Qualitative Inquiry And The Conservative Challenge

This volume is a call to qualitative researchers to respond to the political and methodological conservativism of the new millennium. Based upon the plenary papers at the first International Congress on Qualitative Inquiry, 22 scholars from five countries and many academic disciplines address how qualitative inquiry can maintain its forward-looking agenda, its emphasis on ethical practice, and its stance in favor of social justice in a world where conservatives aggressively control the political system, the university, and grant agency purse strings. Contributions by such noted scholars as Patti Lather, Janice Morse, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Ernest House, Yvonna Lincoln, and H.L. Goodall, Jr. make this an important benchmark work for all involved in qualitative inquiry.

This volume is a call to qualitative researchers to respond to the political and methodological conservativism of the new millennium. Based upon the plenary papers at the first International Congress on Qualitative Inquiry, 22 scholars from five countries and many academic disciplines address how qualitative inquiry can maintain its forward-looking agenda, its emphasis on ethical practice, and its stance in favor of social justice in a world where conservatives aggressively control the political system, the university, and grant agency purse strings. Contributions by such noted scholars as Patti Lather, Janice Morse, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Ernest House, Yvonna Lincoln, and H.L. Goodall, Jr. make this an important benchmark work for all involved in qualitative inquiry.

Critical approaches to qualitative research have made a significant impact on research practice over the past decade. This comprehensive volume of contemporary, original articles places this trend in its historical context, describes the current landscape of critical work, and considers the future of this turn. The book-includes contributions from some of the leading qualitative researchers on three continents;-consists of big-picture articles that describe the dimensions of this research tradition;-situates critical qualitative inquiry in the overall development and landscape of qualitative research.

What is evidence in qualitative inquiry and how is it evaluated? What is true or false in research is strongly influenced by socially defined criteria and by the politics of academia. In providing an alternative to conservative science, qualitative researchers are often victimized by these politics. The use of qualitative evidence within the policy arena is also subject to social and political factors. Within qualitative inquiry itself, evidence is defined differently in different discourses—law, medicine, history, cultural, or performance studies. The interdisciplinary, international group of contributors to this volume address these questions in an attempt to create evidential criteria for qualitative work. Sponsored by the International Center for Qualitative Inquiry.

This collection of recent works by Norman K. Denzin provides a history of the field of qualitative inquiry over the past two decades. As perhaps the leading proponent of this style of research, Denzin has led the way toward more performative writing, toward conceptualizing research in terms of social justice, toward inclusion of indigenous voices, and toward new models of interpretation and representation. In these 13 essays—which originally appeared in a wide variety of sources and are edited and updated here—the author traces how these changes have transformed qualitative practice in recent years. In an era when qualitative inquiry is under fire from conservative governmental and academic bodies, he points the way toward the future, including a renewed dialogue on paradigmatic pluralism.

This book is the second of three paperback volumes taken from The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, Fourth Edition. This volume isolates the major strategies—historically, the research methods—that researchers can use in conducting concrete qualitative studies. The question of methods begins with questions of design and the matters of money and funding. These questions always begin with the researcher who moves from a research question to a paradigm or perspective, and then to the empirical world. The history and uses of these strategies are explored extensively in this volume. The chapters move from forms (and problems with) mixed methods inquiry to case study, performance and narrative ethnography, to constructionist analytics to grounded theory strategies, testimonies, participatory action research, and clinical research.

Is qualitative research in crisis? In Questioning Qualitative Inquiry Martyn Hammersley raises fundamental questions about the current state of qualitative social research. He examines some of the changes that have taken place within it over the past fifty years, suggesting that the move away from natural science as a model, and towards an appeal to literature and art, involves rejection of key principles that are essential to research of any kind. Hammersley argues that, in important respects, qualitative inquiry has not lived up to the claims originally made on its behalf, and that more recent developments have worsened the situation. Insufficient attention has been given to the problems surrounding leading ideas like thick description, analytic induction, and constructionism. The argument is pursued through discussion of the work of influential writers - such as Clifford, Geertz, Denzin and Lincoln - and by detailed examination of concrete issues, like the value of interview data, the rationales for discourse and conversation analysis, the role of rhetoric in research reports, and the nature of assessment criteria. At a time when qualitative inquiry is coming under renewed challenge in some quarters, the task of addressing the methodological problems it faces has become urgent. These essays on current developments and debates are essential reading for anyone interested in the future of qualitative research.

Qualitative research design is continually evolving. It is not only more established in disciplines beyond the traditional social sciences in which it is a standard choice, but also just as impacted by the changes in what data, technologies, and approaches researchers are using. This Handbook takes readers through the foundational theories, functions, strategies, and approaches to qualitative research design, before showcasing how it negotiates different data and research environments and produces credible, actionable impact beyond the study. Containing contributions from over 90 top scholars from a range of social science disciplines, this Handbook is not just an anthology of different qualitative research designs and how/when to use them; it is a complete exploration of how and why these designs are shaped and how, why, and into what they are evolving. This is a valuable resource for Master’s and PhD level students, faculty members, and researchers across a wide range of disciplines such as health, nursing, psychology, social work, sociology, and education. Volume One: Part I: Concepts of Designing Designs in Qualitative Research Part 2: Theories and Epistemological Contexts of Designing Qualitative Research Part 3: Elements of Designing Qualitative Research Part 4: Basic Designs and Research Strategies in Qualitative Research Part 5: Mixing Methods in Designing Qualitative Research Volume Two: Part 6: Designing Qualitative Research for Specific Kinds of Data Part 7: Designing Qualitative Online and Multimodal Research Part 8: Designing Qualitative Research for Specific Groups and Areas Part 9: Designing Qualitative Research in Disciplinary Fields Part 10: Designing Qualitative Research for Impact