In recent years, research in the social sciences has been dominated by the debate on the merits of qualitative method versus quantitative methodology. Until recently, the debate appeared to have been won by those promoting the qualitative approach, but then postmodern theory appeared on the scene, challenging all our preconceptions about research method. This book goes one step further than those working at the philosophical level, showing the implications of postmodernism for practice.

First Published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In recent years, research in the social sciences has been dominated by the debate on the merits of qualitative method versus quantitative methodology. Until recently, the debate appeared to have been won by those promoting the qualitative approach, but then postmodern theory appeared on the scene, challenging all our preconceptions about research method. This book goes one step further than those working at the philosophical level, showing the implications of postmodernism for practice.

Interview roles are less clear than they once were, and in some cases, the roles are even exchanged to promote new opportunities for understanding the shape and evolution of selves and experience. Postmodern Interviewing offers readers an exploration of the postmodern interview, a conversation with diverse purposes in which the communicative format is constructed as much within the interview conversation as it stems from predesignated research interests. It provides cutting-edge discussions of emerging horizons, featuring reflexivity, poetics, and power, along with discussions of new ways of gathering experiential knowledge. Employing concepts from anthropology, family studies, history, and sociology, the contributors present the ambitious new directions in which the interview has gone, such as: How the interview process is refracted through the lens of language, knowledge, culture, and difference How the dividing line between fact and fiction is blurred to promote richer understanding How standardized representation has given way to representational invention By exploring these exciting developments, readers will be exposed to the engaging opportunities for understanding the shape and evolution of selves and social worlds that are made possible through changes in the interview process. This volume is comprised of chapters from the Handbook of Interview Research (Gubrium and Holstein, SAGE, 2001). The companion volume, Inside Interviewing (SAGE, 2003), is also comprised of chapters from the Handbook.

This groundbreaking book explores the implications of postmodernist ideas within the research context. The text relates debates in postmodernism directly to current thinking and practice in both qualitative and quantitative research. The engaging book is split into two parts: Part One offers a critical discussion of recent philosophical debates and emerging trends within the field of postmodernism, while Part Two breaks down the research process into its constituent parts and reflects on the changing aspects of postmodern thought and their implications for the researcher. This timely and thought-provoking textbook will engage directly with the relationship between postmodern theory within a research context. The book's practical approach is strengthened by the inclusion of student friendly features, including a glossary and a number of illustrative examples and case studies. Its interdisciplinary approach means it will be invaluable reading for postgraduate students and researchers across the social sciences.

This book provides students with a concise introduction to the philosophy of methodology. The book stands apart from existing methodology texts by clarifying in a student-friendly and engaging way distinctions between philosophical positions, paradigms of inquiry, methodology and methods. Building an understanding of the relationships and distinctions between philosophical positions and paradigms is an essential part of the research process and integral to deploying the methodology and methods best suited for a research project, thesis or dissertation. Aided throughout by definition boxes, examples and exercises for students, the book covers topics such as: - Positivism and Post-positivism - Phenomenology - Critical Theory - Constructivism and Participatory Paradigms - Post-Modernism and Post-Structuralism - Ethnography - Grounded Theory - Hermeneutics - Foucault and Discourse This text is aimed at final-year undergraduates and post-graduate research students. For more experienced researchers developing mixed methodological approaches, it can provide a greater understanding of underlying issues relating to unfamiliar techniques.

The second edition of the Handbook of Feminist Research: Theory and Praxis, presents both a theoretical and practical approach to conducting social science research on, for, and about women. The Handbook enables readers to develop an understanding of feminist research by introducing a range of feminist epistemologies, methodologies, and methods that have had a significant impact on feminist research practice and women's studies scholarship. The Handbook continues to provide a set of clearly defined research concepts that are devoid of as much technical language as possible. It continues to engage readers with cutting edge debates in the field as well as the practical applications and issues for those whose research affects social policy and social change. It also expands on the wealth of interdisciplinary understanding of feminist research praxis that is grounded in a tight link between epistemology, methodology and method. The second edition of this Handbook will provide researchers with the tools for excavating subjugated knowledge on women's lives and the lives of other marginalized groups with the goals of empowerment and social change.

'These sections represent the clearest rendition yet of these subjects, with difficult concepts introduced in a digestible form for the neophytic (or not so neophytic) researcher. Whilst in a book this size not every argument can be presented, there is ample extra material to be found to encourage further engagement... At the end of each chapter, there is a very useful Further Reading section provided by the authors, which gives useful guidelines. I believe to be an extremely useful text, which addresses what has until now been a significant gap in the market. This book will be my first choice in the future for introducing doctoral students of management-related subject to the philosophical underpinning they require for their studies. There is no other text which covers this area so clearly, so succinctly and in language that is readily accessible to a wide range of researcher back-grounds. I can enviSAGE this being a valuable source book to which researchers return again and again in order to deepen their understanding as research projects progress; it certainly provoked some new questions for me. To conclude, an excellent buy' - International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation This is an invaluable introduction for all students and researchers of management confronting a new research project. Understanding Management Research provides an overview of the principal epistemological debates in social science and how these lead to and are expressed in different ways of conceiving and undertaking organizational research. For researchers and students who are increasingly expected to adopt a reflexive understanding of their own epistemological position, the authors present a concise, accessible guide to the different perspectives available and their implications for research output. All students undertaking empirical research for theses and dissertations will find this book helps them comprehend the key ongoing debates and engage with their own pre-understandings when trying to make sense of management and organizations.

Introduction to mixed methods research -- Formulating questions, conducting a literature review, sampling design, and the centrality of ethics in mixed methods research -- A qualitative approach to mixed methods design, analysis, interpretation, writing up, and validity -- Interpretative approaches to mixed methods research -- Feminist approaches to mixed methods research -- Postmodernist approaches to mixed methods research, with Chris Kelly -- Putting it together: qualitative approaches to mixed methods research praxis -- Conclusion: the prospects and challenges of mixed methods praxis

Qualitative Research is changing as a result of postmodern influences which have changed the way research is interpreted and understood. This has prompted questions which have been knocking at the door of qualitative research for some time now: Who is the researcher in this research account? How does the researcher relate to his/her research? How can the researcher who reads qualitative research relate to and understand the nuances and complexities in qualitative research? How can this volume help us to, not only describe, effect and manage change, but help us to understand, imagine and affect policies, practices and procedures related to research? What can we learn from researchers at the top of their stride who have struggled in order to develop qualitative research? The book includes illustrative interviews with world famous scholars. William Pinar, Norman Denzin, Henry Giroux, Zygmunt Bauman and Maxine Greene invite the student to engage reflectively and to figure out the rudiments and connections of research methodology and methods for theses. The developed so called “The Five Contexts” serves as a theoretical framework for conducting, understanding and interpreting qualitative research in a variety of disciplines in this post-modern era .