers, consultants, and consumers of information across the social sciences, humanities, and health sciences, making it a welcome addition to any academic or public library.

Digital Tools for Qualitative Research shows how the research process in its entirety can be supported by technology tools in ways that can save time and add robustness and depth to qualitative work. It addresses the use of a variety of tools (many of which may already be familiar to you) to support every phase of the research process, providing practical case studies taken from real world research. The text shows you how to select and use technology tools to: engage in reflexivity collaborate with other researchers and stakeholders manage your project do your literature review generate and manage your data transcribe and analyse textual, audio and visual data and represent and share your findings. The book also considers important ethical issues surrounding the use of various technologies in each chapter. On the companion website, you′ll find lots of additional resources including video tutorials and activities. Whether you′re a novice or expert social researcher, this book will inspire you to think creatively about how to approach your research project and get the most out of the huge range of tools available to you.

Is qualitative research in crisis? In Questioning Qualitative Inquiry Martyn Hammersley raises fundamental questions about the current state of qualitative social research. He examines some of the changes that have taken place within it over the past fifty years, suggesting that the move away from natural science as a model, and towards an appeal to literature and art, involves rejection of key principles that are essential to research of any kind. Hammersley argues that, in important respects, qualitative inquiry has not lived up to the claims originally made on its behalf, and that more recent developments have worsened the situation. Insufficient attention has been given to the problems surrounding leading ideas like thick description, analytic induction, and constructionism. The argument is pursued through discussion of the work of influential writers - such as Clifford, Geertz, Denzin and Lincoln - and by detailed examination of concrete issues, like the value of interview data, the rationales for discourse and conversation analysis, the role of rhetoric in research reports, and the nature of assessment criteria. At a time when qualitative inquiry is coming under renewed challenge in some quarters, the task of addressing the methodological problems it faces has become urgent. These essays on current developments and debates are essential reading for anyone interested in the future of qualitative research.

This lively, practical text presents a fresh and comprehensive approach to doing qualitative research. The book offers a unique balance of theory and clear-cut choices for customizing every phase of a qualitative study. A scholarly mix of classic and contemporary studies from multiple disciplines provides compelling, field-based examples of the full range of qualitative approaches. Readers learn about adaptive ways of designing studies, collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting findings. Key aspects of the researcher's craft are addressed, such as fieldwork options, the five phases of data analysis (with and without using computer-based software), and how to incorporate the researcher's “declarative” and “reflective” selves into a final report. Ideal for graduate-level courses, the text includes:* Discussions of ethnography, grounded theory, phenomenology, feminist research, and other approaches.* Instructions for creating a study bank to get a new study started.* End-of-chapter exercises and a semester-long, field-based project.* Quick study boxes, research vignettes, sample studies, and a glossary.* Previews for sections within chapters, and chapter recaps.* Discussion of the place of qualitative research among other social science methods, including mixed methods research.

A critical examination of the principles and practice of qualitative research is provided in this book which examines the interplay between context and method, making it invaluable for both the experienced and the beginning researcher. A range of methodological and practical issues central to the concerns of qualitative researchers are addressed. These include: the validity and plausibility of qualitative methods; the problems encountered using specific techniques in a range of social settings; and the moral issues raised in qualitative research. These themes are related to practical issues which are illustrated by a breadth of examples and in-depth case studies. The contributors look at the methods and strategies that they have used to study everyday life, and make suggestions to readers on why and how they might conduct their own studies. They raise issues that go beyond `cookbook' discussions of issues such as how to enter social settings, manage the subjects of one's research and ask `good' questions in the process of formulating research strategies. These issues are addressed within the framework of the larger purposes and uses of qualitative research where specific methodological problems are not used as ends in themselves.

Provides practical guidance for both students and academics on how to use video in qualitative research, how to address the problems and issues that arise in undertaking video-based field studies and how to subject video recordings to detailed scrutiny and analysis.

Qualitative researchers can now connect with participants online to collect deep, rich data and generate new understandings of contemporary research phenomena. Doing Qualitative Research Online gives students and researchers the practical and scholarly foundations needed to gain digital research literacies essential for designing and conducting studies based on qualitative data collected online. The book will take a broad view of methodologies, methods and ethics, covering: Ethical issues in research design and ethical relationships with participants Designing online qualitative studies Collecting qualitative data online through interviews, observations, participatory and arts-based research and a wide range of posts and documents. Analyzing data and reporting findings Written by a scholar-practitioner in e-learning and online academia with 15 years’ experience, this book will help all those new to online research by providing a range of examples and illustrations from published research. The text and accompanying materials will offer discussion and assignment ideas for ease of adoption.

Presents results from a qualitative approach to the psychological study of everyday human experiences.