Interpretive Description

by Thorne,Sally

• ISBN13: 9781598743296
• ISBN10: 1598743295
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-09-30
• Publisher: Routledge
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

This book is designed to guide both new and more seasoned researchers through the steps of conceiving, designing, and implementing coherent research capable of generating new insights in clinical settings. Drawing from a variety of theoretical, methodological, and substantive strands, interpretive description provides a bridge between objective neutrality and abject theorizing, producing results that are academically credible, imaginative, and clinically practical. Replete with examples from a host of research settings in health care and other arenas, the volume will be an ideal text for applied research programs.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 11
Preface	p. 15
Interpretive Description in Theory
Qualitative Research in the Applied Disciplines	p. 23
Theorizing and Application	p. 23
The Nursing Example	p. 25
Methodological Ancestry	p. 26
Ethnography	p. 27
Grounded Theory	p. 28
Phenomenology	p. 29
Departure and Diversification	p. 30
The Genesis of Interpretive Description	p. 33
What Interpretive Description Is and What It Is Not	p. 34
Cultivating Questions in the Clinical Field	p. 37
What's the Question?	p. 37
Where Have We Come From?	p. 37
What Constitutes a Qualitative Question?	p. 38
What Constitutes a Disciplinary Question?	p. 40
What's Worth Studying Qualitatively?	p. 42
Generating Questions in Interpretive Description	p. 44
Finding a Researchable Problem	p. 44
Framing a Research Question	p. 45
Clarifying Questions Amenable to Interpretive Description	p. 47
What Is Description?	p. 47
What Is Interpretation?	p. 48
What Is Interpretive Description?	p. 50
Scaffolding a Study	p. 53
Conducting a Literature Review	p. 54
Finding Literature	p. 55
The Impact of the Internet	p. 55
Expanding and Refining your Search	p. 56
Sorting and Organizing Literature	p. 57
Interpreting and Writing Up Your Literature Review	p. 60
Options in Writing a Literature Review	p. 60
Orienting the Literature Review to Your Research Problem	p. 61
Concluding the Literature Review	p. 62
Clarifying the Theoretical Forestructure	p. 64
Locating Theoretical Allegiances	p. 64
Locating the Discipline	p. 66
Positioning the Researcher Within the Ideas	p. 69
Framing a Study Design	p. 73
Foundational Underpinnings of Interpretive Description	p. 74
Elements of Design	p. 75
Mapping Out the Plan	p. 76
Writing a Study Proposal	p. 76
Obtaining Ethical Approval	p. 76
Selecting Among Design Options	p. 77
Deciding on Data Sources	p. 78
Interviewing	p. 78
Participant Observation	p. 80
Focus Groups	p. 81
Documentary and Other Collateral Data Sources	p. 82
Using Multiple Data Sources	p. 86
Strategizing a Credible Study	p. 87
Sampling	p. 88
Representation	p. 88
Sampling Approaches	p. 89
Convenience Sampling	p. 89
Purposive Sampling	p. 90
Theoretical Sampling	p. 91
Finding Terminology to Refer to Sample Members	p. 92
Projecting a Sample Size	p. 94
Setting Limits	p. 96
Thinking Through Data Collection and Analysis	p. 98
Building in Credibility Indicators	p. 101
Planning and Adapting	p. 103
Interpretive Description in Process
Entering the Field	p. 107
Situating Self Within the Research Role	p. 108
Tracking Reflections	p. 109
Learning Not to Lead	p. 110
Disclosing the Discipline	p. 110
Stepping out of Role	p. 111
Revealing and Concealing	p. 112
Negotiating Informed Consent	p. 113
Finding Your Tongue	p. 115
Constraining Your Influence	p. 116
Situating Self Within the Setting	p. 118
Insiders and Outsiders	p. 118
Navigating Access	p. 119
Watching and Doing	p. 120
Staying Safe	p. 121
Honoring Confidentiality	p. 122
Constructing Data	p. 123
The Process of Engaging with Data	p. 123
Options for Data Collection	p. 125
Interviewing	p. 126
Understanding Strengths and Weaknesses	p. 126
Enhancing Quality	p. 129
Focus Groups	p. 131
Understanding Strengths and Weaknesses	p. 131
Enhancing Quality	p. 133
Participant Observation	p. 133
Understanding Strengths and Weaknesses	p. 134
Enhancing Quality	p. 135
Managing the Collection	p. 136
Protecting Data	p. 136
Sorting and Organizing	p. 137
Tracking Constructions	p. 138
Making Sense of Data	p. 141
The Work of Data Analysis	p. 141
From Pieces to Patterns	p. 142
The Tradition of Coding	p. 144
Alternatives to Coding	p. 147
From Patterns to Relationships	p. 149
Knowing Your Data	p. 149
Borrowing Technique	p. 151
Documenting Analytic Thinking	p. 153
Data Analysis in Play	p. 154
Avoiding Hazards	p. 155
Premature Closure	p. 156
Misinterpreting Frequency	p. 156
Over-Inscription of Self	p. 157
Approaching the Goal	p. 158
Confirming Your Bases	p. 158
Expanding on Associations	p. 159
Testing Relationships	p. 160
Capitalizing on Outliers	p. 160
Engaging the Critic	p. 161
Conceptualizing Findings	p. 163
Transforming Data	p. 163
Envisioning a Conceptual Level	p. 164
Working with Data Conceptually	p. 165
The Cognitive Processes of Data Analysis	p. 165
The Mechanics of Advancing Conceptual Analysis	p. 166
The Art and Science of Conceptualizing	p. 168
The Nature of Concepts	p. 170
Conceptualizing Through Thematic Description	p. 173
Drawing Analysis to Conclusion	p. 176
Writing Findings	p. 177
Setting the Stage	p. 177
Judging Your Readiness	p. 177
Deciding on Structure	p. 178
Determining a Writing Style	p. 181
Engaging in the Process	p. 183
Finding Your Writer's Voice	p. 183
Strategizing Examples	p. 185
Making the Audit Trail Accessible	p. 186
Avoiding Predictable Problems	p. 188
Misuse of Metaphor	p. 188
Descriptive or Analytic Excess	p. 189
Conceptual Confusion	p. 189
Interpretive Description in Context
Making Sense of Findings	p. 193
Discussing Findings	p. 193
Identifying What's Important	p. 194
Deciding How to Interpret	p. 195
Original Literature	p. 196
New Literature	p. 197
Extending Interpretation	p. 200
Drawing Conclusions	p. 203
Considering Implications	p. 206
Implications for Further Research	p. 206
Implications for Everything Else	p. 208
Disseminating Knowledge	p. 209
Professional and Scholarly Communications	p. 209
Publication Options	p. 210
Presentation Formats	p. 212
Knowledge Transfer Projects	p. 214
Public Domain Communications	p. 215
Artistic Renderings	p. 215
Engaging the Media	p. 217
Making Use of Information Technology	p. 218
Community Engagement	p. 218
Enhancing Credibility	p. 221
Quality Considerations	p. 222
Evaluation Criteria	p. 223
Epistemological Integrity	p. 223
Representative Credibility	p. 224
Analytic Logic	p. 224
Interpretive Authority	p. 225
Beyond Evaluation	p. 226
Moral Defensibility	p. 226
Disciplinary Relevance	p. 227
Pragmatic Obligation	p. 227
Contextual Awareness	p. 228
Probable Truth	p. 229
The Standards Imperative	p. 230
Advancing Evidence with Interpretive Description	p. 233
Entering the Evidence Debate	p. 233
Putting Research Products to Use	p. 236
Directions in Aggregating and Synthesizing	p. 238
Looking Forward with Optimism	p. 242
References	p. 247
About the Author	p. 263
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