Qualitative Data Analysis: A Sourcebook of New Methods Book

The classic case study, or ethnography, expressed in words rather than statistical notation, has long attracted social scientists. Researchers increasingly use qualitative data for richness of detail, explanatory power, and intuitive 'undeniability'.But the questions still remain: can this data be described as scientific in the sense of being generalizable, replicable, and free of the researcher's bias? Given the same 3,000 pages of field notes, would researcher A really arrive at the same conclusions as researcher B? Qualitative researchers are badly in need of explicit, systematic methods for drawing conclusions; for testing them; and for communicating them in a common language -- much as quantitative social scientists use correlations and significance tests.In this pioneering volume, Miles and Huberman have designed a practical sourcebook for the researcher who may already be struggling with qualitative data -- or just considering the attempt. Strong emphasis is placed on innovative types of data display, including charts, graphs, matrices and networks, which enable the professional to break through the limitations of ordinary narrative text. Forty nine specific methods of data display and analysis are described, explained, and illustrated, with helpful suggestions for the user. It is an indispensable tool for those who rely on qualitative information to do their job.Read More