Qualitative research methods for the social sciences

This text shows novice researchers how to design, collect, and analyze qualitative data and then present their results to the scientific community. It also stresses the importance of ethics in research and taking the time to properly design and think through any research endeavor.

• Preface p. xi
• Chapter 1 Introduction p. 1
• Quantitative Versus Qualitative Schools of Thought p. 2
• Use of Triangulation in Research Methodology p. 5
• Qualitative Strategies: Defining an Orientation p. 8
• From a Symbolic Interactionist Perspective p. 9
• Why Use Qualitative Methods? p. 15
• A Plan of Presentation p. 16
• References p. 17
• Chapter 2 Designing Qualitative Research p. 21
• Theory and Concepts p. 21
• Ideas and Theory p. 23
• Reviewing the Literature p. 27
• Evaluating Web Sites p. 29
• The Two-Card Method p. 32
• Theory, Reality, and the Social World p. 36
• Framing Research Problems p. 37
• Operationalization and Conceptualization p. 38
• Designing Projects p. 41
• Concept Mapping p. 42
• Creating a Concept Map p. 45
• Setting and Population Appropriateness p. 46
• Sampling Strategies p. 48
• Data Collection and Organization p. 52
• Data Storage, Retrieval, and Analysis p. 53
• Dissemination p. 55
• Trying It Out p. 56
• References p. 56
• Chapter 3 Ethical Issues p. 60
• Research Ethics in Historical Perspective p. 61
• From Guidelines to Law: Regulations on the Research Process p. 67
• Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) p. 68
• IRBs and Their Duties p. 69
• Clarifying the Role of IRBs p. 72
• Active Versus Passive Consent p. 74
• Active Versus Passive Consent in Internet Research p. 76
• Membership Criteria for IRBs p. 77
• Ethical Codes p. 78
• Some Common Ethical Concerns in Behavioral Research p. 78
• Covert Versus Overt Researcher Roles p. 80
• New Areas for Ethical Concern: Cyberspace p. 84
• Protection for Children p. 85
• Debriefing the Subjects p. 86
• Informed Consent and Implied Consent p. 87
• Confidentiality and Anonymity p. 90
• Keeping Identifying Records p. 91
• Strategies for Safeguarding Confidentiality p. 91
• Securing the Data p. 92
• Objectivity and Careful Research Design p. 93
• Trying It Out p. 95
• References p. 95
• Chapter 4 A Dramaturgical Look at Interviewing p. 101
• Dramaturgy and Interviewing p. 102
• Types of Interviews p. 104
• The Standardized Interview p. 105
• The Unstandardized Interview p. 106
• The Semistandardized Interview p. 107
• The Interview Schedule p. 109
• Schedule Development p. 111
• Question Order (Sequencing), Content, and Style p. 112
• Communicating Effectively p. 116
• A Few Common Problems in Question Formulation p. 117
• Affectively Worded Questions p. 117
• The Double-Barreled Question p. 118
• Complex Questions p. 118
• Pretesting the Schedule p. 119
• Long Versus Short Interviews p. 119
• Telephone Interviews p. 121
• Advantages of the Telephone Interview p. 123
• Disadvantages of the Telephone Interview p. 123
• Computer Assisted Interviewing p. 123
• Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) p. 124
• Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) p. 125
• Web-Based In-Depth Interviews p. 125
• Conducting an Interview: A Natural or an Unnatural Communication? p. 127
• The Dramaturgical Interview p. 128
• Interviewer Roles and Rapport p. 130
• The Role of the Interviewee p. 132
• The Interviewer as a Self-Conscious Performer p. 132
• Social Interpretations and the Interviewer p. 133
• The Interviewer's Repertoire p. 136
• Interviewers' Attitudes and Persuading a Subject p. 139
• Developing an Interviewer Repertoire p. 140
• Techniques to Get New Researchers Started p. 141
• Taking the Show on the Road p. 142
• The Ten Commandments of Interviewing p. 143
• Know Your Audience p. 144
• Curtain Calls p. 146
• Analyzing Data Obtained from the Dramaturgical Interview p. 146
• Beginning an Analysis p. 147
• Systematic Filing Systems p. 147
• Short-Answer Sheets p. 149
• Analysis Procedures: A Concluding Remark p. 149
• Trying It Out p. 150
• Notes p. 151
• References p. 152
• Chapter 5 Focus Group Interviewing p. 158
• What are Focus Group Interviews? p. 158
• The Moderator's Role p. 159
• Some Problems to Avoid in Focus Group Interviewing p. 160
• The Evolution of Focus Group Interviews p. 163
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Group Interviewing p. 165
• Focus Group Interviewing and Face-to-Face Interviewing p. 166
• Focus Group Interviewing and Participant Observation p. 168
• Focus Group Interviewing and Unobtrusive Measures p. 169
• Facilitating Focus Group Dynamics: How Focus Groups Work p. 172
• The Moderator's Guide p. 172
• Introduction and Introductory Activities p. 173
• Statement of the Basic Rules or Guidelines for the Interview p. 173
• Short Question-and-Answer Discussions p. 174
• Special Activities or Exercises p. 174
• Guidance for Dealing with Sensitive Issues p. 175
• Basic Ingredients in Focus Groups p. 175
• Analyzing Focus Group Data p. 180
• Confidentiality and Focus Group Interviews p. 181
• Recent Trends in Focus Groups: Online Focus Groups p. 183
• Conclusion p. 184
• Trying It Out p. 185
• Notes p. 185
• References p. 186
• Chapter 6 Ethnographic Field Strategies p. 190
• Accessing a Field Setting: Getting In p. 194
• Reflectivity and Ethnography p. 198
• Critical Ethnography p. 198
• The Attitude of the Ethnographer p. 200
• The Researcher's Voice p. 200
• Gaining Entry p. 204
• Becoming Invisible p. 207
• Dangers of Invisibility p. 209
• Other Dangers During Ethnographic Research p. 211
• Watching, Listening, and Learning p. 213
• How to Learn: What to Watch and Listen For p. 215
• Field Notes p. 218
• Computers and Ethnography p. 225
• OnLine Ethnography p. 226
• Analyzing Ethnographic Data p. 228
• Other Analysis Strategies: Typologies, Sociograms, and Metaphors p. 230
• Typologies p. 230
• Sociograms p. 232
• Metaphors p. 236
• Disengaging: Getting Out p. 236
• Trying It Out p. 238
• References p. 238
• Chapter 7 Action Research p. 246
• The Basics of Action Research p. 251
• Identifying the Research Question(s) p. 253
• Gathering the Information to Answer the Question(s) p. 254
• Analyzing and Interpreting the Information p. 254
• Procedures for Using Interview and Ethnographic Data p. 255
• Guiding Questions of Analysis: Why, What, How, Who, Where, When? p. 255
• Descriptive Accounts and Reports p. 256
• Sharing the Results with the Participants p. 256
• When to Use and When Not to Use Action Research p. 257
• The Action Researcher's Role p. 258
• Types of Action Research p. 258
• Technical/Scientific/Collaborative Mode p. 259
• A Practical/Mutual Collaborative/Deliberate Mode p. 259
• Emancipating or Empowering/Enhancing/Critical Science Mode p. 260
• Photovoice and Action Research p. 261
• The Goals in Photovoice p. 262
• Action Research: A Reiteration p. 263
• Trying It Out p. 264
• References p. 265
• Chapter 8 Unobtrusive Measures in Research p. 268
• Archival Strategies p. 271
• Public Archives p. 271
• Private Archives: Solicited and Unsolicited Documents p. 282
• A Last Remark about Archival Records p. 286
• Physical Erosion and accretion: Human Traces as Data Sources p. 287
• Erosion Measures p. 287
• Accretion Measures p. 288
• Some Final Remarks about Physical Traces p. 289
• Trying It Out p. 290
• References p. 290
• Chapter 9 Historiography and Oral Traditions p. 296
• What Is Historical Research? p. 296
• Life Histories and Historiography p. 300
• What Are the Sources of Data of Historical Researchers? p. 300
• Doing Historiography: Tracing Written History as Data p. 301
• External Criticism p. 303
• Internal Criticism p. 307
• What Are Oral Histories? p. 309
• Trying It Out p. 313
• References p. 313
• Chapter 10 Case Studies p. 317
• The Nature of Case Studies p. 317
• Theory and Case Studies p. 319
• The Individual Case Study p. 322
• The Use of Interview Data p. 322
• The Use of Personal Documents p. 324
• Intrinsic, Instrumental, and Collective Case Studies p. 325
• Case Study Design Types p. 326
• Exploratory Case Studies p. 327
• Explanatory Case Studies p. 327
• Descriptive Case Studies p. 327
• The Scientific Benefit of Case Studies p. 329
• Objectivity and the Case Method p. 329
• Generalizability p. 330
• Case Studies of Organizations p. 330
• Case Studies of Communities p. 331
• Data Collection for Community Case Studies p. 332
• Community Groups and Interests p. 333
• Trying It Out p. 334
• References p. 335
• Chapter 11 An Introduction to Content Analysis p. 338
• What is Content Analysis? p. 338
• Analysis of Qualitative Data p. 339
• Interpretative Approaches p. 339
• Social Anthropological Approaches p. 339
• Collaborative Social Research Approaches p. 340
• Content Analysis as a Technique p. 341
• Content Analysis: Quantitative or Qualitative? p. 342
• Manifest Versus Latent Content Analysis p. 343
• Blending Manifest and Latent Content Analysis Strategies p. 344
• Communication Components p. 345
• What to Count: Levels and Units of Analysis p. 346
• Category Development: Building Grounded Theory p. 346
• What to Count p. 348
• Combinations of Elements p. 349
• Units and Categories p. 350
• Classes and Categories p. 351
• Discourse Analysis and Content Analysis p. 352
• Open Coding p. 353
• Coding Frames p. 356
• A Few More Words on Analytic Induction p. 358
• Interrogative Hypothesis Testing p. 360
• Stages in the Content Analysis Process p. 362
• Strengths and Weaknesses of the Content Analysis Process p. 364
• Computers and Qualitative Analysis p. 366
• Word Processors p. 368
• Text Retrievers p. 368
• Textbase Managers p. 368
• Code-and-Retrieve Programs p. 368
• Code-Based Theory Builders p. 369
• Conceptual Network Builders p. 369
• Qualitative Research at the Speed of Light p. 371
• Trying It Out p. 372
• References p. 373
• Chapter 12 Writing Research Papers: Sorting the Noodles from the Soup p. 378
• Plagiarism: What It Is, Why It's Bad, and How to Avoid It p. 379
• Why Plagiarism Occurs p. 379
• How to Avoid Plagiarism p. 380
• Identifying the Purpose of the Writing: Arranging the Noodles p. 382
• Delineating a Supportive Structure: Visual Signals for the Reader p. 383
• The Title p. 386
• The Abstract p. 386
• The Introduction p. 387
• Literature Review p. 388
• Methodology p. 390
• Findings or Results p. 392
• Discussion/Conclusion p. 392
• References, Notes, and Appendices p. 393
• Presenting Research Material p. 396
• Disseminating the Research: Professional Meetings and Publications p. 396
• A Word About the Content of Papers and Articles p. 400
• Write It, Rewrite It, Then Write It Again! p. 400
• A Few Writing Hints p. 402
• A Final Note p. 404
• Notes p. 405
• References p. 406
• Name Index p. 408
• Subject Index p. 413