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Now available - the second edition of Readme
First for a User's Guide to Qualitative Methods: Our thanks to our
editors at Sage, and to the many colleagues who read and commented on drafts of
my new material.
And this week's news is that the Japanese translation is
now available. Published by Ishiyaku Publishers inc, it was translated by
Professor Nami Kobayashi, from School of Health Sciences,
Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University.
Readme First has been widely used since its publication in 2002.
Very strong feedback from students and professors made it clear a second edition
was wanted. I have first authorship of this edition, at Jan's request, as
it was revised to carry considerable coverage of the functions of software
across the book. For those who want to use software tutorials alongside the
text, there is advice for using my NVivo 7 tutorials on the Sage website for
Handling Qualitative Data which was written as a companion book. The new
edition of Readme has many other additions including sections on writing
and updated references.
Below is an extract from our introduction to the second
edition. |
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Qualitative research is expanding and
developing at breathtaking speed. The problems faced by us and our
students a decade ago are replaced by new challenges. Where
previously there were few texts available, now there are many, but
most are specific to one discipline and/or one method. Where
previously qualitative methods were a minority activity in most
disciplines, learned as a craft in apprenticeship to experienced
researchers, now they are often attempted without training, and
researchers may have difficulty finding mentors. Where data handling
was a gross clerical load and data access limited by human memory,
computer software now provides ways of handling and analyzing data
that were impossible to achieve by manual methods. The widespread
use of specialist software has made qualitative research more
attractive and more accessible to those without qualitative
training. However, just as a decade ago, it remains difficult to
begin a qualitative project, make sense of methodological choices,
and get thinking—let alone started—on the right track. The
researcher facing these difficulties is much more likely now to be
facing them alone.
We wrote this book in recognition that these changes have altered
the qualitative research world forever. Change continues, and we
have prepared the revised edition reflecting on new pressures on
researchers and new opportunities for them. We share a conviction
that if the changes are merely ignored or regretted, damage is done
to both the researchers and the methods. New researchers need to get
over those preliminary obstacles, to understand the language of
qualitative inquiry, and to know what questions to ask, where to
look for information, and how to start thinking qualitatively. They
also need to challenge myths and false expectations and to know what
to expect before they start the “real thing.” This involves placing
the wonderful promises of qualitative research in the context of the
methods that make them work, and the processes of choosing methods
appropriate for your research. It also involves placing the promises
of technology in the context of tasks and techniques.
This book is intended to be read first by those who are thinking
about becoming qualitative researchers—before they acquire data,
before they preemptively choose a method, let alone a software
package, and before they commit to a project. It may be used as a
text for an introductory course; or it may be used by those who are
simply interested in qualitative inquiry and want to get a feel for
the qualitative research process. This new edition includes a review
of what software can do for you and help with finding up-to-date
reviews of software and tutorials so that you may try out the
computer tools and learn what they offer—and what they don’t—before
you propose your own project.
Above all, the aim of this book is not to teach a single method but
to map the range of methods, not to commit you to one sort of
research but to show you why there are so many ways of working
qualitatively.
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r's Guide to Qualitative M
ethods 
