Qualitative Research from Start to Finish, First Edition

Robert K. Yin, COSMOS Corporation, Maryland, USA

Part 1. Understanding Qualitative Research. What Is Qualitative Research—and Why Might You Consider Doing Such Research? The Allure of Qualitative Research: A Topical Panorama of Studies. The Distinctiveness of Qualitative Research. The Multifaceted World of Qualitative Research. Building Trustworthiness and Credibility into Qualitative Research. Equipping Yourself to Do Qualitative Research. Competencies in Doing Qualitative Research. Managing Field-Based Research. Practicing. Setting and Maintaining Ethical Standards of Conduct. Protecting Human Subjects: Obtaining Approval from an Institutional Review Board. How to Start a Research Study. Starting a Qualitative Study by Considering Three Features. Reviewing Research Literature. Detailing a New Qualitative Study. Part 2. Doing Qualitative Research. Choices in Designing Qualitative Research Studies. Brief Definition of Research Designs. Choice 1: Starting a Research Design at the Beginning of a Study (or Not). Choice 2: Taking Steps to Strengthen the Validity of a Study (or Not). Choice 3: Clarifying the Complexity of Data Collection Units (or Not). Choice 4: Attending to Sampling (or Not). Choice 5: Incorporating Concepts and Theories into a Study (or Not). Choice 6: Planning at an Early Stage (or Not) to Obtain Participant Feedback. Choice 7: Being Concerned with Generalizing a Study’s Findings (or Not). Choice 8: Preparing a Research Protocol (or Not). Doing Fieldwork. Working in the Field. Gaining and Maintaining Access to the Field. Nurturing Field Relationships. Doing Participant-Observation. Making Site Visits. Data Collection Methods. What Are Data? Introduction to Four Types of Data Collection Activities. Interviewing. Observing. Collecting and Examining. Feelings. Desirable Practices Pertinent to All Modes of Data Collection. Recording Data. What to Record. Note-Taking Practices When Doing Fieldwork. Converting Field Notes into Fuller Notes. Recording Data through Modes Other Than Writing. Keeping a Personal Journal. Analyzing Qualitative Data, I: Compiling, Disassembling, and Reassembling. Overview of the Analytic Phases. Compiling an Orderly Set of Data. Disassembling Data. Reassembling Data. Analyzing Qualitative Data, II: Interpreting and Concluding. Interpreting. Modes of Interpreting. Concluding. Part 3. Presenting the Results from Qualitative Research. Displaying Qualitative Data. Narrative Data about the Participants in a Qualitative Study. Tabular, Graphic, and Pictorial Presentations. Creating Slides to Accompany Oral Presentations. Composing Research, to Share It with Others. Composing: General Hints. Composing Qualitative Research. Presenting Your Declarative Self. Presenting Your Reflective Self. Reworking Your Composition. Part 4. Taking Qualitative Research One Step Further. Broadening the Challenge of Doing Qualitative Research. Qualitative Research as Part of the Broader Realm of Social Science Research. An Ongoing Dialogue. The Promise and Challenge of Mixed Methods Research. Moving Onward. Appendix. A Semester- or Year-Long Project: Career Paths. A Glossary of Special Terms Used in Qualitative Research.