Qualitative Research from Start to Finish 2e by Yin

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Qualitative Research from Start to Finish 2e by Yin is the 2nd edition of the book authored by Robert K. Yin and copyrighted and published in 2016 by The Guilford Press, a Division of Guilford Publications, Inc., New York, NY.

For larger glossaries that have fuller explanations]], readers should refer to specialized dictionaries that are entirely devoted to such glossaries (e.g., Abercrombie, Hill, & Turner, 2006; Schwandt, [[2007).

  • Action research. The specialized type of qualitative research that is described as "Reflects or enacts participative values and concern for the relational component of research . . . a continuum from consultation with stakeholders to stakeholders as full co-researchers. Show, not just tell about process and outcomes by including analysis of data that includes the voices of participants in research" (Action Research; 2014), "Involvement refers to the participation of practitioners in all phases of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting" (Schwandt; 2007), "Calls for the researcher to be 'involved and interventionist, because research is joined with action in order to plan, implement, and monitor change.' " (Abercrombie, Hill, & Turner; 2006). Illustrative methodological works include Greenwood & Levin (2007); Lewin (1946); Mills (2000); Reason & Bradbury (2008); Reason & Riley (2009); Stringer (2014)
  • Analytic generalization. A manner of generalizing the findings of a study to other situations that were not studied, based on logical argument, theory development, or replication (cf. statistical generalization). Equally applicable to qualitative research (e.g., cross-case generalization) as well as to the findings from any given laboratory experiment (e.g., cross-experiment generalization).
  • Analytic memos. Reminders to oneself about possible refinements and tentative thoughts -- for example, about the relationships among codes and the potential clustering of codes into categories and themes -- that arise during the formal coding and analysis of qualitative data (cf. derived notes and personal journal).
  • Arts-based research. The specialized type of qualitative research that is described as ". . . shift[s] focus away from the written text to performance as a 'form of research publication.' . . . Arts are both a mode of inquiry and a methodology for performing social activism" (Finley; 2013), "Explores the arts as performance and mode of persuasion, as a means of self-exploration, as a form of pedagogy, and as a mode of representing knowledge" (Schwandt; 2007). Illustrative methodological works include Barone & Eisner (2012); Knowles & Cole (2008); Leavy (2009); Rolling (2013); Sullivan (2010)
  • Autoethnography. The specialized type of qualitative research that is described as "Research, writing, story, and method that connect the autobiographical and personal to the cultural, social, and political" (Ellis; 2004), "Refers to a particular form of writing that seeks to unite ethnographic (looking outward at a world beyond one's own) and autobiographical (gazing inward for a story of one's self) intentions. . . . The author of such a text aims to invite readers into the text to relive the experience rather than to interpret or analyze what the author is saying" (Schwandt; 2007). Illustrative methodological works include Chang (2008); Denzin (2014); Ellis (2004)
  • Bracketing. Trying to set aside the researcher's beliefs, values, predispositions, and prior assumptions in designing, conducting, and analyzing a qualitative study.
  • CAQDAS. An acronym standing for Computer Assisted Qualitative Data AnalysiS -- a generic label for a large variety of commercial and noncommercial software devoted to the analysis of qualitative data.
  • Case study. The specialized type of qualitative research that is described as "The value of the case study approach is that it deals directly with the individual case in its actual context. . . . Case studies get as close to the subject of interest as they possibly can, partly by means of direct observation in natural settings, partly by their access to subjective factors (thoughts, feelings, and desires)" (Bromley; 1986), "The case itself is at center stage, not variables. [While] the foremost concern of case study research is to generate knowledge of the particular, . . . case studies can be used for theoretical elaboration or analytic generalization" (Schwandt; 2007). Illustrative methodological works include Bromley (1986); Platt (1992); Stake (1995); U.S. Government Accountability Office (1990); Yin (2014)
  • Chicago School. A group of scholars at the University of Chicago during the early to mid-20th century who pioneered the development of field-based qualitative inquiry with their highly regarded published studies.
  • Coding. In qualitative data analysis, the assignment of simple words or short phrases to capture the meaning of a larger portion of (the original) textual or visual data. Whether or not supported by computer software, the analyst must make the coding decisions for every item, including what to code and how (cf. in vivo code).
  • Conceptual framework. A description covering the focus of a research study, sometimes cast as a statement of a research problem or singular question, and then interpreted within the context of a larger theoretical, practical, or social domain.
  • Confessional tale. The reporting of the findings from a qualitative study, usually engaging a first-person voice that deliberately includes the researcher's own role and views as one of the persons in the field setting that was studied (cf. impressionist tale and realist tale).
  • Constructivism. The worldview that social reality is a joint product, created by the nature of the external conditions but also by the person observing and reporting on these conditions. Following this view, all social reality, because it is constructed in this manner, therefore assumes a relativist rather than absolute nature (cf. positivism and postpositivism).
  • Convenience sample. The selection of participants or sources of data to be used in a study, based on their sheer availability or accessibility. Only accepted as a preferred way of doing research under unusual circumstances, such as studying the survivors of a disaster (cf. purposive, random, and snowball samples).
  • Conversation analysis. A naturalistic and observational study of the verbal and nonverbal behavior in conversations, including speakers' mannerisms, pauses, intonation, and emphasis. Typically uses audio and video recordings and considers such information as the basic data in a study.
  • Co-production of knowledge. The result when researcher and participant collaborate closely in a research study, compared to the more conventional hierarchical relationship between a researcher and either a survey respondent or a laboratory "subject."
  • Critical theory. The specialized type of qualitative research that is described as "Informed by post-modern, feminist, cultural, and other perspectives that critically evaluate the workings of the capitalist system and its impact on the world. . . . work explores the relationship between race, gender, and class in their quest for a deeper understanding of society writ large" (Critical Sociology; 2014), ". . . to have conversations about social justice that lead to action, advocacy, and praxis (i.e., theoryinformed practice)" (Torres-Gerald; 2012). Illustrative methodological works include Browne (2015); Denzin, Lincoln, & Smith (2008); Fox, Prilleltensky, & Austin (2009); Tyson (2006)
  • Culture. An invisible social structure, embracing groups of people larger than kin groups, who share a common language, religion, or ancestry not always coinciding with political institutions or geographical boundaries. Members of the same culture tend to follow similar everyday practices (or customs), such as cooking, dressing, respecting kin relationships, and celebrating life events such as births, marriages, and deaths.
  • Derived notes. A new set of substantive notes, drawing directly from the original field notes and collected qualitative data, to be used as the basis for analyzing and interpreting the data. The derived notes are used in lieu of any formal coding of the data and therefore represent a noncoding option for analyzing the data (cf. analytic memos and personal journal).
  • Discourse analysis. The specialized type of qualitative research that is described as "Focuses on explicit theory formation and analysis of the relationships between the structures of text, talk, language use, verbal interaction or communication, on the one hand, and societal, political, or cultural micro- and macro-structures and cognitive social representations, on the other hand" (Discourse and Society; 2014), ". . . is principally concerned with the analysis of the process of communication itself" (Schwandt; 2007). Illustrative methodological works include Gee (2011); Potter & Wetherell (1987); Willig (2009); Wood & Kroger (2000)
  • Emic. The adoption of an indigenous orientation or perspective, representing those who are part of a study, in contrast to the adoption of an external perspective toward a research topic (cf. etic). Originally derived from a loosely analogous distinction between phonetic (the external sounds of words) and phonemic (the units of words within their internal grammar).
  • Empirical research. Studies based on the collection and presentation of original evidence or data in support of a study's claims. The evidence or data should be amenable to tests of credibility -- that is, through the open inspection of the sources and procedures by which the evidence or data were produced (not to be confused with empiricism).
  • Empiricism. The philosophical view that all human behavior is learned behavior, with no role for genetic influences. The view relates to qualitative research mainly through its association with positivism (not to be confused with empirical research).
  • Epistemological location. Characterizing a study's philosophical and methodological underpinnings (e.g., ways of knowing), based in part on its positioning on such dimensions as the relativist–realist or unique– not unique views of real-world events (cf. epistemological similarity).
  • Epistemological similarity. Acknowledging that all qualitative studies, regardless of their epistemological location, will be concerned with the common endeavor of establishing their trustworthiness and credibility by being transparent, methodic, and empirically based (cf. epistemological location).
  • Epistemology. The philosophical underpinnings of researchers' beliefs regarding the nature of knowledge and how it is derived or created. The particular belief represents a person's epistemological position.
  • Ethnography. The specialized type of qualitative research that is described as "Seeks to promote embedded research that fuses close-up observation, rigorous theory, and social critique. . . . [F]osters work that pays equal attention to the minutiae of experience, the cultural texture of social relations, and to the remote structural forces and power vectors that bear on them" (Ethnography; 2014), ". . . in-depth investigations of diverse people interacting in their natural environments to produce and communicate meaning" (Journal of Contemporary Ethnography; 2014), ". . . stress[es] the centrality of culture as the analytic concept that informs the doing of ethnography" (Schwandt; 2007). Illustrative methodological works include Anderson Levitt (2006); Denzin (1997); Fetterman (2010); Hammersley & Atkinson (2007); Powdermaker (1966); Wolcott -2008
  • Ethnomethodology. The specialized type of qualitative research that is described as "Seeks to understand how 'natives' organize their knowledge and practice in specific domains. . . . The investigation of the practices in, of, and as specific organizations, workplaces, or activities. . . . Many studies focus on what is called 'ordinary conversation' or 'talk-in-interaction' " (Lynch; 2002), "Interested in how people accomplish the interactions we take for granted in everyday life, for example, promising, trusting, agreeing, negotiating, and so on" (Schwandt; 2007). Illustrative methodological works include Button (1991); Garfinkel (1967); Sacks (1992); ten Have (2004)
  • Etic. The assumption of an external orientation or perspective toward a research topic, in contrast to the indigenous perspective representing those who are part of a study (cf. emic). Originally derived from a loosely analogous distinction between phonetic (the external sounds of words) and phonemic (the units of words within their internal grammar).
  • Feminist perspective. The view that common social as well as methodological relationships (e.g., interviewer and interviewee) embed oft-ignored power relationships that can affect the findings of a research study.
  • Fieldwork. Conducting empirical research in real-world settings (the "field"), usually requiring the use of qualitative methods.
  • Focal unit. The unit of study in a qualitative study (e.g., individuals, groups of people, events, or organizations), also called the unit of analysis. Defining focal units helps to organize the data collection for a study, but not all studies need to have an explicit focal unit.
  • Focus group. A form of data collection whereby the researcher convenes a small group of people having similar attributes, experiences, or "focus" and leads the group in a nondirective manner. The objective is to surface the perspectives of the people in the group with as minimal influence by the researcher as possible.
  • Grand theory. Theoretical constructs attempting to explain large categories of phenomena (e.g., the works of Newton, Einstein, Darwin, Mendel, Freud, Piaget, and Skinner), usually beyond the scope of any single research study.
  • Grounded theory. The specialized type of qualitative research that is described as "The four grounded theory strategies of coding, memo writing, theoretical sampling, and theoretical saturation form the defining features of the method" (Charmaz; 2008), ". . . is a specific, highly developed, rigorous set of procedures for producing formal, substantive theory of social phenomena. . . . Theories are formed from proposing plausible relationships among concepts and sets of concepts" (Schwandt; 2007). Illustrative methodological works include Bryant & Charmaz (2010); Charmaz (2014); Corbin & Strauss (1998); Glaser (2005); Glaser & Strauss (1967); Morse et al. (2009)
  • Hermeneutics. The aspect of a study that involves interpreting the event(s) being studied to deepen the understanding of the political, historical, sociocultural, and other real-world contexts within which the event(s) occur(s). A hermeneutic circle takes place when this meaning-making quest involves continual shifts from the parts to the whole and back again.
  • Impressionist tale. The reporting of the findings from a qualitative study that attempts to place the reader within the real-world setting that was studied and to re-live it (cf. confessional tale and realist tale).
  • Insider research. Studies conducted by researchers who have privileged connections or real-life roles related to the field settings being studied.
  • Interview guide. Used when conducting a qualitative interview, containing a set of reminders or prompts for the interviewer and not organized as a formal questionnaire (cf. research protocol, study protocol).
  • In vivo code. A code assigned in the analysis of qualitative data and represented by a word or phrase that is taken directly from the data being coded (cf. coding).
  • Jottings. The initial, sometimes fragmentary set of notes taken while doing fieldwork.
  • Life history. A narrative rendition of a person's life story, attempting to capture the life story and also its turning points and key themes. The life histories of interest come from those persons whose social groups, interactions, or lifestyles have been the main topic of study.
  • Member checks. The procedure whereby a study's findings or draft materials are shared with the study's participants. The "checking" permits the participants to correct or otherwise improve the accuracy of the study, at the same time reinforcing collaborative and ethical relationships.
  • Mental framework. The line of inquiry held by a researcher while collecting data, helping to maintain focus on the direction of a study and sensitizing the researcher to the identification of relevant evidence, both supportive and contrary.
  • Mixed methods research. Deliberately designing a study to use quantitative and qualitative methods, both of which are needed to address the research question(s) of interest.
  • Multicultural research. Qualitative research that deliberately highlights participants' perspectives in accurate and valid but also sympathetic ways. Especially pertinent in studies of social groups historically living through the consequences of racism, discrimination, and exclusion from a broader society.
  • Multiple sources of evidence. The deliberate seeking and collecting of different kinds of evidence that nevertheless converge on the same finding, in an effort to increase confidence in the finding. The sources used should be as independent as possible (cf. triangulation).
  • Mutual simultaneous shaping. The view that the complexity of human affairs involves simultaneously occurring events whereby everything influences everything else, with no clear directionality and therefore with no real causal relationships.
  • Narrative inquiry. The specialized type of qualitative research that is described as "In its broadest sense, narration can be an action as well as a product in the form of a text, film, dance, and the like. . . . With narrative, people strive to configure space and time, deploy cohesive devices, reveal identity of actors and relatedness of actions across scenes. They create themes, plots, and drama. In so doing, narrators make sense of themselves, social situations, and history" (Editorial; 1998), "Revolves around an interest in life experiences as narrated by those who live them. . . . Highlight[s] what we can learn about anything -- history and socIety as well as lived experience -- by maintaining a focus on narrated lives" (Chase; 2013). Illustrative methodological works include Chase (2013); Clandinin (2007); Clandinin & Connelly (2000); Connelly & Clandinin (2006); Gubrium & Holstein (2009); Murray (2009); Riessman (2008)
  • Negotiated text. The view that the conversational nature of qualitative interviews results from a social interaction and that the resulting interview "data" actually represent an implicitly joint perspective and not just that of the interviewee.
  • Nonreactive measures. See unobtrusive (nonreactive) measures.
  • Ontology. One's philosophical beliefs about what constitutes social reality, and especially whether realities are singular or multiple (see emic and etic).
  • Oral history. The specialized type of qualitative research that is described as "A method of gathering, preserving, and interpreting the voices and memories of people, communities and participants in past events" (Oral History Association; 2014), "Aims to gain a more complete or unique understanding of the past as experienced both individually and collectively by soliciting memories, reminiscences, and testimony from specific informants or respondents" (Schwandt; 2007). Illustrative methodological works include Janesick (2010); MacKay (2007); Oral History Association (2009); Ritchie (2003); Yow (2005)
  • Original research. Research based on an author's own data collection and analysis.
  • Participant-observation. A mode of field-based research whereby researchers locate themselves in the real-world field setting being studied, participating and observing in the setting while also collecting data and taking notes about the field setting, its participants, and its events.
  • Participants. The people who are the subjects of a qualitative study (alternatively referred to in the literature as "members").
  • Personal journal. A diary-like record of a researcher's methodological choices, dilemmas, and discretionary judgments used throughout the course of a research study. Especially includes introspections about reflexivity conditions and their likely influence on the course of a study and its findings (cf. analytic memos and derived notes).
  • Phenomenology. The specialized type of qualitative research that is described as "Takes as its main aim the analysis and description of everyday life -- the life world and its associated states of consciousness. . . . Study is carried out by 'bracketing off' judgments about social structure . . . making no assumptions about the existence of causal powers of social structure" (Abercrombie, Hill, & Turner; 2006), "Aims to identify and describe the subjective experiences of respondents . . . a matter of studying everyday experience from the point of view of the subject. . . . Phenomenological descriptions [of 'things' as one experiences them] . . . are possible only by turning from things to their meaning, from what is to the nature of what is" (Schwandt; 2007). Illustrative methodological works include Giorgi (2009); Giorgi & Giorgi (2009); Husserl (1970); Moustakas (1994); Schutz (1970); Vagle (2014); Van Manen (1990)
  • Positivism. The worldview that physical science and hence social science are based on universal truths, with the role of research being to uncover such truths. This view contrasts directly with the view that knowledge and understanding are relativistic, not absolute (cf. constructivism and positivism).
  • Postmodernism. The worldview that all human endeavors, from abstract painting to conducting scientific research, are implicitly driven by the desire to exercise control over other people.
  • Postpositivism. A more tempered version of positivism that acknowledges more probabilistic conditions and tolerates a level of uncertainty in lieu of an absolutist view, but that nevertheless does not embrace a relativist view (cf. constructivism and positivism).
  • Pragmatism. A worldview that supports the selection of appropriate research methods in relation to the research questions being studied. According to this view, researchers may choose to use a quantitative method or a qualitative method, or to conduct a mixed methods study using both kinds of methods, all depending on which choice best befits the research questions.
  • Purposive sample. The selection of participants or sources of data to be used in a study, based on their anticipated richness and relevance to the study's research questions (including sources whose data are presumed to challenge and not just support a researcher's thinking) (cf. convenience, random, and snowball samples).
  • Qualitative interview. A form of interviewing whereby the researcher's goal is to reveal a participant's meanings and interpretations, from the participant's point of view. Such interviewing therefore more likely assumes a conversational mode rather than a tightly scripted format, in which the researcher must avoid asking "leading" questions.
  • Random sample. The selection of participants or sources of data to be used in a study based on a known statistical relationship between those selected (a sample) and all those who could have been selected (a universe), so that the sample represents a random sample of the universe. At the end of a study, the findings from the sample can then be extrapolated back to the universe (cf. convenience, purposive, and snowball samples).
  • Realist assumptions. A shorthand for referring to a positivist and related worldviews, whose assumptions tend toward the existence of a single reality, value-free research, time- and context-free findings, and the primacy of cause–effect investigations (cf. relativist assumptions).
  • Realist tale. The reporting of the findings from a qualitative study in a dispassionate, third-person voice, with the author not being part of the tale (cf. confessional tale and impressionist tale).
  • Reflexivity. The dynamic interplay whereby participants (i.e., those being studied) may be influenced by the presence and actions of the researcher, and conversely the influence on the researcher's thinking and observations resulting from the presence and actions of the participants.
  • Relativist assumptions. A shorthand for referring to a constructivist and related worldviews, whose assumptions tend toward the existence of multiple realities, value-bound research, time- and context-specific findings, and the irrelevance of cause–effect investigations (cf. realist assumptions).
  • Research lens. An implicit filter present in all qualitative research, reflected by the researchers' choices about the design and analysis of their studies, as well as in their reporting of the field-based data that will be used in the studies.
  • Research protocol. A guide used by a researcher as a mental framework for conducting an inquiry. The guide points to the questions that the researcher is trying to answer and differs from a questionnaire or other research instrument whose questions are posed to a respondent, interviewee, or research subject (cf. interview guide and study protocol).
  • Research questions. The initial questions to be addressed by a research study. The study's findings and conclusions should then provide responses to the questions, including elaborating them.
  • Rival explanations, hypotheses, or thinking. Strengthening findings by deliberately engaging in contrary thinking -- and to collect additional data, vigorously trying to support any plausible rivals, to see whether they can be rejected empirically.
  • Self-reflexivity. Researchers' efforts to identify the important reflexive conditions that are present in their study and that might affect the conclusions from the study (see reflexivity).
  • Snowball sample. The selection of participants or sources of data to be used in a study, based on referrals from one source to another (cf. convenience, purposive, and random samples).
  • Statistical generalization. A manner of generalizing the findings from a study to a larger population that was not studied, based on a known statistical relationship between the study sample and the larger population (cf. analytic generalization).
  • Study bank. A collection of references to previously published qualitative studies, amassed to help stimulate thinking about the different topics, methods, and sources of evidence that might be used in a new qualitative study.
  • Study protocol. A plan, usually submitted to an institutional review board (IRB), to gain its approval for conducting a study involving human subjects, such as the participants in a qualitative study. The IRB will usually recommend the structure of the protocol, and its topics may emphasize logistical issues and not cover substantive topics in as great detail as a research protocol (cf. interview guide and research protocol).
  • Thick description. The effort to collect data that describe real-world events in great detail. The greater detail not only provides a richer rendition of events but also can help to reduce the researcher's selectivity and reflexive influences in reporting about the event.
  • Triangulation. An analytic technique, used during fieldwork as well as later during formal analysis, to corroborate a finding with evidence from two or more different sources (cf. multiple sources of evidence).
  • Unobtrusive measures (nonreactive measures). Measures derived from the existing features of a social environment that have resulted from people's natural interactions in the environment -- that is, not instigated in any way by a research study or by a researcher's presence, and therefore immune from reflexive influences.
  • Worldview. A broad and deep system of thinking about the methods to be used in social science research, based on having a particular ontological perspective (i.e., how chosen methods do or do not capture realworld realities and whether a singular reality or multiply constructed realities can be assumed).
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