Qualitative research methods for the social sciences

Cover......Page 1
Title Page......Page 2
Copyright Page......Page 3
Brief Contents......Page 4
Contents......Page 6
Preface......Page 10
1 Introduction......Page 12
 1.1: Qualitative Methods, Qualitative Data......Page 13
 1.2: Use of Triangulation in Research Methodology......Page 15
 1.3: Qualitative Strategies: Defining an Orientation......Page 16
 1.4: From a Symbolic Interactionist Perspective......Page 18
 1.5: Why Use Qualitative Methods?......Page 20
 1.6: A Plan of Presentation......Page 21
 2.1: Theory and Concepts......Page 23
 2.2: Ideas and Theory......Page 25
 2.3: Reviewing the Literature......Page 27
  2.3.1: Evaluating Web Sites......Page 28
  2.3.2: Content versus Use......Page 29
 2.5: Operationalization and Conceptualization......Page 32
 2.6: Designing Projects......Page 34
  2.6.2: Creating a Concept Map......Page 35
  2.6.4: Setting and Population Appropriateness......Page 37
  2.6.5: Sampling Strategies......Page 39
  2.6.6: Representativeness......Page 40
 2.8: Data Storage, Retrieval, and Analysis......Page 41
 2.10: Why It Works......Page 42
 Trying It Out......Page 43
3 Ethical Issues in Research......Page 44
 3.1: Research Ethics in Historical Perspective......Page 45
  3.1.1: Regulations in the Research Process......Page 46
 3.2: Informed Consent and Implied Consent......Page 47
  3.3.2: Strategies for Safeguarding Confidentiality......Page 49
 3.5: Why Researchers Violate......Page 50
  3.6.1: IRBs and Their Duties......Page 53
  3.6.2: Clarifying the Role of IRBs......Page 55
  3.6.3: Active versus Passive Consent......Page 56
  3.6.5: Membership Criteria for IRBs......Page 57
 3.8: Some Common Ethical Concerns in Behavioral Research......Page 58
  3.8.1: Covert versus Overt Researcher Roles......Page 59
 3.9: New Areas for Ethical Concern: Cyberspace......Page 61
  3.9.2: Debriefing the Subjects......Page 62
 3.10: Objectivity and Careful Research Design......Page 63
 3.13: Why It Fails......Page 64
 Trying It Out......Page 65
4 A Dramaturgical Look at Interviewing......Page 66
 4.1: Performing the Interview......Page 67
  4.3.1: The Standardized Interview......Page 68
  4.3.2: The Unstandardized Interview......Page 69
  4.3.3: The Semistandardized Interview......Page 70
 4.4: The Data-Collection Instrument......Page 71
 4.5: Guideline Development......Page 72
  4.5.1: Question Order (Sequencing), Content, and Style......Page 73
  4.7.1: Affectively Worded Questions......Page 76
 4.8: Pretesting the Schedule......Page 77
 4.9: Long versus Short Interviews......Page 78
  4.10.1: Advantages of the Telephone Interview......Page 79
  4.11.2: Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing......Page 80
  4.11.3: Web- and E-mail-Based In-Depth Interviews......Page 81
 4.13: The Dramaturgical Interview......Page 82
  4.13.1: Interviewer Roles and Rapport......Page 83
  4.13.3: The Interviewer as a Self-Conscious Performer......Page 84
  4.13.4: Social Interpretations and the Interviewer......Page 85
 4.14: The Interviewer’s Repertoire......Page 86
  4.14.1: Interviewers’ Attitudes and Persuading a Subject......Page 87
  4.14.3: Techniques to Get Started......Page 88
  4.14.5: The Ten Commandments of Interviewing......Page 89
 4.16: Analyzing Interview Data......Page 90
  4.16.2: Organizing Your Data......Page 91
  Trying It Out......Page 93
 4.18: Why It Fails......Page 94
5 Focus Group Interviewing......Page 95
 5.1: Basic Ingredients in Focus Groups......Page 96
  5.2.2: Introduction and Introductory Activities......Page 97
  5.2.6: Guidance for Dealing with Sensitive Issues......Page 98
 5.3: Focus Group Data......Page 99
 5.4: Selecting Focus Groups as a Method......Page 101
 5.5: Selecting Groups......Page 102
  5.5.1: Virtual Groups......Page 103
 5.7: Common Missteps When Using Focus Groups......Page 104
 5.8: Confidentiality and Focus Group Interviews......Page 105
 5.9: Why It Works......Page 106
 Notes......Page 107
6 Ethnographic Field Strategies......Page 108
 6.1: Accessing a Field Setting: Getting In......Page 110
  6.1.1: Negotiating the Researcher’s Role......Page 113
 6.2: Becoming Invisible......Page 114
  6.2.1: Dangers of Invisibility......Page 115
  6.2.2: Other Dangers During Ethnographic Research......Page 116
 6.3: Watching, Listening, and Learning......Page 117
  6.3.1: How to Learn: What to Watch and Listen For......Page 118
  6.3.2: Field Notes......Page 120
  6.3.4: Online Ethnography......Page 125
 6.4: Analyzing Ethnographic Data......Page 126
  6.5.1: Typologies......Page 127
  6.5.2: Sociograms......Page 128
  6.5.3: Metaphors......Page 130
 6.6: Disengaging: Getting Out......Page 131
 6.8: Critical Ethnography......Page 132
  6.8.1: The Attitude of the Ethnographer......Page 133
  6.8.2: The Researcher’s Voice......Page 134
 6.9: Why It Works......Page 135
 Trying It Out......Page 136
7 Participatory Action Research......Page 137
 7.1: The Basics of Action Research......Page 139
 7.4: Analyzing and Interpreting the Information......Page 140
 7.5: Sharing the Results with the Participants......Page 141
 7.8: Types of Action Research......Page 142
  7.8.3: Emancipating or Empowering/Enhancing/Critical Science Mode......Page 143
  7.9.1: The Goals in Photovoice......Page 144
 7.11: Why It Works......Page 145
 Trying It Out......Page 146
8 Unobtrusive Measures in Research......Page 147
 8.1: Archival Strategies......Page 148
  8.1.1: Public Archives......Page 149
  8.1.2: Private Archives: Solicited and Unsolicited Documents......Page 153
  8.1.3: A Last Remark About Archival Records......Page 155
  8.2.1: Erosion Measures......Page 156
 Trying It Out......Page 157
 9.1: What Is Historical Research?......Page 159
 9.2: Life Histories and Social History......Page 161
 9.4: Doing Historiography: Tracing Written History as Data......Page 162
  9.4.1: External Criticism......Page 164
  9.4.2: Internal Criticism......Page 165
  9.5.1: Oral History as Reality Check......Page 167
  9.5.2: Oral History Data......Page 168
 Trying It Out......Page 170
 10.1: The Nature of Case Studies......Page 171
 10.3: The Use of Interview Data......Page 173
  10.3.1: The Use of Personal Documents......Page 175
 10.4: Intrinsic, Instrumental, and Collective Case Studies......Page 176
  10.5.4: Designing Case Studies......Page 177
  10.6.2: Generalizability......Page 178
 10.8: Case Studies of Communities......Page 179
  10.8.1: Data Collection for Community Case Studies......Page 180
 Trying It Out......Page 181
11 An Introduction to Content Analysis......Page 182
  11.2.1: Interpretative Approaches......Page 183
  11.2.4: Content Analysis and Theory......Page 184
 11.3: Content Analysis as a Research Technique......Page 185
  11.3.2: Manifest versus Latent Content Analysis......Page 187
 11.4: Communication Components......Page 188
  11.4.2: Building Grounded Theory......Page 189
  11.4.4: Combinations of Elements......Page 190
  11.4.5: Units and Categories......Page 191
 11.5: Discourse Analysis and Content Analysis......Page 192
 11.6: Open Coding......Page 193
 11.7: Coding Frames......Page 194
  11.7.1: A Few More Words on Analytic Induction......Page 195
  11.7.2: Interrogative Hypothesis Testing......Page 196
 11.8: Stages in the Content Analysis Process......Page 197
 11.9: Computers and Qualitative Analysis......Page 198
 11.11: Why It Fails......Page 200
 Trying It Out......Page 201
12 Writing Research: Finding Meaning in Data......Page 202
  12.1.1: Why Plagiarism Occurs......Page 203
  12.1.2: How to Avoid Plagiarism......Page 204
 12.2: Identifying the Purpose of the Writing......Page 205
 12.3: Delineating a Supportive Structure: Visual Signals for the Reader......Page 206
  12.3.1: Context Sections......Page 207
  12.3.2: Original Contribution Sections......Page 209
  12.3.4: Discussion/Conclusion......Page 210
  12.3.5: References, Notes, and Appendices......Page 211
 12.5: Presenting Research Material......Page 213
  12.5.1: Disseminating the Research: Professional Meetings and Publications......Page 214
 12.7: Write It, Rewrite It, Then Write It Again!......Page 216
 12.9: None of This Works......Page 217
 Notes......Page 219
References......Page 220
Credits......Page 236
Name Index......Page 239
Subject Index......Page 245