Writing Qualitatively

Book excerpt: Writing Qualitatively: The Selected Works of Johnny Saldaña showcases the diverse range of writing styles available to qualitative researchers through the work one of the most internationally cited and referenced methodologists. The traditional academic journal article still holds its place as a convention of published scholarship, but Saldaña illustrates how a variety of approaches to research documentation can evocatively represent social life and one’s self in intriguing ways. Writing Qualitatively assembles journal articles, book chapters, ancillary materials, texts from keynote addresses, and previously unpublished work that illustrate Saldaña’s eclectic body of inquiry. Each piece is prefaced with author comments on the selection, and how readers themselves might venture into comparable writing styles. Multiple methodologies and writing examples are included, ranging from case studies to action research; from poetry to ethnodramatic play scripts; from confessional tales to autoethnographies; and from textbook materials to classroom session designs. An introduction to the collection discusses Saldaña’s writing processes and how qualitative researchers and educators can extend their own imaginations and creativity to find new forms of scholarly presentation and representation. Writing Qualitatively serves as a supplemental text for undergraduate and graduate courses in qualitative inquiry, educational research, ethnography, and arts-based research. This unique anthology demonstrates to students, professors, and professional researchers how academic scholarship can be reported through a breadth of literary genres, elements, and styles.