Preface xiii
About the Authors xv
Acknowledgement xvii
Part One: Introduction to Qualitative Research: Starting Out
1 The Essentials of Qualitative Research 3
What is qualitative research? 3
The characteristics of qualitative research 3
The primacy of data 4
Contextualisation 5
Immersion in the setting 5
The ‘emic’ perspective 6
Thick dex_scription 7
The research relationship 8
Insider/outsider research 9
Reflexivity 9
The place of theory in qualitative research 11
The use of qualitative research in healthcare 11
Choosing an approach for health research 13
References 14
Further Reading 16
2 The Paradigm Debate: The Place of Qualitative Research 17
Theoretical frameworks and ontological position 17
The natural science model: positivism objectivism and value neutrality 18
The paradigm debate 19
The interpretive/dex_scriptive approach 21
Focus on postmodernism and social constructionism 23
Conflicting or complementary perspectives? 24
Final comment 25
References 25
Further Reading 26
3 Initial Steps in the Research Process 27
Selecting and formulating the research question 27
Practical issues 31
The research design and choice of approach 31
The literature review 32
Writing a research proposal 35
Access and entry to the setting 41
Summary 44
References 44
Further Reading 45
4 Ethical Issues 47
The foundational ethical framework for research 49
Ethics in qualitative research 52
Interviews and observations 53
The participant information sheet 60
Researching one’s peers 62
The research relationship 62
Research in the researcher’s workplace 64
The role of research ethics committees 64
Reviewing the research project 66
Key ethical questions: audiotaped interviews 66
Summary 70
References 70
Further Reading 72
5 Supervision of Qualitative Research 73
The responsibilities of supervisor and student 74
Writing and relationships 76
Practical aspects of supervision 78
Single or joint supervision 79
Problems with supervision 80
Academic problems 81
Final notes 82
Summary 83
References 83
Further Reading 83
Part Two: Data Collection and Sampling
6 Interviewing 87
Interviews as sources of data 87
The interview process 88
Types of interview 89
Contents vii
Practical considerations 92
Recording interview data 96
The interviewer–participant relationship 98
Problematic issues and challenges in interviewing 99
Ethical issues in interviewing 103
Summary 105
References 105
Further Reading 106
7 Observation and Documents as Sources of Data 107
Participant observation 107
The origins of participant observation 108
Immersion in culture and setting 108
Types of observation 111
Problems in observation 116
Technical procedures and practical hints 117
Documentary sources of data 118
Summary 122
References 122
Further Reading 123
8 Focus Group Research (FGR) 125
The nature and features of focus group research 125
The origin and purpose of focus groups 127
Focus group research in healthcare 127
Sample size and composition 128
Conducting focus group discussions 131
Research with online or virtual focus groups 133
Recording analysing and reporting focus group data 134
Critical comments on focus group research in healthcare 138
Summary 138
References 139
Further Reading 140
9 Sampling Strategies 141
Sampling decisions 141
A variety of sampling types 145
Inclusion and exclusion criteria 150
Sampling parameters 150
Sample size 151
Saturation 152
Giving a label to the participants 153
Summary 154
References 154
Further Reading 155
Part Three: Approaches in Qualitative Research
10 Ethnography 159
The development of ethnography 160
Ethnographic methods 162
Ethnography in healthcare 163
The main features of ethnography 165
Fieldwork 169
Doing and writing ethnography 172
Analysis 172
Interpretation 174
Pitfalls and problems 175
Summary 176
References 176
Further Reading 178
11 Grounded Theory Methodology 179
History and origin 180
Symbolic interactionism 181
The main features of grounded theory 181
Data collection theoretical sampling and analysis 183
The three main approaches 189
Using the literature 190
Integration of theory 192
Theoretical memos and fieldnotes 192
Pitfalls and problems 193
Which approach for the health researcher? 196
Summary 197
References 197
Further Reading 199
12 Narrative Inquiry 201
The nature of narrative and story 201
Narrative research 202
Narratives in health research 202
The everyday story 206
Autobiographical and biographical stories 206
Cultural stories 207
Collective stories 207
Illness narratives 208
The restitution narrative 209
The chaos narrative 210
The quest narrative 210
Narrative interviewing 211
Narrative analysis 212
Contents ix
Thematic and holistic analysis 213
Structural analysis 214
Dialogic/performance analysis 215
Visual analysis 216
Ongoing debates about narrative 216
Summary 218
References 218
Further Reading 220
13 Phenomenology 221
Intentionality and the early stages of phenomenology 222
Phases and history of the movement 223
The German phase 224
The French phase 226
Schools of phenomenology 227
The phenomenological research process: doing phenomenology 228
Grounding 228
Reflexivity and positional knowledge 229
Humanisation and the language of experience 229
Phenomenology and health research 231
Topics for phenomenological approaches 232
Choice of approach: dex_scriptive or interpretive phenomenology 233
Procedures for data collection and analysis 235
Summary 238
References 238
Further Reading 241
14 Action Research 243
The origins of action research 244
Critical social theory 245
Action research in healthcare 246
The main features of action research 247
The methodological continuum 248
Practical steps 250
Trustworthiness in AR 252
Problems and critique 253
Summary 255
References 255
Further Reading 256
15 Additional Approaches 259
Case study research 259
Overview 260
Features and purpose of case study research 260
Conversation analysis 262
The origins of conversation analysis 263
The use of conversation analysis 263
Discourse analysis 265
Critical discourse analysis (CDA) 267
Performative social science 269
PSS in health research 270
Summary 271
References 272
Further Reading 275
Discourse Analysis 275
Further Reading 276
Performative Social Science 276
Further Reading 277
Part Four: Data Analysis and Completion
16 Data Analysis: Strategies and Procedures 281
Transcribing and sorting 283
Taking notes and writing analytic memos 284
Ordering and organising the data 285
Analytical styles 286
Coding and categorizing 287
Thematic analysis 288
Meaning and Gestalt 289
Problems of QDA 289
Inferential leaps and ‘premature closure’ 289
Collaboration in the process of analysis and interpretation 290
Computer- aided analysis of qualitative data 290
The reasons for computer use 291
Storing annotating and retrieving texts 292
Locating words phrases or segments of data 292
Naming or labelling 292
Sorting and organising 292
Identifying data units 293
Preparing diagrams 293
Approaches to qualitative computer analysis 293
Language- oriented 293
Dex_scriptive/interpretive approaches 293
Theory building 294
The practicalities of using computer- aided analysis 294
Advantages of computer use 295
Problems and critique of computer analysis 295
Summary 296
References 297
Further Reading 298
17 Establishing Quality: Validity and Trustworthiness 299
Quality 299
Conventional criteria 300
Rigour 300
Reliability 300
Validity 301
Generalisability or external validity 302
Objectivity and subjectivity 303
The concept of validity in qualitative research 304
An alternative perspective: trustworthiness 305
Dependability 305
Credibility 305
Transferability 305
Confirmability 306
Authenticity 306
Strategies to ensure trustworthiness 307
Member checking 307
Searching for negative cases and alternative explanations 309
Peer review 310
Triangulation 310
The audit or decision trail 311
Thick dex_scription 312
Prolonged engagement 312
Reflexivity 313
Quality and creativity 313
Summary 314
References 314
Further Reading 315
18 Writing up and Publishing Qualitative Research 317
The research account 317
Use of the first person 318
The format of the report 319
Title 320
Abstract 321
Acknowledgement and dedication 323
Contents 323
Introduction 323
Entry issues and ethical considerations 324
Methodology and research design 325
Findings/results and discussion 326
Conclusion and implications 328
Referencing 330
Appendices 330
Critical assessment and evaluation 331
Guide to research evaluation 331
Publishing and presenting the research 332
Books 333
Articles 333
Types of article 334
Alternative forms of presenting or disseminating the research 335
Summary 336
References 336
Further Reading 337
Final Note 339
Glossary 341
Index 347
