The How To of Qualitative Research

Janice Aurini is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo. She completed her Ph.D. at McMaster University and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. Her research examines education policy, inequality, private education, and parenting. Dr. Aurini has conducted field work, video-recorded observations, interviews, focus groups with children and adults, and photo-interviews. She has also worked on several mixed methods and large-n qualitative projects. Her recent articles can be found in Sociology of Education, Canadian Public Policy, Qualitative Research, and the European Journal of Higher Education. She is currently the primary investigator on a SSHRC funded project on upper-middle-class parenting in three countries. Melanie Heath is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at McMaster University. She completed her Ph.D. at University of Southern California and was a postdoctoral fellow at Rice University. Her research examines gender, sexuality, and family politics. Dr. Heath has conducted field work, interviews, focus groups, and textual analysis. She is author of One Marriage Under God: The Campaign to Promote Marriage in America (New York University Press, 2012). Her forthcoming book on comparative government regulation of polygamies is titled, Forbidden Intimacies: Transnational Regulation of Polygamies at the Limits of Western Tolerance (Stanford University Press). Her recent work has been published in Gender & Society, Signs, Qualitative Sociology, Sociological Perspectives, Sociological Quarterly, and Contexts. Stephanie Howells is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Guelph. She completed her Ph.D. in the Department of Sociology at McMaster University. Her research is generally centered on education, crime, violence and youth. She has worked on several mixed methods research projects, and has conducted focus groups, personal interviews, and media analyses in her qualitative research. Her research has been published in Higher Education Policy and Policing. She is currently co-investigator on a SSHRC funded Partnership Development Grant called From NIMBY to Neighbour: Brokering a dialogue about homelessness among police, people experiencing homelessness and the community.

Introduction: From Why to How in Qualitative Research
How to Conceptualize Research: Getting Started and Advancing Ongoing Projects
How to Design a Qualitative Project and Create a Research Question: Selecting the Right Tools for the Job
How to Do Interviews: Making What People Say Matter
How to Do Focus Groups: Making the Most of Group Processes
How to Conduct Field Research: Getting in and Getting out with High Quality Data
How to Use Unobtrusive Methods: The Beauty of Social, Physical and Visual Artefacts
How to Do Data Analysis: The Beginner’s Guide to Coding
How to Write up Qualitative Research: Making Your Words Count