The beginner's guide to doing qualitative research : how to get into the field, collect data, and write up your project

This book provides theoretically grounded, real-world advice for students beginning to learn how to conduct qualitative research. Drawing on Erin Horvat's extensive experience teaching qualitative methods, the text uses students' questions and concerns as an organizational framework. Unlike many textbooks, this one provides students with an inside view into the most common dilemmas and challenges they will face as they start doing research. This easy-to-use book addresses the key phases of any ethnographic project--from beginning a project and defining its aims, to data collection, analysis, writing, and reporting results. While designed specifically for beginners, seasoned qualitative researchers will find useful insights, helpful tips, and new ways of thinking about qualitative research.

Book Features:

Real-life, engaging research examples with detailed advice. A succinct and user-friendly presentation, perfect for course adoptions. Lessons from students as they learned how to do qualitative research. An appendix with site selection and site prospectus guidelines.

Author Notes

Erin Horvat is associate professor of urban education in the department of teaching and learning at the College of Education, Temple University.

Erin HorvatErin HorvatMary Lou HeronErin HorvatEmily Tancredi-Brice AgbenyecaErin HorvatBradley W. Bercey

Preface: Scouting the Terrain	p. ix
How This Book Was Born	p. x
Why Is the Practical Experience of Doing Research So Important?	p. xii
Overview of the Book	p. xii
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Part I Beginning
1 Thoughts for the Uninitiated on Starting a Qualitative Project	p. 3
What Is Qualitative Research? What Is Ethnography?	p. 3
Why Do a Qualitative Study?	p. 5
Qualitative Research: What Is It Good For?	p. 6
What Is a Good Question for a Qualitative Study?	p. 10
What Makes for a Good Site When Starting a Qualitative Project?	p. 11
What Do I Need to Bring to My Site?	p. 13
What Do You Do If...? (It Depends)	p. 22
Context, Question, Collecting Data	p. 23
Rules for the Road: Never Spit on Your Shoes	p. 27
Gaining Access to a Site: Getting in and Gaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval	p. 28
Beginning	p. 33
Notes	p. 34
Introduction to Chapter Two	p. 36
2 From the First Site to the Third Place: Finding Meaning and a Research Site That Works	p. 37
Beginning the Journey	p. 38
A Pause	p. 41
Was This a Worthy Plan B?	p. 42
Searching for Meaning	p. 45
Emerging Meaning	p. 46
Interviewing to Investigate the "Why"	p. 49
Making Meaning Through Data Analysis	p. 52
Focusing on Analysis	p. 53
Emerging Patterns	p. 54
Lessons Learned	p. 55
Interview Protocol	p. 58
Part II Fieldwork
3 Ethnographic Eyes: Developing a Qualitative Project	p. 61
How Do I Begin Collecting Data?	p. 64
Field Notes: What Are They and What Is So Hard?	p. 64
Interviews: When, Why, and How	p. 69
Interview Rules of the Road: Nuts and Bolts	p. 73
Role Management	p. 75
A New Way of Seeing: Developing Ethnographic Eyes	p. 79
Notes	p. 80
Introduction to Chapter Four	p. 81
4 It Matters Where You Sit: Reflecting on the Role of Positionality in Qualitative Research	p. 82
Chapter Overview	p. 84
Managing Positionality in Fieldwork: The "Sit-Where-the-Fit-Is" Cycle	p. 85
The Long Shadow Cast by Positionality: Role Management and Social Identity	p. 98
Conclusion	p. 101
Part III Analysis and Writing
5 Making Sense of What You Are Seeing: Analysis and Writing	p. 105
The Analytic Toolkit	p. 106
Getting Started with the Actual Writing	p. 114
From Colored Pencils to Analytic Software	p. 117
Writing Is Analysis	p. 123
Notes	p. 124
Introduction to Chapter Six	p. 125
6 Three Times Blind: The Wandering, Wondering Path to Asking the Right Question	p. 127
What's in a (Research) Question?	p. 127
The Starting Point	p. 128
Thrice Blinded: A Metaphor	p. 129
Selecting a Site	p. 132
The First Blindness	p. 134
The Second Blindness	p. 140
The Third Blindness	p. 142
Hopes and Fears of Seeing	p. 150
Notes	p. 151
Appendix: Site Selection Guidelines and Site Prospectus Guidelines	p. 152
References	p. 154
Index	p. 155
About the Authors	p. 160

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Table of Contents