Books in the Qualitative Research Methods series

The author discusses the most obvious symbolic aspects of organizations - corporate logos, office sizes, use of titles - as well as focusing on the more subtle aspect of expressive forms of symbolism such as storytelling, institutional jargon and workplace personalization, among others.

Reflecting the many changes that have occurred in the study of focus groups over the years, this book begins with an introduction that offers a discussion of the social science approaches to focus groups. It also includes examples from social scientists who have established their own practices and methodological research on focus groups.

Whether the goals of research are applied or more abstract, team research has been an important aspect of ethnography. This title examines the myriad of challenges and opportunities in doing team ethnography.

Ethnographic fieldwork and formal linguistic analysis have traditionally been thought to be diametrically opposed. In this provocative analysis Peter Manning argues that these methods of qualitative research are complementary. After examining the potential benefits and limitations of each method of analysis, the author shows how a synthesis of the two is more powerful than either alone.

Qualitative Data Collection Tools by Felice D. Billups is a new and unique supplementary text that will guide students and new researchers to design, develop, pilot, and employ qualitative tools in order to collect qualitative data.

Historical and biographical work is becoming a more common type of qualitative research done by social scientists and usually requires the extensive use of formal archives housed in universities, governments, museums and other institutions. This practical and concise book provides an introduction for the novice on conducting archival research and covers such topics as contacting and preparing to work in archives, the protocol of using archives, and ways of organizing and referencing the useful data from the archive.

From setting up the fieldwork to writing up the research, this volume takes readers through the narrative approach to qualitative research with a focus on organization studies. Inspired by the work of Bakhtin, Eco, Rorty and Silverman, the author demonstrates that narratives are still the main carriers of knowledge in all societies.

Rose argues for a break with the corporate mould of ethnography to refashion it as a democratic form of thought and existence in which the ethnographer is fully engaged with the subject. He assesses the possibility of ethnography as a way of life.

In this concise introduction Alain Coulon demystifies the important qualitative research tradition of ethnomethodology. In terms accessible to students, he explains its history, its features and the major criticisms levelled at it. Both theoretical notions and main methodological practices are covered and examples of key ethnomethodological work are provided.

Discourse Analysis: Investigating Processes of Social Construction provides a concise, straightforward guide for students and researchers who are interested in understanding and using discourse analysis.

Kirk and Miller define what is -- and what is not -- qualitative research. They suggest that the use of numbers in the process of recording and analyzing observations is less important than that the research should involve sustained interaction with the people being studied, in their own language and on their own turf. Following a chapter on objectivity, the authors discuss the role of reliability and validity and the problems that arise when these issues are neglected. They present a paradigm for the qualitative research process that makes it possible to pursue validity without neglecting reliability.

In this eloquently written volume Michael Agar expands the premise set forth in his very popular work The Professional Stranger. Speaking of Ethnography challenges the assumption that conventional scientific procedures are appropriate for the study of human affairs. Agar's work is informed by a hermeneutic and phenomenological tradition, in which he questions the researcher's own taken-for-granted procedures.

The place of emotions in research poses many dilemmas. Ignoring emotions can have significant costs for analysis and for competence as researchers. This volume explores the links between emotion and analysis: how the feelings of fieldworkers - about their professional identity, their work and the people they study - inform analyses. The conclusion offers an extended example from one of the authors' field studies to highlight how the emotions of the fieldworkers can enhance qualitative analyses.

Why do people in a certain group behave the way they do? And, more importantly, what specific criteria was used by the group in question? Ethnographic Decision Tree Modeling presents a practical method for answering these questions. From starting research to testing and verifying results, this handy volume takes you step-by-step through this unique research process.

This guide outlines the differences between active interviews and traditional interviews and give novice researchers clear guidelines on conducting a successful interview.