Learning Resources Division: Qualitative Research: Home

What is Qualitative Research?

"Qualitative research is an approach to research that is primarily concerned with studying the nature, quality, and meaning of human experience. It asks questions about how people make sense of their experiences, how people talk about what has happened to them and others, and how people experience, manage, and negotiate situations they find themselves in. Qualitative research is interested both in individual experiences and in the ways in which people experience themselves as part of a group. Qualitative data take the form of accounts or observations, and the findings are presented in the form of a discussion of the themes that emerged from the analysis. Numbers are very rarely used in qualitative research." -- SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Psychology

Qualitative data can take many forms, including in-depth interviews, focus groups, participant observation, written or audiovisual diaries, and textual analysis. In qualitative data analysis, researchers identify themes through an iterative process -- for example, through content analysis or inductive coding.

This guide presents resources for conducting qualitative research and qualitative data analysis. For further support, contact a librarian.

Databases

SAGE Research Methods This link opens in a new window
The ultimate methods library with more than 1000 books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos by world-leading academics from across the social sciences, including the largest collection of qualitative methods books available online.

Recommended Books on Qualitative Research

Fundamentals of Qualitative Research by Johnny Saldana
Call Number: E-book
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
This title approaches qualitative inquiry as a strategically selected composite of genres, elements, and styles. The author brings clear writing and explanatory prowess to this new textbook for learning the fundamentals of qualitative research methods. This book presents a concise yet rigorous description of how to design and conduct fieldwork projects and how to examine data in multiple ways for interpretive insight. Saldaña, a master teacher and qualitative data analyst, acquaints readers with the major genres of qualitative research available and the elements of interviewing, participant observation, and other data collection methods to inform emergent research design decisions. An extended chapter on qualitative data analysis is one of the book's unique features.
Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods by Steven J. Taylor; Robert Bogdan; Marjorie DeVault
Call Number: E-book
Publication Date: 2015-09-04
An informative real-world guide to studying the "why" of human behavior, this book is a practical, comprehensive guide to the collection and presentation of qualitative data. Unique in the market, this book describes the entire research process -- from design through writing -- illustrated by examples of real, complete qualitative work that clearly demonstrates how methods are used in actual practice. This updated fourth edition includes all new case studies, with additional coverage of mixed methods, non-sociological settings, funding, and a sample interview guide. The studies profiled are accompanied by observation field notes, and the text includes additional readings for both students and instructors. More than just theory, this guide is designed to give readers a real-world practitioner's view of how qualitative research is handled every step of the way. Many different disciplines rely on qualitative research as a method of inquiry, to gain an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the governing forces behind it. Qualitative research asks "why" and "how," and the data is frequently complex and difficult to measure.
The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research by Patricia Leavy (Editor)
Call Number: E-book
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
This handbook provides a broad introduction to the field of qualitative research to those with little to no background in the subject, while simultaneously providing substantive contributions to the field that will be of interest to even the most experienced researchers. It serves as a user-friendly teaching tool suitable for a range of undergraduate or graduate courses, as well as individuals working on their thesis or other research projects. With a focus on methodological instruction, this volume offers both a retrospective and prospective view of the field. The first two sections explore the history of the field, ethics, and philosophical/theoretical approaches. The next three sections focus on the major methods of qualitative practice as well as newer approaches (such as arts-based research and internet research); area studies often excluded (such as museum studies and disaster studies); and mixed methods and participatory methods (such as community-based research). The next section covers key issues including data analysis, interpretation, writing and assessment. The final section offers a commentary about politics and research and the move towards public scholarship.
Philosophies of Qualitative Research by Svend Brinkmann
Call Number: E-book
Publication Date: 2017-10-13
This book explores the different philosophical paradigms and ideas that influence qualitative research today. Adopting a historical perspective, the book shows readers exactly how philosophical ideas have evolved and influenced qualitative research in both the past and present. Today, qualitative researchers tend to report on their philosophical commitments in an altogether separate section of their research papers. However, as this text asserts, the researcher's philosophical ideas influence everything from the conception of the topic to the final reporting of its results. Therefore, philosophy should not be thought of as a purely abstract discipline, disconnected from the practicalities of research, but rather as a concrete and pervasive aspect of all qualitative research practices.
The Practice of Qualitative Research by Sharlene Hesse Biber; Patricia L. Leavy
Call Number: H62 .H478 2011
Publication Date: 2010-04-23
This book provides a "hands on" introduction to qualitative research methods through the use of in-depth examples and out-of-class exercises. Rather than de-linking theory from methods and presenting students with a laundry-list of methods like so many texts do, the text provides readers with the link between theory and methods throughout the book. Starting with how to develop a good research question, the authors carefully show the nuts and bolts of data collection (including issues of sampling, validity, reliability and ethics), the multiplicity of considerations (and, how to sort through them) during research design, the how-tos of each major qualitative approach, and conclude with data analysis, interpretation, and reporting.
Qualitative Research and Complex Teams by Judith Davidson
Call Number: E-book
Publication Date: 2018-10-26
Most qualitative researchers work on teams at some point. This book charts new methodological territory by providing hands-on help for qualitative researchers working on team projects. Useful to those working with a purely qualitative research design or mixed methods, the text provides a unique focus on writing and communications, offering strategies for all stages of the process from research design to final product. This volume provides an overview of the research related to team-based work, as well as a discussion of relevant changes in approaches to writing in the field. Readers will learn how to initiate team-based work through a digital tool kit approach, organize systems to insure efficiency, and undertake the process of bringing together and training diverse teams. Jargon-free, this book provides strong guidance for thinking about the joint arenas of methodological and substantive writing, and it develops ways to further the aims of both as the project proceeds.
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods by Lisa M. Given (Editor)
Call Number: H61 .S234 2008
Publication Date: 2008-08-21
Qualitative research projects are informed by a wide range of methodologies and theoretical frameworks. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods presents current and complete information as well as ready-to-use techniques, facts, and examples from the field of qualitative research in a very accessible style. In taking an interdisciplinary approach, these two volumes target a broad audience and fill a gap in the existing reference literature for a general guide to the core concepts that inform qualitative research practices. The entries cover every major facet of qualitative methods, including access to research participants, data coding, research ethics, the role of theory in qualitative research, and much more-all without overwhelming the informed reader.
The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research by Norman K. Denzin (Editor); Yvonna S. Lincoln (Editor)
Call Number: H62 .H2455 2005
Publication Date: 2005-04-08
An text for any researcher interested in the art, science and practice of qualitative research.
Seven Rules for Social Research by Glenn Firebaugh
Call Number: E-book
Publication Date: 2018-06-26
This book teaches social scientists how to get the most out of their technical skills and tools, providing a resource that fully describes the strategies and concepts no researcher or student of human behavior can do without. The author provides indispensable practical guidance for anyone doing research in the social and health sciences today, whether they are undergraduate or graduate students embarking on their first major research projects or seasoned professionals seeking to incorporate new methods into their research.
Working with Qualitative Data by William Gibson; Andrew Brown
Call Number: H62 .G515 2009
Publication Date: 2009-06-05
This book provides a practical and accessible introduction to how to develop and apply strategies for the analysis of qualitative data by exploring the ways in which analysis is related to all aspects of research. By situating analysis in the context of the whole research process, this book helps the reader to introduce an analytical component to every stage of doing research: from designing a project, reviewing the literature, through the various stages of gathering data, to the process of writing-up. Through practical examples, the book maps out strategies for developing analytic frameworks in relation to all aspects of research, and demonstrates the ways in which such frameworks can be used in relation to various sorts of data. In contrast to existing qualitative data analysis texts, this book offers a unified approach to the process of analysis within qualitative research. It is an ideal resource for students and researchers studying the full range of social, health and education sciences.