This new edition addresses what is missing from the methodology sections of many published journal articles, As Richard Fitzgerald has pointed out: ‘The actual work of doing research is often sanitized or hidden in ‘method reports’. This collection aims to supply what Fitzgerald calls the ‘missing what’ of research. It also offers a very different take on the nature of qualitative research [QR] from that found in many other articles and textbooks. We argue that:
As an edited book, this is ideal for final year students, as well as people beginning masters and doctoral programmes. The most comprehensive qualitative research book available, it is the perfect all-in-one companion for any student embarking on a qualitative research course or project. It introduces students to the big picture of qualitative research, teaching both the ‘why’ and the ‘how to’ of getting started, selecting a method and conducting research and data analysis. It is written by world experts of the highest calibre who are upfront about their analytic positions, but distilled into an accessible language and format for beginning researchers who will soon be tackling their own research study, whether at an undergraduate or postgraduate level. The particular added value of Qualitative Research is that it gives you an entrée into qualitative methods from leading experts in the field who address the needs of students who need to brush up their research skills prior to their own research projects.
David Silverman trained as a sociologist at the London School of Economics and the University of California, Los Angeles. He taught for 32 years at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he is now Emeritus Professor in the Sociology Department as well as Visiting Professor in the Business Schools, King’s College, London, Leeds University and University of Technology Sydney and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology. He is interested in conversation and discourse analysis and he has researched medical consultations, shelters for homeless people and HIV-test counselling. He is the author of Doing Qualitative Research (sixth edition, 2022) and A Very Short, Fairly Interesting, Reasonably Cheap Book about Qualitative Research (second edition, 2013c). He is the editor of Qualitative Research (fifth edition, 2021) and the Sage series Introducing Qualitative Methods. In recent years, he has offered short, hands-on workshops in qualitative research for universities in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Now retired from full-time work, he aims to watch 100 days of county cricket a year. He also enjoys spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandsons as well as voluntary work in an old people’s home where he chats and sings with residents.