Qualitative Research Methods

Sarah J. Tracy is Associate Professor of Human Communication at Arizona State University-Tempe. She has contributed more than 50 essays to such publications as Qualitative Inquiry, Communication Monographs, Management Communication Quarterly, and others. Dr. Tracy’s research has garnered international acclaim and she regularly serves as qualitative methodology expert for granted research.

Detailed contents viii Preface: is this book for me? xiv

1 Developing contextual research that matters 1

2 Entering the conversation of qualitative research 20

3 Paradigmatic reflections and theoretical foundations 37

4 Fieldwork and fieldplay: Negotiating access and exploring the scene 64

5 Proposal writing: Explaining your research to institutional review boards, instructors, supervisory committees, and funding agencies 87

6 Field roles, fieldnotes, and field focus 105

7 Interview planning and design: Sampling, recruiting, and questioning 130

8 Interview practice: Embodied, mediated, and focus-group approaches 157

9 Data analysis basics: A pragmatic iterative approach 183

10 Advanced data analysis: The art and magic of interpretation 203

11 Qualitative quality: Creating a credible, ethical, significant study 227

12 Writing Part 1: The nuts and bolts of qualitative tales 251

13 Writing Part 2: Drafting, polishing, and publishing 273

14 Qualitative methodology matters: Exiting and communicating impact 296

Appendix A Fieldnote 315

Appendix B Focus group guide 317

Appendix C Interview transcription excerpts 321

References 325

Index 341