Denzin and Lincoln provide a definition of qualitative research in Chapter 1 of the Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research:
Qualitative research involves the studied use and collection of a variety of empirical materials--case study, personal experience, introspection, life story, interview, artifacts, and cultural texts and productions, along with observational, historical, interactional, and visual texts--that describe routine and problematic moments and meanings in individuals' lives.
The Sage Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences details some important aspects of qualitative research:
The purposes of qualitative research are to explore, discover, construct, and describe phenomena experienced by people in specific contexts.
A strength of qualitative research is its ability to provide an in-depth understanding of humans and their circumstances. A potential weakness is the inability to generalize findings to other populations.
There are two main categories into which most methods of research will fall into--qualitative and qualitative. It's important to be able understand these two differing approaches.
Watch the video below and check out the Library's FAQ Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research to learn more.
The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Design by
Qualitative research design is continually evolving. It is not only more established in disciplines beyond the traditional social sciences in which it is a standard choice, but also just as impacted by the changes in what data, technologies, and approaches researchers are using. This Handbook takes readers through the foundational theories, functions, strategies, and approaches to qualitative research design, before showcasing how it negotiates different data and research environments and produces credible, actionable impact beyond the study. Containing contributions from over 90 top scholars from a range of social science disciplines, this Handbook is not just an anthology of different qualitative research designs and how/when to use them; it is a complete exploration of how and why these designs are shaped and how, why, and into what they are evolving. This is a valuable resource for Master's and PhD level students, faculty members, and researchers across a wide range of disciplines such as health, nursing, psychology, social work, sociology, and education.
Doing Qualitative Research by
With expert advice from the author and real-life experiences from students, this book shows you how to go from the ideas of research to the practicalities of designing, conducting, and writing about your research yourself.
Doing Qualitative Research by
Naturalistic inquiry is about studying people in everyday circumstances by ordinary means. It strives to blend in, to respect people in their daily lives, to take their actions and experiences seriously, and to build on these carefully. Doing Qualitative Research: The Craft of Naturalistic Inquiry offers guidance, combining thoughtful reflection with practical tips.
Rocking Qualitative Social Science by
In Rocking Qualitative Social Science, Ashley Rubin provides an entertaining treatise, corrective vision, and rigorously informative guidebook for qualitative research methods that have long been dismissed in deference to traditional scientific methods. Recognizing the steep challenges facing many, especially junior, social science scholars who struggle to adapt their research models to narrowly defined notions of "right," Rubin argues that properly nourished qualitative research can generate important, creative, and even paradigm-shifting insights. This book is designed to help people conduct good qualitative research, talk about their research, and evaluate other scholars' work. Drawing on her own experiences in research and life, Rubin provides tools for qualitative scholars, synthesizes the best advice, and addresses the ubiquitous problem of anxiety in academia. Ultimately, this book argues that rigorous research can be anything but rigid.
Qualitative Research Practice by
Why use qualitative methods? What kinds of questions can qualitative methods help you answer? How do you actually do rigorous and reflective qualitative research in the real world? Written by a team of leading researchers associated with NatCen Social Research (the National Centre for Social Research) this textbook leads students and researchers through the entire process of qualitative research from beginning to end - moving through design, sampling, data collection, analysis and reporting.
Qualitative Research Methods by
A comprehensive guide on both the theoretical foundations and practical application of qualitative methodology. Adopting a phronetic-iterative approach, this foundational book leads readers through the chronological progression of a qualitative research project, from designing a study and collecting and analyzing data to developing theories and effectively communicating the results-allowing readers to employ qualitative methods in their projects as they follow each chapter. Coverage of topics such as qualitative theories, ethics, sampling, interview techniques, qualitative quality, and advice on practical fieldwork provides clear and concise guidance on how to design and conduct sound research projects. Easy-to-follow instructions on iterative qualitative data analysis explain how to organize, code, interpret, make claims, and build theory. Throughout, the author offers her own backstage stories about fieldwork, analysis, drafting, writing, and publishing, revealing the emotional and humorous aspects of practicing qualitative methods.
The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers by
Johnny Saldaña's unique and invaluable manual demystifies the qualitative coding process with a comprehensive assessment of different coding types, examples and exercises. The ideal reference for students, teachers, and practitioners of qualitative inquiry, it is essential reading across the social sciences and neatly guides you through the multiple approaches available for coding qualitative data. Its wide array of strategies, from the more straightforward to the more complex, is skillfully explained and carefully exemplified providing a complete toolkit of codes and skills that can be applied to any research project.
Interviewing As Qualitative Research by
This popular text, now in its fifth edition, provides step-by-step guidance for new and experienced researchers who want to use interviewing as a research method. This user-friendly guide explains the rationale for interviewing and the complexity of selecting interview participants, important interviewing techniques, and how to work with the results of interviews.
Qualitative Literacy: How to Evaluate Ethnographic and Interview Research by
Suppose you were given two qualitative studies: one is a piece of empirically sound social science and the other, though interesting and beautifully written, is not. How would you tell the difference? Qualitative Literacy presents criteria to assess qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviewing and participant observation. Qualitative research is indispensable to the study of inequality, poverty, education, public health, immigration, the family, and criminal justice. Each of the hundreds of ethnographic and interview studies published yearly on these issues is scientifically either sound or unsound. This guide provides social scientists, researchers, students, evaluators, policy makers, and journalists with the tools needed to identify and evaluate quality in field research.
Big Data for Qualitative Research by
Big Data for Qualitative Research covers everything small data researchers need to know about big data, from the potentials of big data analytics to its methodological and ethical challenges. The data that we generate in everyday life are now digitally mediated, stored, and analyzed by web sites, companies, institutions, and governments. The book explores the potentials of qualitative methods and analysis for big data, including text mining, sentiment analysis, information and data visualization, netnography, follow-the-thing methods, mobile research methods, multimodal analysis, and rhythmanalysis. It debates new concerns about ethics, privacy, and dataveillance for big data qualitative researchers.