About the Book
"Discovering Qualitative Methods" guides students on a journey into the study of social interaction and culture. This highly readable text covers all the major types of qualitative research: field research or ethnography, interviews, documents, and images. Throughout the text, Warren and Karner emphasize the process of social research - from the initial idea to the final paper, journal article, or scholarly monograph. Chapter One situates the development of qualitative research in a historical and theoretical context. Chapter Two discusses ethical, political, and legal issues in qualitative research, including the development and requirements of institutional review boards. Chapters Three, Four, and Five cover field research in all its contexts, from stranger to member and from solo to team ethnography. The reader is introduced to issues of accessibility and cost in choosing a setting, entree as event and process, and the intersection of the setting with the field researcher. Chapter Four follows these processes into the establishment of roles and relationships within the setting, including intersections of gender, sex, race, and ethnicity.
The task of writing fieldnotes is addressed in Chapter Five. Since thick description is the basis of good analytic description, the importance of writing timely and detailed fieldnotes is emphasized. Various technologies that can assist the student with this task are presented, together with examples and critiques of fieldnotes. Qualitative interviewing is the subject of Chapters Six and Seven, beginning with topic selection and moving into the process of developing research and interview questions. Various interview formats, from dyads to focus groups, are discussed, and face-to-face is contrasted with telephone and Internet interviewing. Selection of interviewees - how many, what social types, and which individuals - is covered, together with how to deal with problems such as the inability to locate respondents and how to elicit detailed narrative answers. The process and format of the qualitative interview is also considered as a social interaction.
Warren and Karner further explore the logistics of transcription, or turning a speech event into text, as well as the epistemology of the interview - how qualitative researchers interpret the interview as a source of data and sociological knowledge. Chapter Eight discusses and analyzes the use of texts and images in qualitative research, including still and moving images, the Internet, and historical documents. The creation of texts and images by the researcher and the respondent are considered methodologically - as is the use of existing documents, photographs, and films. The analysis of qualitative data and the task of writing are developed in Chapters Nine and Ten. By this time in the process of discovering qualitative methods, the researcher has the data: fieldnotes, interview transcripts, copies of texts, or images. The task of analyzing these data is discussed in detail, as are the various techniques and technologies available to facilitate this task. Chapter Ten covers the write-up of the research in the form of class papers, presentations, or publishable articles and books.
Step by step, Warren and Karner take the reader through the process of crafting a well-written qualitative analysis. They include discussions and examples of outlines and drafts, titles and authors, abstracts, introductions, methods sections, literature reviews, findings, conclusions, and the relationship between methods, theory, and applied sociology. The Epilogue considers the future of qualitative sociology. Qualitative methods teaching is flourishing both at the undergraduate and graduate levels in sociology, as well as interdisciplinary areas such as education, gerontology, and evaluation research. Interdisciplinary cultural studies continue to expand theoretical research with qualitative methods. The Epilogue also considers various postmodern approaches to, and critiques of, qualitative methods, including feminist and globalist perspectives. An Instructor's Resource Guide is available. It provides essay exam questions and suggested projects for each chapter. Also included are suggested sample learning assignments and a series of PowerPoint lectures to accompany the book.
Table of Contents:
Preface: Welcome to the Study of Qualitative Methods Acknowledgments PART I Chapter 1. Introduction to Qualitative Methods The Logic of Qualitative Inquiry Generalizability, Validity, and Reliability Methods, Theory, and Representation The Chicago School and the Development of Qualitative Methods in Sociology Ethnography and Social Change Autoethnography Visual Ethnography Qualitative Interviewing: The Collective and the Individual Story What Is It For? The Purposes of Qualitative Research Chapter 2. The Law, Politics, and Ethics of Qualitative Research The Law and Qualitative Sociological Research The Brajuha, Scarce, and Leo Cases The Protection of Human Subjects Protection From Harm Informed Consent Confidentiality, Publicity, and Anonymity Ethical Issues in Qualitative Research Deception in the Field Covert Versus Overt Field Research Ethical Dilemmas in the Field: Researcher Versus Citizen PART II Chapter 3. Field Research: Setting and Entree Choosing a Setting Accessibility, Interest, and Cost 'Starting Where You Are' The Embodied Researcher: The Presentation of Self in Fieldwork Entree Gender and Fieldwork Entree Approaching the Setting Gatekeepers Key Informants The Go-Along The Researcher as Spy Chapter 4. Roles and Relationships in Field Research The Embodied Self of the Field Researcher Researchers as Mascots, Apprentices, and Dancing Daughters Sex in the Field Ethnographers and Violence Race, Ethnicity, and Class Incorporation: Finding a Place The Research Bargain Going Native Emotions in the Field Leaving the Field Reincorporating the Nonstranger Membership Roles in Field Research Chapter 5. Writing Fieldnotes Fieldnotes as Inscription of Thick Description Time and Memory in Fieldnote Writing Computers and Audiotapes Preparing and Labeling Fieldnotes Keeping Track of Fieldnotes What Fieldnotes Look Like Reading Fieldnotes Writing the Other, Inscribing the Self Chapter 6. The Interview: From Research Questions to Interview Questions The Chicago School and the Development of the Interview When to Use Qualitative Interviews From Research Topic to Interview Questions Face Sheets Questions, Prompts, and Probes The IRB Review The Format of the Interview Interviews With Dyads and Triads Focus Groups Sampling Respondents Number and Type of Respondent Finding Respondents Planning for the First Interview Chapter 7. The Interview as Social Interaction and Speech Event The Interview as Social Interaction Rapports, Truths, and Telling Accounts The Interview Topic and Participants After the Interview Transcribing the Interview Epistemology of the Interview Chapter 8. The Textual and the Visual as Qualitative Data: Documents, Images, and the Internet Magazine Advertisements as Data Sources Studying Gender Sampling From Magazines Historical Documents: Voices From the Past Sampling Texts Images in Qualitative Sociology Using Visual Images as Prompts Sampling Visual Images Internet Studies E-mail and Qualitative Research Studying 'The Amplification of Deviance' on the Internet PART III Chapter 9. Analyzing Qualitative Data: Fieldnotes, Interview Transcripts, Images, and Documents Where to Begin The Process of Analysis Developing Analytic Patterns The Logistics and Technologies of Analysis Analyzing Fieldnotes Analyzing Interview Transcripts Analyzing Documents and Images Linking Themes Into Analytic Descriptions Making Connections Developing Interpretations Validating Your Analysis Chapter 10. Writing Well The Practice of Writing Preparing to Write Crafting the Qualitative Research Paper Elements of the Qualitative Research Paper Title Author's Name and Affiliation Abstract Introduction Literature Review Methods Analysis Representation Conclusion Endnotes and References Editing and Rewriting Epilogue: The Future of Qualitative Sociology Interdisciplinary Directions Applied Qualitative Research Cultural Studies Research Postmodern Challenges to Qualitative Research Critiquing the Postmodern Critique of Ethnography Critiquing the Interview Society Feminist Reframings References Indexes
Review :
"I love this book. The straightforward writing style makes it a good read, and the examples drawn from many ethnographic studies provide readers with a review of important qualitative research. The clear, usable advice to students works well." --Judith Wittner, Loyola University
