Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers

by Jane Beaglehole Ritchie (Editor), Jane Lewis (Editor)

`This is a "how to" book on qualitative methods written by people who do qualitative research for a living.... It is likely to become the standard manual on all graduate and undergraduate courses on qualitative methods′ - Professor Robert Walker, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham

What exactly is qualitative research? What are the processes involved and what can it deliver as a mode of inquiry?

Qualitative research is an exciting blend of scientific investigation and creative discovery. When properly executed, it can bring a unique understanding of people′s lives which in turn can be used to deepen our understanding of society. It as a skilled craft used by practitioners and researchers in the `real world′; this textbook illuminates the possibilities of qualitative research and presents a sequential overview of the process written by those active in the field.

Qualitative Research

- Leads the student or researcher through the entire process of qualitative research from beginning to end - moving through design, sampling, data collection, analysis and reporting.

- Is written by practicing researchers with extensive experience of conducting qualitative research in the arena of social and public policy - contains numerous case studies.

- Contains plenty of pedagogical material including chapter summaries, explanation of key concepts, reflective points for seminar discussion and further reading in each chapter

- Is structured and applicable for all courses in qualitative research, irrespective of field.

Drawn heavily on courses run by the Qualitative Unit at the National Centre for Social Research, this textbook should be recommended reading for students new to qualitative research across the social sciences.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Academic, Research, Textbooks, Ethnography

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Jane Ritchie is a former professor at Waikato University between 1995 to 2010.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pffff tweede keer moeten lezen, dit keer vond ik m wel echt duidelijker en ik denk dat her zeker een aanrader is wanneer je een handleiding wil voor het doen van kwalitatief onderzoek, want er wordt echt stap voor stap uitgelegd wat je moet doen!!

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a course text, this gives a strong and solid foundation. The various authors have kept to a structure that is easy to follow, and the book builds in a logical order through the steps one would follow to actually conduct a qualitative study. The book also explains connections to, and divergences from, the sometimes dominant paradigm of quantative research. Key points and terms are reiterated. Over all, this book is both quite easy to read, and highly useful to learners.

[Halil Emre Kocalar · Rating 2 out of 5]

temel düzeyde bir kitap. O yüzden öğrenci odaklı olmuş. Bir araştırmacı için yeterli değil.

[Sacha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had I rated this book for how much I enjoyed it, it would definitely have been 1 star. Or 0. But since this is a textbook, it seems fair to rate it as a textbook as well. However, as you see, that rating is still pretty low.

This book is all over the place. The structure is vague and it is pretty much impossible to figure out what the important points are. Most of the chapters are made out of "This guy said this, but then this guy said this". I understand that the views on qualitative research methods differ, but it was just very confusing and many things that were mentioned felt irrelevant. A plus was that each chapter had a short summary and key terms at the end, but these wouldn't be necessary if the actual chapters would've been clearer.

At least it's over.

[Tidar Rachmadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

As written in the title, this book is a guide for those who studying social in college. Useful for social research and this can be a reference for the methodology.

[Abhijeet Lele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earlier, I was skeptical to read an edited book. But the sheer capability of authors having deep knowledge of qualitative research makes it an interesting academic read.