Table of Contents

Part 1: Considering perspectives 1. Qualitative research 2. A brief history of philosophical perspectives 3. Research choices and lenses Part 2: Acknowledging a position 4. Philosophical stance 5. Personal stance, positionality and reflexivity Part 3: Framing the study 6. The ‘who’ or ‘what’ of study 7. Research questions 8. Literature review 9. Theoretical and conceptual frameworks Part 4: Choosing a research approach 10. Case study 11. Pragmatic qualitative research 12. Grounded theory 13. Ethnography 14. Phenomenology 15. Narrative approaches 16. Action research 17. Collaborative approaches 18. Evaluation 19. Art-based approaches Part 5: Collecting data 20. Time, place and participants 21. Ethics and ethical approval 22. Fieldwork 23. Interviews 24. Focus groups 25. Observation 26. Documents Part 6: Working with data and findings 27. Data handling and coding 28. Data analysis 29. Data Interpretation 30. Quality Part 7: Writing about the research 31. Researcher voice 32. The research report

About the Author

Maggi Savin-Baden is Professor of Higher Education Research at Coventry University, UK.


Claire Howell Major is Professor of Higher Education at the University of Alabama, US.

Reviews

"The book is written in a clear, accessible style in a way which demystifies the sometimes complex research philosophy and theory. The chapters include useful illustration that help to conceptualize the narrative, as well as researcher reflections which offer real examples of the research theory in practice for the reader to consider. […] In addition to the reflections, there are boxes with tips offering practical advice, as well as reflective questions to help prompt a spirit of enquiry, and lists of useful resources for further reading. This makes for an interesting and engaging text—how often can one say that about a research text?" – Karen Strickland, Edinburgh Napier University, Educational Developments