Approaches to Qualitative Research A Reader on Theory and Practice

by Hesse-Biber, Sharlene Nagy; Leavy, Patricia

• ISBN13: 9780195157758
• ISBN10: 0195157753
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-07-17
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Qualitative research encompasses a growing set of methods that eschew strictly empirical, quantitative data in favor of information gathered through ethnography, in-depth interviewing, focus groups, and visual research. While it is an important tool in the arsenal of the researcher, there is often a large gap between the theory behind qualitative research and the actual practice of its methods. Approaches to Qualitative Research couples theoretical articles with practical research examples to help students develop a holistic understanding of the process of qualitative research. Covering a wide range of traditional and emergent research methods, as well as techniques of analysis and writing, the book clearly explains the critical link between theory and method through carefully selected articles and in-depth introductory essays. The essays illustrate key concepts that are crucial to the understanding of qualitative methods, connecting theoretical discussions with "how-to" examples of the research process. Selected for their accessibility, the articles not only reveal the basics of qualitative research but also touch on some current practices including Internet research, computer-driven data analysis, and using still and moving data. Approaches to Qualitative Research is an exemplary text for undergraduate and graduate courses on research methods and qualitative research methods. It is also an ideal companion volume to Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber and Michelle Yaiser's Feminist Perspectives on Social Research (OUP, 2004).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vi
Contributors	vii
Credits	xiv
I DISTINGUISHING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH	1	(130)
Competing Paradigms in Qualitative Research: Theories and Issues	17	(22)
Egon G. Guba
Yvonna S. Lincoln
Overcoming Dualisms: A Feminist Agenda for Sociological Methodology	39	(23)
Joey Sprague
Mary Zimmerman
How Standpoint Methodology Informs Philosophy of Social Science	62	(19)
Sandra Harding
The Blending of Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Understanding Childbearing among Welfare Recipients	81	(16)
Mark R. Rank
Dimensions of Desire: Bridging Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in a Study of Female Adolescent Sexuality	97	(34)
Deborah L. Tolman
Laura Szalacha
II INTERACTION AND POSITIONALITY WITHIN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH	131	(172)
Culture to Culture: Ethnography and Cultural Studies as Critical Intervention	149	(10)
Bell Hooks
``You Still Takin' Notes?'' Fieldwork and Problems of Informed Consent	159	(18)
Barrie Thorne
Fieldwork in Lesbian and Gay Communities	177	(8)
Kath Weston
Depth Interviewing	185	(18)
William L. Miller
Benjamin F. Crabtree
``White Like Me?'' Methods, Meaning, and Manipulation in the Field of White Studies	203	(21)
Charles A. Gallagher
Beginning Where We Are: Feminist Methodology in Oral History	224	(19)
Kathryn Anderson
Susan Armitage
Dana Jack
Judith Wittner
Understanding Domestic Service through Oral History and the Census: The Case of Grand Falls, Newfoundland	243	(20)
Ingrid Botting
Focus Groups	263	(23)
David L. Morgan
Why Urban Parents Resist Involvement in Their Children's Elementary Education	286	(17)
Peter McDermott
Julia Rothenberg
III UNOBTRUSIVE METHODS, VISUAL RESEARCH, AND CULTURAL STUDIES	303	(106)
Following in Foucault's Footsteps: Text and Context in Qualitative Research	317	(17)
Lindsay Prior
Photographs within the Sociological Research Process	334	(16)
Jon Prosser
Dona Schwartz
Analyses of Moving Images	350	(17)
Diana Rose
Introducing Online Methods	367	(35)
Chris Mann
Fiona Stewart
A Content Analysis of Internet-Accessible Written Pornographic Depictions	402	(7)
Denna Harmon
Scot B. Boeringer
IV ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION, AND THE WRITING OF QUALITATIVE DATA	409	(126)
An End to Innocence: The Ethnography of Ethnography	427	(20)
John Van Maanen
The Art and Politics of Interpretation	447	(26)
Norman K. Denzin
Writing: A Method of Inquiry	473	(23)
Laural Richardson
Grounded Theory	496	(26)
Kathy Charmaz
``That's Not What I Said'': Interpretive Conflict in Oral Narrative Research	522	(13)
Katherine Borland
Unleashing Frankenstein's Monster? The Use of Computers in Qualitative Research	535
Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber