A Journey Through Qualitative Research

This hands-on guide takes students from start-to-finish through the research process while showcasing the complexities and interrelationships of different methods, schools of thought, and associated analytical strategies. Encouraging students to think of qualitative research as a flexible, cyclical process rather than a linear one, this book offers a panoramic strategy and dynamic approach to qualitative research that accommodates the fluid nature of research and accounts for lessons learned through lived experience.  With an emphasis on the analysis stage-within case, across case, and the dialogue between these insights and existing literature-it uses concrete applications to show how your methodological decisions translate into practice. It covers:
Forming, defending, and evaluating research questions Choosing a research approach Ensuring ethically sound research Collecting quality data Analyzing data in layers Reporting research results
Through a conversational tone that unpacks key vocabulary and acts as a companion supervisor, this book equips you to traverse every step of the qualitative research journey.

Chapter 1: Choosing qualitative inquiry
The knowledge production process
Qualitative research design
Realm of qualitative epistemologies
Chapter 2: Designing an iterative research project
Designing the research
The writing of a research project
Chapter 3: Choosing an Approach to Guide Methodological Decisions
Phenomenology
Grounded theory
Discourse analysis
Narrative analysis
Ethnography
Chapter 4: Choosing Tools for Your Fieldwork
Observation
Interviews
Documents
Chapter 5: Ethical challenges in qualitative research
Procedural Ethics
Making an Application to the REB
Concerns at the Heart of Research Relationships
Chapter 6: Preparing for analysis and validity requirements
The palimpsest as a metaphor for principles of analysis
Vertical analysis: The first stratum of the palimpsest
Horizontal analysis: The second stratum of the palimpsest
Theoretical analysis: The third stratum of the palimpsest
Initial project
Chapter 7: Vertical Analysis
Contextualizing condensation
Semantic condensation
Chapter 8: Horizontal analysis
Horizontal analysis using discourse analysis through interpretative repertoires
Horizontal analysis using a mixed approached inspired by grounded theory and narrative analysis
Chapter 9: Theorizing and presenting the results
Classification by Typology
Bringing out contrasting characters
Establishing a dialogue to enrich concepts
Ensuring the quality of the study