A basic overview of the categories within which qualitative research fall is below. These six categories were developed by Jacob (1987) and they show the categories of research widely used in education.
Jacob, E. (1987). Qualitative Research Traditions: A Review. Review of Educational Research, 57(1), 1-50.
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (1989). Designing qualitative research. Newbury Park, California: Sage publications.
Main Methods of Data Collection:
Note: There are many methods of data collection, and each has strengths and weaknesses. For example, in-depth interviews are useful for uncovering participants perspectives, but they are time-consuming.
Find a variety of books by doing a subject search for social sciences - fieldwork in the library catalog.
Participant Observation by
Participant observation is the foundation of ethnographic research design and supports and complements other types of qualitative and quantitative data collection. Qualitative research in such diverse areas as anthropology, sociology, education, medicine draws on the insights gained through the use of participant observation. The authors have written a guide to the collection of systematic data in naturalistic settings - communities in many different cultures - to achieve an understanding of the most fundamental processes and patterns of social life. This book serves as a basic primer for the beginning researcher and as a useful reference and guide for experienced researchers in many fields who wish to reexamine their own skills and abilities in light of best practices of participant observation. This new edition includes discussions of participant observation in nontypical settings, such as the Internet, participant observation in applied research, and ethics of participant observation. It also explores in greater depth the use of computer-assisted analysis of textual data in issues of sampling and in linking method with theory.
The SAGE Handbook of Action Research by
The third edition of The SAGE Handbook of Action Research presents an updated version of the bestselling text, including new chapters covering emerging areas in healthcare, social work, education and international development, as well as an expanded 'skills' section which includes new consultant-relevant materials. Building on the strength of the previous landmark editions, Hilary Bradbury has carefully developed this edition to ensure it follows in their footsteps by mapping the current state of the discipline, as well as looking to the future of the field and exploring the issues at the cutting edge of the action research paradigm today. This volume is an essential resource for scholars and professionals engaged in social and political inquiry, healthcare, international development, new media, organizational research and education.
Fieldwork in Educational Settings by
Extensively revised and updated, this new edition of Fieldwork in Educational Settings will be welcomed by researchers and academics in education and the social sciences. Embracing both sociological and anthropological approaches to qualitative research, the book covers education inside and beyond schools. It emphasises writing up ethnographic research and getting the project finished, and is packed with examples from research in progress. This new edition brings the original text right up to date for new researchers. There is an additional chapter on computer software for data handling and attention is given to the implications of postmodernism for writing up research. The examples given are taken from the latest research, replacing those from the first edition. This is an indispensable handbook by an author whose work on this subject is widely recognised as being an essential resource for the researcher in education.
Find a variety of books by doing a subject search for interviewing or interviews-methods in the library catalog.
Qualitative Interviewing by
Qualitative interviewing has today become one of the most common research methods across the human and social sciences, but it is an approach that comes in different guises. Qualitative Interviewing will help its readers write, represent, understand, and critique qualitative interview researchin its many forms as currently practiced. The book begins with a theoretically informed introduction to qualitative interviewing by presenting a variegated landscape of how conversations have been used for knowledge-producing purposes. Particular attention is paid to the complementary positions of experience-focused interviewing(phenomenological positions) and language-focused interviewing (discourse-oriented positions), which focus on interview talk as reports (of the experiences of interviewees) and accounts (occasioned by the situation of interviewing), respectively. The following chapters address various ways ofdesigning qualitative interview studies and a guide to writing up the methodological procedures and results of an interview study. The book concludes with a presentation of the most common errors in interview reports, offering a range of solutions and strategies for evaluating research findingsbased on qualitative interviews.
Handbook of Interview Research by
The Handbook of Interview Research is the most ambitious attempt yet at examining the place of the interview in contemporary society. Interviewing is the predominant mode of research in the social sciences. It′s also the stock-in-trade of information seekers in organizations and institutions of all kinds, as well as in the mass media. Across the board, interviews provide today′s leading window on the world of experience. The Handbook offers a comprehensive examination of the interview at the cutting edge of information technology. Drawing upon leading experts from a wide range of professional disciplines, this book addresses conceptual and technical challenges that confront both academic researchers and interviewers with more applied goals. From interview theory to the nuts-and-bolts of the interview process, the coverage is impressively broad and authoritative. The Handbook of Interview Research is both encyclopedic and thematic. As an encyclopedia, it provides extensive discussions of the methodological issues now surrounding interview practice, offering a multi-faceted assessment of what has become the method of choice for obtaining personal information in today′s society. But the Handbook also is a story, which spins a particular tale of interviewing, one that moves from the commonly recognized individual interview to what is called `the interview society′. The gist of the presentation is that we can no longer regard the interview as simply an instrument for gathering data, but must now also view it an integral part of society.
Reflective Interviewing by
Offering a theoretically-informed guide for researchers learning how to interview in the social sciences, this book provides a practical approach to interviewing, helping researchers to learn about themselves as interviewers in ways that will inform the design, conduct, analysis, and representation of interview data. The author takes the reader through the practicalities of designing and conducting an interview study, and relates various forms of interview to different underlying epistemological assumptions about how knowledge is produced. The book concludes with practical advice and perspectives from experienced researchers who use interviews as a method of data generation.
Mastering the Semi-Structured Interview and Beyond by
Mastering the Semi-Structured Interview and Beyond offers an in-depth and captivating step-by-step guide to the use of semi-structured interviews in qualitative research. By tracing the life of an actual research project-an exploration of a school district's effort over 40 years to address racial equality-as a consistent example threaded across the volume, Anne Galletta shows in concrete terms how readers can approach the planning and execution of their own new research endeavor, and illuminates unexpected real-life challenges they may confront and how to address them. The volume offers a close look at the inductive nature of qualitative research, the use of researcher reflexivity, and the systematic and iterative steps involved in data collection, analysis, and interpretation. It offers guidance on how to develop an interview protocol, including the arrangement of questions and ways to evoke analytically rich data. Particularly useful for those who may be familiar with qualitative research but have not yet conducted a qualitative study, Mastering the Semi-Structured Interview and Beyond will serve both undergraduate and graduate students as well as more advanced scholars seeking to incorporate this key methodological approach into their repertoire.
