The Practice of Qualitative Research

Book excerpt: This book provides undergraduate and beginning graduate students with a "hands on" introduction to qualitative research methods through the use of in-depth examples and out-of-class exercises. Rather than de-linking theory from methods and presenting students with a laundry-list of methods like so many texts do, The Practice of Qualitative Research provides readers with the link between theory and methods throughout the book. Starting with how to develop a good research question, the authors carefully show the nuts and bolts of data collection (including issues of sampling, validity, reliability and ethics), the multiplicity of considerations (and, how to sort through them) during research design, the how-to′s of each major qualitative approach, and conclude with data analysis, interpretation, and reporting. The Practice of Qualitative Research is designed for upper-level undergraduate and graduate level courses that introduce the student to Qualitative Research. The book provides coverage on the foundations of qualitative research, the methods used in doing the research and how you analyze the data and present it.