Successful Qualitative Research


Book Description

*Shortlisted for the BPS Book Award 2014 in the Textbook Category* *Winner of the 2014 Distinguished Publication Award (DPA) from the Association for Women in Psychology (AWP)* Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide for Beginners is an accessible, practical textbook. It sidesteps detailed theoretical discussion in favor of providing a comprehensive overview of strategic tips and skills for starting and completing successful qualitative research. Uniquely, the authors provide a "patterns framework" to qualitative data analysis in this book, also known as "thematic analysis." The authors walk students through a basic thematic approach, and compare and contrast this with other approaches. This discussion of commonalities, explaining why and when each method should be used, and in the context of looking at patterns, will provide students with complete confidence for their qualitative research journey. This textbook will be an essential textbook for undergraduates and postgraduates taking a course in qualitative research or using qualitative approaches in a research project.




A Practical Guide to Dissertation and Thesis Writing


Book Description

This book provides a step-by-step guide to writing the different chapters of a PhD dissertation, which will benefit aspiring, beginner and mid-track PhD students and candidates in the Social Sciences. Based on the authors’ combined experience of working with both Masters and PhD students through the dissertation writing process, it offers helpful writing guidelines, from the conceptualization and problematization of the dissertation through to the literature review, methodological issues, writing up results and, finally, to the discussion, conclusions and abstract writing process. With chapters dedicated to offering guidelines, suggestions and pitfalls to watch out for, this book will assist PhD students and candidates in the fields of the various Social Sciences with exercises and pointers on successfully navigating the writing of a PhD dissertation. It takes the PhD student in the Social Sciences through the maze of writing a dissertation, and provides a step-by-step train of thought throughout the entire writing process.




Grounded Theory for Qualitative Research


Book Description

Based on the author′s own wealth of experience this timely, engaging book helps first-time researchers to discover the excitement of grounded theory. Fresh, innovative and clear this book traces the history and development of grounded theory method, and examines how the method is evolving for new contexts today. It sets out the principles involved in using grounded theory and explains the process and theory associated with coding in grounded theory. The book introduces us to the practicalities of research design, theory building, coding and writing up and gives us the tools to tackle key questions: - What is grounded theory? - How do we code and theorise using grounded theory? - How do we write up a grounded theory study? This is an exciting new text for students and researchers across the social sciences who want to use grounded theory.




Fundamentals of Qualitative Research


Book Description

This book is the road map to proficiency and development in the field of qualitative research. Borrowing from a wealth of experience teaching introductory qualitative research courses, author Kakali Bhattacharya lays out a dynamic program for learning different paradigms of inquiry, empowering students to recognize the convergence of popular research methodologies as well as the nuances and complexities that set each of them apart. Her book: supplements the readings and activities in a qualitative methods class, exposing students to the research process and the dominant types of qualitative research; introduces a variety of theoretical perspectives in qualitative research, including positivism and postpositivism, interpretivism, feminism, symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, critical theory, and Critical Race Theory; identifies and summarizes the three dominant methodological approaches in qualitative research: narrative inquiry, grounded theory, and ethnography; provides interactive activities and exercises to help students crystallize their understanding of the different topics in each chapter.




A Step-by-Step Guide to Qualitative Data Coding


Book Description

A Step-by-Step Guide to Qualitative Data Coding is a comprehensive qualitative data analysis guide. It is designed to help readers to systematically analyze qualitative data in a transparent and consistent manner, thus promoting the credibility of their findings. The book examines the art of coding data, categorizing codes, and synthesizing categories and themes. Using real data for demonstrations, it provides step-by-step instructions and illustrations for analyzing qualitative data. Some of the demonstrations include conducting manual coding using Microsoft Word and how to use qualitative data analysis software such as Dedoose, NVivo and QDA Miner Lite to analyze data. It also contains creative ways of presenting qualitative findings and provides practical examples. After reading this book, readers will be able to: Analyze qualitative data and present their findings Select an appropriate qualitative analysis tool Decide on the right qualitative coding and categorization strategies for their analysis Develop relationships among categories/themes Choose a suitable format for the presentation of the findings It is a great resource for qualitative research instructors and undergraduate and graduate students who want to gain skills in analyzing qualitative data or who plan to conduct a qualitative study. It is also useful for researchers and practitioners in the social and health sciences fields.




Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation


Book Description

Addressing one of the key challenges facing doctoral students, Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation by Linda Dale Bloomberg and Marie Volpe fills a gap in qualitative literature by offering comprehensive guidance and practical tools for navigating each step in the qualitative dissertation journey, including the planning, research, and writing phases. Blending the conceptual, theoretical, and practical, the book becomes a dissertation in action—a logical and cohesive explanation and illustration of content and process. The Third Edition maintains key features that distinguish its unique approach and has been thoroughly updated and expanded throughout to reflect and address recent developments in the field.




A Practical Guide to Qualitative Dissertation


Book Description

Offering advice about and examples of the primary tasks and hidden complications in writing a qualitative dissertation, this guidebook takes readers step by step through the process--from the first formulation of the topic and selection of a committee to development of an argument and, finally, preparation for the defense.




The Dissertation Journey


Book Description

This essential guidebook takes readers step-by-step through the dissertation process, with checklists, illustrations, sample forms, and updated coverage of ethics, technology, and the literature review.




How to Write a Phenomenological Dissertation


Book Description

Conducting phenomenological research for dissertations can be an involved and challenging process, and writing it up is often the most challenging part. How to Write a Phenomenological Dissertation gives students practical, applied advice on how to structure and develop each chapter of the dissertation specifically for phenomenological research. Phenomenology is about personal experience and personal experience varies from researcher to researcher. However, this variation is a big source of confusion for new researchers in the social, behavioral, or health sciences. This brief text is written in a simple, step-by-step fashion to account for this flexibility and variation while also providing structure necessary for a successful dissertation. Broken up into chapters that follow each chapter of the dissertation, this text logically addresses the various parts of phenomenological research, starting with ensuring phenomenology is the right method for your research, writing the literature review, going through methods and results sections to analysis and discussion. The author, using experience gleaned from supervising phenomenological dissertations for many years, gives time-tested advice on how structure the dissertation to fit into more common frameworks, using checklists and tables throughout. Each chapter includes a list of helpful resources for students to use alongside this book with specific information on methods and research. Unique to this text is a chapter on creating your own phenomenological method which allows students to expand their viewpoints and experiment in future studies after the dissertation.




The Generic Qualitative Approach to a Dissertation in the Social Sciences


Book Description

The Generic Qualitative Approach to a Dissertation in the Social Sciences: A Step by Step Guide is a practical guide for the graduate students and faculty planning and executing a generic qualitative dissertation in the social sciences. Generic qualitative research is a methodology that seeks to understand human experience by taking a qualitative stance and using qualitative procedures. Based on Sandra Kostere and Kim Kostere’s experiences of serving on dissertation committees, this book aims to demystify both the nuances and the procedures of qualitative research, with the aim of empowering students to conduct meaningful dissertation research and present findings that are rigorous, credible, and trustworthy. It examines the fundamental principles and assumptions underlying the generic qualitative method, then covers each stage of the research process including creation of research questions, interviews, and then offers three ways of analyzing the data gathered and presenting the results. With examples of the generic qualitative method in practice to show students how to conduct their research confidently, and chapters designed to walk the researcher through each step of the dissertation process, this book is specifically tailored for the accessible generic method, and will be useful for graduate students and faculty developing dissertations in Psychology, Education, Nursing and the social sciences.