Are you new to qualitative research or a bit rusty and in need of some inspiration? Are you doing a research project involving in-depth interviews? Are you nervous about carrying out your interviews? This book will help you complete your qualitative research project by providing a nuts and bolts introduction to interviewing. With coverage of ethics, preparation strategies and advice for handling the unexpected in the field, this handy guide will help you get to grips with the basics of interviewing before embarking on your research. While recognising that your research question and the context of your research will drive your approach to interviewing, this book provides practical advice often skipped in traditional methods textbooks. Written with the needs of social science students and those new to qualitative research in mind, the book will help you plan, prepare for, carry out and analyse your interviews.
This book will help you: Understand the importance of talking to others, including listening to feedback from others while conducting research Recognize that there is not only one right way to sculpt your study Learn how to plan the early stages of a project such as designing the study and choosing whom to study See how to navigate the IRB and how to perform practical matters while collecting data Learn how to plan before an interview and how to construct an interview guide Read real-life interviews with notes showing what probes work well and which are less successful A down-to-earth, practical guide for interview and participant observation and analysis. In-depth interviews and close observation are essential to the work of social scientists, but inserting one’s researcher-self into the lives of others can be daunting, especially early on. Esteemed sociologist Annette Lareau is here to help. Lareau’s clear, insightful, and personal guide is not your average methods text. It promises to reduce researcher anxiety while illuminating the best methods for first-rate research practice. As the title of this book suggests, Lareau considers listening to be the core element of interviewing and observation. A researcher must listen to people as she collects data, listen to feedback as she describes what she is learning, listen to the findings of others as they delve into the existing literature on topics, and listen to herself in order to sift and prioritize some aspects of the study over others. By listening in these different ways, researchers will discover connections, reconsider assumptions, catch mistakes, develop and assess new ideas, weigh priorities, ponder new directions, and undertake numerous adjustments—all of which will make their contributions clearer and more valuable. Accessibly written and full of practical, easy-to-follow guidance, this book will help both novice and experienced researchers to do their very best work. Qualitative research is an inherently uncertain project, but with Lareau’s help, you can alleviate anxiety and focus on success.
If you want to use interview methods in your research project but are not sure where to start, this book will get you up and running. With hands-on advice for every stage of the social research process, it helps you succeed in every step, from understanding interview research through to designing and conducting your study and working with data. The book: Discusses eight methods of interviewing in-depth, including semi-structured interviews, narrative interviews, focus groups and online interviews. Features over 75 case studies of real interview research from across the globe, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway, the Philippines and South Africa. Spotlights strategies for conducting ethical, inclusive research, including indigenous research approaches. Packed not only with learning features - including learning objectives, checklists of questions to ask yourself at every stage of your project, practical exercises to help you put your learning into practice and further reading so you can broaden your knowledge - it is also supported by online resources such as annotated transcripts and videos of mock interviews to empower any social science student to use interview research methods with confidence.
Original, fresh and relevant this is a theoretically-informed practical guide to researching social relations. The text provides a mixed methods approach that challenges historical divisions between quantitative and qualitative research. It adopts a multidisciplinary approach to social science research, drawing from areas such as sociology, social psychology and social anthropology. Explicitly addressing the concerns of emergent researchers it provides both a ′how to′ account of social research and an understanding of the main factors that contextualize research by discussing ′why do′ social scientists work this way. Throughout the twelve comprehensive chapters procedural (how to) accounts and contextual (why do) issues are usefully applied to major themes and substantive questions. These key themes include: (1) Research design (2) The practices of research and emergent researchers: Beyond ontology, epistemology and methodology (3) The impact of technology on research (4) Putting the research approach in context. A superb teaching text this book will be relished by lecturers seeking an authoritative introduction to social research and by students who want an accessible, enriching text to guide and inspire them.
Aimed at professionals in market research and journalism as well as researchers, academics and students, this handbook is both an encyclopedia providing discussions of methodological issues and a story of a particular tale of interviewing.
*Shortlisted for the BPS Book Award 2014 in the Textbook Category* *Winner of the 2014 Distinguished Publication Award (DPA) from the Association for Women in Psychology (AWP)* Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide for Beginners is an accessible, practical textbook. It sidesteps detailed theoretical discussion in favor of providing a comprehensive overview of strategic tips and skills for starting and completing successful qualitative research. Uniquely, the authors provide a "patterns framework" to qualitative data analysis in this book, also known as "thematic analysis." The authors walk students through a basic thematic approach, and compare and contrast this with other approaches. This discussion of commonalities, explaining why and when each method should be used, and in the context of looking at patterns, will provide students with complete confidence for their qualitative research journey. This textbook will be an essential textbook for undergraduates and postgraduates taking a course in qualitative research or using qualitative approaches in a research project.
'An excellent introduction to the theoretical, methodological and practical issues of qualitative research... they deal with issues at all stages in a very direct, clear, systematic and practical manner and thus make the processes involved in qualitative research more transparent' - Nyhedsbrev 'This is a "how to" book on qualitative methods written by people who do qualitative research for a living.... It is likely to become the standard manual on all graduate and undergraduate courses on qualitative methods' - Professor Robert Walker, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham What exactly is qualitative research? What are the processes involved and what can it deliver as a mode of inquiry? Qualitative research is an exciting blend of scientific investigation and creative discovery. When properly executed, it can bring a unique understanding of people's lives which in turn can be used to deepen our understanding of society. It as a skilled craft used by practitioners and researchers in the 'real world'; this textbook illuminates the possibilities of qualitative research and presents a sequential overview of the process written by those active in the field. Qualitative Research Practice: - Leads the student or researcher through the entire process of qualitative research from beginning to end - moving through design, sampling, data collection, analysis and reporting. - Is written by practising researchers with extensive experience of conducting qualitative research in the arena of social and public policy - contains numerous case studies. - Contains plenty of pedagogical material including chapter summaries, explanation of key concepts, reflective points for seminar discussion and further reading in each chapter - Is structured and applicable for all courses in qualitative research, irrespective of field. Drawn heavily on courses run by the Qualitative Unit at the National Centre for Social Research, this textbook should be recommended reading for students new to qualitative research across the social sciences.
Interviewing is used very widely in qualitative research, and takes many different forms. The qualitative interview is also a method that is constantly evolving, in response both to theoretical and technological developments. King and Horrocks present a clear and thorough guide to the use of interviews in contemporary qualitative research. Writing in an accessible style, with many practical examples, the authors explore: - The key debates in the philosophy and theory underlying interview methods - How to design and carry out interviews - The special requirements of group and remote (telephone and online) interviewing - The central issues of reflexivity and ethics. The book also features a chapter which introduces the principles and practice of the thematic analysis of interview data, and the book concludes with a detailed consideration of the use of interviews in two major qualitative research traditions: phenomenological and narrative approaches. Interviews in Qualitative Research is a must-have text for students and researchers planning to use interview methods for themselves. It is aimed at a broad range of disciplines with examples drawn from across the social, educational and health sciences.
This book is the road map to proficiency and development in the field of qualitative research. Borrowing from a wealth of experience teaching introductory qualitative research courses, author Kakali Bhattacharya lays out a dynamic program for learning different paradigms of inquiry, empowering students to recognize the convergence of popular research methodologies as well as the nuances and complexities that set each of them apart. Her book: supplements the readings and activities in a qualitative methods class, exposing students to the research process and the dominant types of qualitative research; introduces a variety of theoretical perspectives in qualitative research, including positivism and postpositivism, interpretivism, feminism, symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, critical theory, and Critical Race Theory; identifies and summarizes the three dominant methodological approaches in qualitative research: narrative inquiry, grounded theory, and ethnography; provides interactive activities and exercises to help students crystallize their understanding of the different topics in each chapter.
