Composing Qualitative Research

This text provides both theoretical and practical guidance for students and researchers who need to transform the massive amounts of data collected through qualitative fieldwork into a coherent manuscript.

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

Accessible, practical and concise, this revised edition expertly tackles the practical problems which writers face when they attempt to transfer the rich data experience of their real world research into a textual product. New attention is paid to the crucial issues of the nature and use of visual data, personal narrative, core and periphery data, and data reconstruction and fictionalization. Sensitive issues dealing with the appropriate use of identity in research settings are clearly discussed, while techniques for avoiding reductive judgements are presented and critically discussed. By making the workings of written study transparent, the book demonstrates how to manage subjectivity and achieve scientific rigour in the qualitative research process. This book provides accessible advice for novice researchers on where to begin and how to proceed. But much more than a simple manual, it also guides the more experience researcher through the social, cultural and political complexities involved in every step of the way. It is an essential tool for students in all disciplines that engage in qualitative research, including sociology, applied linguistics, management, sport science, health studies and education.

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.

It is always difficult to know how to write up research, and as academics and postgraduates alike come under increasing pressure to improve rates of publication a text like this one is essential reading for all researchers. The book discusses all aspects of translating research into writing, including: * getting started and keeping going * putting into words what you want to say * ways of organizing your work * coping with problems, blockages and sustaining morale *style and format *editing your writing *writing alone and writing in a team *approaching problems and getting published. This book will be of use to students, researchers and writers concerned with getting their research written and having it published.

Writing Qualitative Research on Practice brings together key authors in the field of qualitative research to critique current trends and expand discourse about the challenges and practices of writing qualitative research. This book is located in the context of professional practice and the practice world. It scopes and maps the broad horizons of qualitative research on practice and explores writing in major qualitative research traditions. A key issue addressed in writing qualitative research, particularly the narrative forms, is finding a way to write that encapsulates the goals and genre of the research project. Writing is presented as a process and journey and also a way of thinking and creating knowledge. Within research, writing is an essential expression of the research frame of reference and a key element of the research genre. This book explores writing for a range of publications including books, chapters, theses and papers for journals. The practical and accessible style of this book makes it an invaluable resource for postgraduate research students, teachers and supervisors and scholars of 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 orginizing 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.

Writing Matters provides theoretical and practical guidance to writing up qualitative research, and narrative strategies for scholarly research in general.