The definitive step-by step resource for qualitative and ethnographic research. Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact is a comprehensive guide on both the theoretical foundations and practical application of qualitative methodology. Adopting a phronetic-iterative approach, this foundational book leads readers through the chronological progression of a qualitative research project, from designing a study and collecting and analyzing data to developing theories and effectively communicating the results—allowing readers to employ qualitative methods in their projects as they follow each chapter. Coverage of topics such as qualitative theories, ethics, sampling, interview techniques, qualitative quality, and advice on practical fieldwork provides clear and concise guidance on how to design and conduct sound research projects. Easy-to-follow instructions on iterative qualitative data analysis explain how to organize, code, interpret, make claims, and build theory. Throughout, the author offers her own backstage stories about fieldwork, analysis, drafting, writing, and publishing, revealing the emotional and humorous aspects of practicing qualitative methods. Now in its second edition, this thorough and informative text includes new and expanded sections on topics including post-qualitative research, phenomenology, textual analysis and cultural studies, gaining access to elite and difficult to access populations, on persuasive writing, novel interviewing approaches, and more. Numerous examples, case studies, activities, and discussion questions have been updated to reflect current research and ensure contemporary relevance.
• Written in an engaging and accessible narrative style by an acclaimed scholar and researcher in the field
• Offers new and updated examples of coding and qualitative analysis, full-color photos and illustrations, and a companion instructor website
• Synthesizes the most up-to-date multidisciplinary literature on qualitative research methods including seven main approaches to qualitative inquiry: grounded theory, case study, ethnography, phenomenology, narrative and autoethnography, participatory action research, and arts-based research
• Presents innovative qualitative data collection methods and modern representation strategies, such as virtual ethnography, photo-voice, and mobile interviewing
Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact is an ideal resource for undergraduate and graduate students, instructors, and faculty across multiple disciplines including the social sciences, healthcare, education, management, and the humanities, and for practitioners seeking expert guidance on practical qualitative methods.
Author(s): Sarah J. Tracy
Edition: 2nd Ed
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons/Blackwell
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 435
Tags: Research: Qualitative Methods
About the website
......Page 4
Title Page
......Page 5
Copyright Page......Page 6
Contents......Page 9
Detailed Contents......Page 10
Preface: Is this book for me?......Page 18
Chapter 1 Developing contextual research that matters......Page 23
Self-reflexivity
......Page 24
Thick description......Page 25
How qualitative research is distinct from quantitative research......Page 26
A phronetic approach: doing qualitative research that matters......Page 28
Strengths of qualitative research......Page 29
Qualitative research is useful in a variety of jobs, settings, and disciplinary foci......Page 30
Exercise 1.1 Interviewing a friend, colleague, or classmate......Page 31
Moving from ideas to sites, settings, and participants......Page 33
Sources of research ideas......Page 34
Exercise 1.2 Field/site/participant brainstorm......Page 35
Consider This 1.1 Sources of research ideas......Page 36
Compatibility, yield, suitability, and feasibility......Page 37
Researcher’s Notepad 1.1 Negotiating challenges with rare or hidden populations......Page 39
Moving toward a research question......Page 40
Considering collaboration......Page 42
Exercise 1.3 Published examples of research questions......Page 43
In summary......Page 45
Key Terms......Page 46
Chapter 2 Entering the conversation of qualitative research......Page 47
Inductive/emic, deductive/etic, and abductive/iterative approaches......Page 48
Sensitizing concepts......Page 51
A complex focus on the whole......Page 52
Thick description......Page 53
A sampling of theoretical approaches that commonly use qualitative methods......Page 54
Symbolic interactionism......Page 55
Consider This 2.1 How do I know myself?......Page 57
Structuration theory......Page 58
Consider This 2.2 Why am I standing in line?......Page 59
Sensemaking......Page 60
The early days......Page 62
Recent history in academia and the private sector......Page 63
Current conversations: ethics, post-qualitative research, big data
......Page 64
In summary......Page 66
Key Terms......Page 67
Chapter 3 Paradigmatic reflections and qualitative research territories......Page 70
Positivist and post‐positivist paradigms......Page 71
Interpretive paradigm......Page 73
Critical paradigm......Page 74
Postmodern and other “post” paradigms......Page 77
Consider This 3.1 Whose stylistic rules?......Page 79
Paradigmatic complexities and intersections......Page 80
Exercise 3.2 Assumptions of paradigmatic approaches......Page 81
Case study......Page 83
Grounded theory......Page 84
Ethnography and ethnography of communication......Page 85
Phenomenology......Page 87
Participatory action research......Page 89
Narrative inquiry and autoethnography......Page 91
Creative, performative, and arts‐based approaches......Page 92
In summary......Page 93
Key Terms......Page 94
Chapter 4 Research design: Sampling, research proposals, ethics, and IRB......Page 97
The value of fieldwork and “participant witnessing”......Page 98
The value of interviews......Page 100
Consider This 4.1 Yin and yang: taijitu......Page 101
The value of textual analysis and cultural studies......Page 102
The value of visual and arts‐based materials......Page 103
Random samples and representative samples......Page 104
Maximum variation samples......Page 105
Typical, extreme, deviant, and critical incident samples......Page 106
How and when to choose your sample......Page 108
Ethics and institutional review boards (IRB)......Page 109
Research instruments, informed consent, and confidentiality......Page 110
Different levels of ethical risk and IRB review......Page 111
The quirks of IRB......Page 112
Tips and Tools 4.2 Research proposal components......Page 114
Title, abstract, and key words......Page 115
Introduction/rationale......Page 116
Exercise 4.1 Conceptual cocktail party......Page 117
Literature review/conceptual framework......Page 118
Research questions/foci......Page 119
Tips and Tools 4.3 What belongs in a qualitative methods section?......Page 120
Tips and Tools 4.4 What to include in a qualitative project budget......Page 121
In summary......Page 122
Key Terms......Page 123
Chapter 5 Negotiating access and exploring the scene......Page 126
Riding my mentor’s coattails: Citywest 911 emergency call-takers
......Page 127
Becoming a full participant: the Radiant Sun cruise ship......Page 128
Entering a closed organization: Women’s Minimum and Nouveau Jail......Page 129
Accessing an elite interviewee population surrounding a delicate topic......Page 130
Do some homework before approaching the scene......Page 132
Please don’t reject me! Seeking research permission......Page 133
Researcher’s Notepad 5.2 Sample access proposal: Emotion, culture, and organizational communication......Page 136
Virtual “access” versus textual harvesting......Page 137
Negotiating access for interviews......Page 138
Abandoning the ego, engaging embodiment, embracing liminality......Page 139
Navigating those first research interactions......Page 141
Relationship building with participants......Page 143
Seeking informed consent in the scene......Page 144
Briefing interviews and participant information table......Page 145
Member diaries......Page 146
Maps and narrative tours......Page 147
Key Terms......Page 149
Chapter 6 Field roles, fieldnotes, and field focus......Page 151
Field roles and standpoints......Page 152
Complete participant......Page 153
Play participant......Page 154
Focused witness......Page 155
Consider This 6.1 When playing is uncomfortable......Page 156
Complete witness......Page 157
Visual and virtual aspects of fieldwork......Page 158
Writing fieldnotes: raw records, headnotes, and formal fieldnotes......Page 159
Raw records and headnotes......Page 160
Formal fieldnotes......Page 162
Researcher’s Notepad 6.1 Fieldnote header......Page 163
Showing (and using dialogue) versus telling......Page 164
Making the familiar strange and the strange familiar......Page 165
Noticing the data as evidence......Page 166
Consider This 6.2 Noticing the data as evidence......Page 167
Fieldnote wrap-up
......Page 168
Focusing the data and using heuristic devices......Page 169
Exercise 6.2 Fieldnotes......Page 171
Following, Forgetting, and Improvising......Page 172
In summary......Page 174
Key Terms......Page 175
Chapter 7 Interview planning and design: Structuring, wording, and questioning......Page 177
Self-reflexivity in interviews
......Page 178
Level of structure in interviews......Page 179
Interview types: ethnographic, informant, respondent, narrative, discursive......Page 180
Interview stances: naïveté, collaborative, pedagogical, responsive, confrontational......Page 182
Interview guide and question wording......Page 183
Exercise 7.2 Strategizing interviews......Page 184
Researcher’s Notepad 7.1 Research questions versus interview questions......Page 185
Opening the interview......Page 186
Tips and Tools 7.2 Interview question types......Page 187
Generative questions......Page 188
Directive questions......Page 190
Closing the interview......Page 191
Visual, embodied, and experiential approaches......Page 192
Researcher’s Notepad 7.2 Mobile peripatetic interviews......Page 195
How many interviews are “enough”?......Page 196
In summary......Page 197
Exercise 7.3 Interview schedule or guide......Page 198
Key Terms......Page 199
Chapter 8 Interview practice: Embodied, mediated, and focus-group approaches
......Page 203
Interview logistics......Page 204
Why good interviewing is so much more than asking questions......Page 206
Strengths of mediated interviews......Page 208
Disadvantages of mediated interviews......Page 210
Tips and Tools 8.1 Mediated interviews: advantages and disadvantages......Page 211
The value of focus groups......Page 212
When to use focus groups......Page 213
Facilitating the focus group......Page 215
Tips and Tools 8.2 Logistics of formal focus groups......Page 216
Overcoming common focus group and interviewing challenges......Page 218
Exercise 8.2 Role-playing interview challenges in a fishbowl......Page 224
Researcher’s Notepad 8.1 Remedial–pedagogical interviews......Page 221
Transcribing......Page 223
Tips and Tools 8.3 Common transcribing symbols......Page 226
Key Terms......Page 228
Chapter 9 Data analysis basics: A phronetic iterative approach......Page 230
A phronetic iterative analysis approach......Page 231
Organizing and preparing the data......Page 234
Coding: what it is and how to start......Page 235
Consider This 9.1 Motivating questions and coding domains......Page 237
Manual approaches......Page 238
Researcher’s Notepad 9.1 Manual coding visual displays: Artistic canvas and tabletop categories......Page 239
Computer-aided approaches with everyday software
......Page 240
Primary-cycle coding, coding question start list, and first-level descriptive codes
......Page 241
Focusing the analysis and creating a codebook......Page 243
Researcher’s Notepad 9.2 Codebook excerpt......Page 244
Consider This 9.2 Focusing the data analysis......Page 246
Secondary-cycle coding: second-level analytic and axial/hierarchical codes
......Page 247
Exercise 9.1 Grouping together codes via axial and hierarchical coding......Page 249
Synthesizing activities: memos, negative cases, and analytic outlines......Page 250
Researcher’s Notepad 9.3 Analytic memos......Page 251
Researcher’s Notepad 9.4 Loose analysis outline......Page 252
Following, Forgetting, and Improvising......Page 253
In summary......Page 254
Key Terms......Page 255
Chapter 10 Advanced data analysis: The art and magic of interpretation......Page 258
Visual data displays......Page 260
Researcher’s Notepad 10.1 Matrix display......Page 261
Tips and Tools 10.1 Flowchart depicting iterative analysis process......Page 263
Computer-aided qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS)
......Page 264
Exemplars and vignettes......Page 267
Developing typologies......Page 269
Dramatistic strategy and narrative analysis......Page 270
Tips and Tools 10.2 Questions to inspire narrative analysis (adapted from Harter, 2013)......Page 272
Metaphor analysis......Page 273
Explanation and causality......Page 275
Discourse tracing......Page 277
Researcher’s Notepad 10.2 Micro, meso, macro sources......Page 279
A post-qualitative analysis: deconstructionism and arts-based research
......Page 280
Following, Forgetting, and Improvising......Page 282
In summary......Page 283
Exercise 10.1 Advanced data analysis/interpretation......Page 284
Key Terms......Page 285
Chapter 11 Qualitative quality: Creating a credible, ethical, significant study......Page 287
Moving beyond objectivity, reliability, and formal generalizability......Page 288
Eight “big tent” criteria for high quality qualitative research......Page 291
Tips and Tools 11.1 Eight “big tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research......Page 292
Rich rigor......Page 293
Sincerity......Page 294
Self-reflexivity
......Page 295
Researcher’s Notepa 11.1 Sincerity word cloud......Page 296
Crystallization or triangulation (NOT both at the same time)......Page 297
Tips and Tools 11.2 Intercoder reliability......Page 299
Member reflections (NOT member “checks”)......Page 300
Transferability and naturalistic generalization......Page 301
Aesthetic merit......Page 302
Significant contribution......Page 303
Procedural ethics......Page 305
Situational ethics......Page 306
Consider This 11.1 Situational and relational ethics......Page 307
Meaningful coherence......Page 308
Following, Forgetting, and Improvising......Page 309
In summary......Page 310
Key Terms......Page 311
Chapter 12 Theorizing and writing: Explaining, synthesizing, and crafting a tale......Page 314
Theorizing, brainstorming, explaining......Page 315
Exercise 12.1 Words push back on us: a creative analytic exercise......Page 316
Exercise 12.2 Theorizing via bracketing, abduction, metaphor, and explaining......Page 317
Types of tales: realist, impressionistic/poetic, confessional/autoethnographic......Page 318
Creative, impressionist, and literary tales......Page 319
The confessional tale......Page 321
Researcher’s Notepad 12.1 Poetic inquiry......Page 322
Archaeology of a “traditional” qualitative essay......Page 323
Researcher’s Notepad 12.2 Dialogue as a powerful literary tactic......Page 324
Exercise 12.3 Accidental rewrites......Page 325
Writing the framing material: title, abstract, key words......Page 326
Writing the research methodology and method(s)......Page 327
Findings and analysis: choosing an organizational approach......Page 328
Researcher’s Notepad 12.3 Methods data display......Page 329
Themes/topics......Page 330
Convergence/braided narrative......Page 331
Separated text......Page 332
Layered/messy texts......Page 333
Conclusions, implications, limitations, and future research......Page 334
Following, Forgetting, and Improvising......Page 337
In summary......Page 339
Key Terms......Page 340
Chapter 13 Drafting, polishing, and publishing......Page 342
Writing as a method of inquiry......Page 344
Choosing the research materials......Page 345
Rich, luminous, and thick representations......Page 346
Structuring the data in sections, paragraphs, and sentences......Page 347
Exercise 13.1 Writing from different perspectives and verb tenses......Page 348
Formatting qualitative work......Page 349
Visual representations and art......Page 351
Setting yourself up for success by considering the audience first......Page 352
Exercise 13.2 Article format model......Page 354
Submitting, revising, and resubmitting for journal publication......Page 355
Tips and Tools 13.1 National or international journals that have published qualitative communication research (an incomplete list):......Page 356
Rise and grind: overcoming common writing and submission challenges......Page 358
How to write a lot......Page 359
Addressing common challenges in qualitative writing......Page 360
In summary......Page 364
Key Terms......Page 365
Chapter 14 Qualitative methodology matters: Exiting and communicating impact......Page 366
Navigating exit and research disengagement......Page 367
Don’t spoil the scene......Page 368
Give back......Page 369
Ethically delivering the findings......Page 370
Public scholarship: crafting representations that move beyond the scholarly essay......Page 371
Following, Forgetting, and Improvising......Page 372
Staged performances......Page 373
Researcher’s Notepad 14.2 Staged performance with impact......Page 374
Films......Page 375
White papers and translated essays......Page 376
Tips and Tools 14.1 White papers......Page 377
Grant applications and reports......Page 378
Consulting and private sector ethnography......Page 379
Media relations......Page 380
Web presence......Page 381
Warning: doing research that matters can be terrifying......Page 383
Overcoming lingering obstacles to public scholarship......Page 384
Following, Forgetting, and Improvising......Page 386
Key Terms......Page 388
Researcher’s Notepad Fieldnote......Page 389
Researcher’s Notepad Focus group guide......Page 391
Researcher’s Notepad Interview/focus group excerpts with different levels of transcription detail......Page 395
References......Page 399
Index......Page 422
EULA......Page 435
