How To Write Qualitative Research

Using lively examples and friendly tips gleaned from his own and other researchers' experiences, and a warm, reflective writing style, Harry F Wolcott offers readers suggestions for writing up qualitative research.

Qualitative research has exploded in popularity in nearly every discipline from the social sciences to health fields to business. While many qualitative textbooks explain how to conduct an interview or analyze fieldnotes, rarely do they give more than a few scant pages to the skill many find most difficult: writing. That's where How to Write Qualitative Research comes in. Using clear prose, helpful examples, and lists, it breaks down and explains the most common writing tasks in qualitative research, and each chapter suggests step-by-step how-to approaches writers can use to tackle those tasks. Topics include: writing about and with qualitative data composing findings organizing chapters and sections using grammar for powerful writing revising for clarity writing conclusions, methods sections, and theory creating and writing about visuals writing different types of qualitative research and different document types Each chapter features real-world examples from both professionals and students, hands-on practice activities, and template sentences that show qualitative writers how to get started. This text provides the perfect companion for writers of almost any skill level, from undergraduates to professionals. Whether you are writing a course paper, a dissertation, or your next book, How to Write Qualitative Research will help you write clearer, more effective qualitative research. -- Provided by publisher

Written for both new and experienced researchers, this book is about creating research writing that is useful, believable and interesting.

This book addresses foundational areas of qualitative writing (such as journal articles and dissertations), aesthetic representations (including poetry and autoethnography), publishing, and reflexivity in representation in one practical and engaging text based on real experiences. Author Maria K.E. Lahman draws on her experiences as a qualitative research professor and writing instructor, and as someone who has published widely in scholarly journals, employing both traditional and more innovative forms of writing. The first part of the book covers writing tips; how to represent data; how to write a qualitative thematic journal article; how to write a qualitative dissertation; and provides guidance on the publication process. The second part encourages the qualitative researcher to move beyond traditional forms of writing and consider how qualitative research can be represented more aesthetically: as poems, autoethnographies, and visually. The book concludes with a chapter on reflexivity in research representations. Throughout, the author provides vivid examples from her own work, and that of graduate students and colleagues.

The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research, Second Edition presents a comprehensive, interdisciplinary overview of the field of qualitative research. Divided into eight parts, the forty chapters address key topics in the field such as approaches to qualitative research (philosophical perspectives), narrative inquiry, field research, and interview methods, text, arts-based, and internet methods, analysis and interpretation of findings, and representation and evaluation. The handbook is intended for students of all levels, faculty, and researchers across the disciplines, and the contributors represent some of the most influential and innovative researchers as well as emerging scholars. This handbook provides a broad introduction to the field of qualitative research to those with little to no background in the subject, while providing substantive contributions to the field that will be of interest to even the most experienced researchers. It serves as a user-friendly teaching tool suitable for a range of undergraduate or graduate courses, as well as individuals working on their thesis or other research projects. With a focus on methodological instruction, the incorporation of real-world examples and practical applications, and ample coverage of writing and representation, this volume offers everything readers need to undertake their own qualitative studies.

This book is for students who are about to embark on a qualitative research project as part of their psychology degree. While there are a number of books on qualitative psychological research, Doing Your Qualitative Psychology Project is unique as it leads you step-by-step through the process of doing your project and writing your dissertation. The focus throughout is on how to make your project excellent! Editors Cath Sullivan, Stephen Gibson and Sarah C.E. Riley focus on the steps involved in completing a qualitative dissertation and on the decisions that you’ll need to make as you go along.

This lively, practical text presents a fresh and comprehensive approach to doing qualitative research. The book offers a unique balance of theory and clear-cut choices for customizing every phase of a qualitative study. A scholarly mix of classic and contemporary studies from multiple disciplines provides compelling, field-based examples of the full range of qualitative approaches. Readers learn about adaptive ways of designing studies, collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting findings. Key aspects of the researcher's craft are addressed, such as fieldwork options, the five phases of data analysis (with and without using computer-based software), and how to incorporate the researcher's “declarative” and “reflective” selves into a final report. Ideal for graduate-level courses, the text includes:* Discussions of ethnography, grounded theory, phenomenology, feminist research, and other approaches.* Instructions for creating a study bank to get a new study started.* End-of-chapter exercises and a semester-long, field-based project.* Quick study boxes, research vignettes, sample studies, and a glossary.* Previews for sections within chapters, and chapter recaps.* Discussion of the place of qualitative research among other social science methods, including mixed methods research.

′I find your straightforward writing style an absolute joy, such a breath of fresh air!′ - Angie Ash, PhD student ′...thank you very much for your accessible language, clear lay out and practical applied approach. I suspect that this book will never be far from my side over the next 4 years!!′ - Mayen Konarski, PhD student Using straight-forward language Doing Qualitative Research Using Your Computer walks readers through the process of managing and streamlining research projects using commonly available Microsoft software applications. Drawing on a wide range of examples to demonstrate how easy it is to use such software, this guide is full of useful hints and tips on how to manage research more efficiently and effectively, including: - Formatting transcripts for maximum coding efficiency in Microsoft Word - Using features of Word to organize the analysis of data and to facilitate efficient qualitative coding - Synchronizing codes, categories, and important concepts between Microsoft Word and Microsoft Access - Efficiently storing and analyzing the qualitative data in Microsoft Excel - Creating flexible analytic memos in Access that help lead the researcher to final conclusions Ideal for those students or researchers who don′t want to invest in expensive specialised software packages, this guide will be an invaluable companion for anyone embarking on their own research project.

Life writing projects have become part of the expanding field of qualitative research methods in recent years and advances in critical approaches are reshaping methodological pathways. Critical Approaches to Life Writing Methods in Qualitative Research gives researchers and students looking for a brief compendium to guide their methodological thinking a concise and working overview of how to approach and carry out different forms of life writing. This practical book re-invigorates the conversation about the possibilities and innovative directions qualitative researchers can take when engaged in various forms of life writing, such as biography, autobiography, autoethnography, life history, and oral history. It equips the reader with the tools to carry out life writing projects from start to finish, including choosing a topic or subject, examining lives as living data, understanding the role of documents and artifacts, learning to tell the story, and finally writing/performing/displaying through the voice of the life writer. The authors also address the ways a researcher can begin a project, work through the issues they might face along the journey, and arrive at a shareable product. With its focus on the plurality of life writing methodologies, Critical Approaches to Life Writing Methods in Qualitative Research occupies a distinct place in qualitative research scholarship and offers practical exercises to guide the researcher. Examples include exploring authorial voice, practical applications of reflexivity exercises, the relationship between the narrator and participants, navigating the use of public and private archives, understanding the processes of collaborative inquiry and collaborative writing, and writing for various audiences.

Drawing on the expertise of major names in the field, this text provides comprehensive coverage of the key methods for analyzing, interpreting, and writing up qualitative research in a single volume.