Maggi Savin-Baden

Claire Howell Major

Qualitative Research: The Essential Guide to Theory and Practice provides a one-stop resource for all those approaching qualitative research for the first time, as well as those revisiting core concepts and issues. It presents a comprehensive overview of this rapidly developing field of inquiry, cleverly combined with practical, hands-on advice on how to conduct a successful qualitative study. Written in an engaging and accessible style, the authors break through difficult terminology to guide readers through the choices they will face during research design, implementation, and beyond. Each chapter is then brought to life by an array of relevant, real-life examples from expert researchers around the globe. Divided into seven sections, this unique text covers: Considering perspectives Acknowledging a position Framing the study Choosing a research approach Collecting data Working with data and findings Writing about the research From the foundations of the subject through to its application in practice, Qualitative Research: The Essential Guide to Theory and Practice is an indispensable companion for qualitative researchers worldwide. VAT will be charged on this product for UK customers only. VAT is charged at standard rate on a part of this product only.

The Essential Guide to Theory and Practice

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research has seen a surge of growth during the past decade. This is in large part because positivist approaches have not yielded the kinds of results that had been anticipated, and more researchers are seeking alternative perspectives to understand phenomena. The number of researchers using qualitative approaches continues to grow, yet there are few up-to-date guides to assist thinking broadly about qualitative research as a field of inquiry. Over the decades the range of approaches has increased, which has led to an even greater lack of certainty about how to think about doing qualitative research. In considering key issues while offering practical guidance on how to work within the face of uncertainty, this book will be a valuable resource to this next generation of researchers. New Approaches to Qualitative Research offers: a clear understanding of the range of issues related to researcher stance, the way that researchers position themselves in relation to their subjects, their participants, and their own belief systems, and the way in which they locate themselves across the qualitative paradigm an overview of some of the most cutting-edge qualitative techniques in use today: from the exploration of visual texts to the concept of inquiry to synthesis methods, this section lays out the state of the art in methodology specific information regarding processes of data analysis, synthesis and interpretation that are employed in these various approaches. In this book, the authors take the stance that qualitative research is a broad approach that encompasses and even encourages difference and uncertainty, and here at last they provide a route-map to this uncertain but fruitful line of inquiry. This vital text is ideal for professional researchers and postgraduates in a range of subject areas.

Wisdom and Uncertainty

New Approaches to Qualitative Research

It is difficult to imagine a college class today that does not include some online component—whether a simple posting of a syllabus to course management software, the use of social media for communication, or a full-blown course offering through a MOOC platform. In Teaching Online, Claire Howell Major describes for college faculty the changes that accompany use of such technologies and offers real-world strategies for surmounting digital teaching challenges. Teaching with these evolving media requires instructors to alter the ways in which they conceive of and do their work, according to Major. They must frequently update their knowledge of learning, teaching, and media, and they need to develop new forms of instruction, revise and reconceptualize classroom materials, and refresh their communication patterns. Faculty teaching online must also reconsider the student experience and determine what changes for students ultimately mean for their own work and for their institutions. Teaching Online presents instructors with a thoughtful synthesis of educational theory, research, and practice as well as a review of strategies for managing the instructional changes involved in teaching online. In addition, this book presents examples of best practices from successful online instructors as well as cutting-edge ideas from leading scholars and educational technologists. Faculty members, researchers, instructional designers, students, administrators, and policy makers who engage with online learning will find this book an invaluable resource.

A Guide to Theory, Research, and Practice

Teaching Online

Providing a comprehensive guide for understanding, interpreting and synthesizing qualitative studies, An Introduction to Qualitative Research Synthesis shows how data can be collated together effectively to summarise existing bodies of knowledge and to create a more complete picture of findings across different studies The authors describe qualitative research synthesis and argue for its use, describing the process of data analysis, synthesis and interpretation and provide specific details and examples of how the approach works in practice. This accessible book: fully explains the qualitative research synthesis approach; provides advice and examples of findings; describes the process of establishing credibility in the research process; provides annotated examples of the work in process; references published examples of the approach across a wide variety of fields. Helping researchers to understand, make meaning and synthesize a wide variety of datasets, this book is broad in scope yet practical in approach. It will be beneficial to those working in social science disciplines, including researchers, teachers, students and policy makers, especially those interested in methods of synthesis such as meta-ethnography, qualitative meta-analysis, qualitative meta-synthesis, interpretive synthesis, narrative synthesis, and qualitative systematic review.

Claire Howell Major

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