Qualitative research methods for the social sciences / Bruce L. Berg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Berg, Bruce L. (Bruce Lawrence), 1954-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social sciences--Research--Methodology.

Social sciences.

Physical Description:

xvi, 384 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Edition:

Sixth edition.

Place of Publication:

Boston : Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, [2007]

Summary:

The book's central purpose is to show inexperienced researchers how to design, collect, and analyze data and then present their results to the scientific community. The text stresses the importance of ethics in research and taking the time to properly design and think through any research endeavor.

Contents:

Quantitative Versus Qualitative Schools of Thought 2

Use of Triangulation in Research Methodology 5

Qualitative Strategies: Defining an Orientation 8

From a Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 9

Why Use Qualitative Methods? 13

A Plan of Presentation 15

Chapter 2 Designing Qualitative Research 19

Theory and Concepts 19

Ideas and Theory 21

Reviewing the Literature 25

Evaluating Web Sites 27

The Two-Card Method 30

Theory, Reality, and the Social World 33

Framing Research Problems 34

Operationalization and Conceptualization 35

Designing Projects 38

Setting and Population Appropriateness 39

Sampling Strategies 41

Data Collection and Organization 45

Data Storage, Retrieval, and Analysis 46

Dissemination 48

Trying It Out 49

Chapter 3 Ethical Issues 53

Research Ethics in Historical Perspective 54

From Guidelines to Law: Regulations on the Research Process 60

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) 61

IRBs and Their Duties 62

Clarifying the Role of IRBs 65

Active Versus Passive Consent 67

Active Versus Passive Consent in Internet Research 69

Membership Criteria for IRBs 70

Ethical Codes 71

Some Common Ethical Concerns in Behavioral Research 71

New Areas for Ethical Concern: Cyberspace 73

Protection for Children 74

Debriefing the Subjects 74

Physical and Ethical Dangers in Covert Research 75

Informed Consent and Implied Consent 78

Confidentiality and Anonymity 79

Keeping Identifying Records 79

Strategies for Safeguarding Confidentiality 80

Securing the Data 81

Objectivity and Careful Research Design 82

Trying It Out 83

Chapter 4 A Dramaturgical Look at Interviewing 89

Dramaturgy and Interviewing 90

Types of Interviews 92

The Standardized Interview 92

The Unstandardized Interview 94

The Semistandardized Interview 95

The Interview Schedule 97

Schedule Development 99

Question Order, Content, and Style 99

Communicating Effectively 102

A Few Common Problems in Question Formulation 103

Affectively Worded Questions 104

The Double-Barreled Question 104

Complex Questions 105

Question Sequencing 105

Pretesting the Schedule 105

Long Versus Short Interviews 106

Telephone Interviews 108

Advantages of the Telephone Interview 109

Disadvantages of the Telephone Interview 110

Computer-Assisted Interviewing 110

Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) 110

Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) 111

Web-Based In-Depth Interviews 112

Conducting an Interview: A Natural or an Unnatural Communication? 114

The Dramaturgical Interview 115

Interviewer Roles and Rapport 116

The Role of the Interviewee 118

The Interviewer as a Self-Conscious Performer 119

Social Interpretations and the Interviewer 120

The Interviewer's Repertoire 123

Interviewers' Attitudes and Persuading a Subject 125

Developing an Interviewer Repertoire 127

Techniques to Get New Researchers Started 127

Taking the Show on the Road 129

The Ten Commandments of Interviewing 129

Know Your Audience 131

Curtain Calls 132

Analyzing Data Obtained from the Dramaturgical Interview 133

Beginning an Analysis 134

Systematic Filing Systems 134

Short-Answer Sheets 136

Analysis Procedures: A Concluding Remark 136

Chapter 5 Focus Group Interviewing 144

What Are Focus Group Interviews? 144

The Evolution of Focus Group Interviews 146

Advantages and Disadvantages of Focus Group Interviewing 148

Focus Group Interviewing and Face-to-Face Interviewing 149

Focus Group Interviewing and Participant Observation 151

Focus Group Interviewing and Unobtrusive Measures 152

Facilitating Focus Group Dynamics: How Focus Groups Work 155

The Moderator's Guide 155

Introduction and Introductory Activities 156

Statement of the Basic Rules or Guidelines for the Interview 156

Short Question-and-Answer Discussions 157

Special Activities or Exercises 157

Guidance for Dealing with Sensitive Issues 157

Basic Ingredients in Focus Groups 158

Analyzing Focus Group Data 162

Confidentiality and Focus Group Interviews 163

Recent Trends in Focus Groups: Online Focus Groups 165

Chapter 6 Ethnographic Field Strategies 171

Accessing a Field Setting: Getting in 175

Reflectivity and Ethnography 178

The Attitude of the Ethnographer 179

The Researcher's Voice 179

Gaining Entry 184

Becoming Invisible 186

Dangers of Invisibility 188

Other Dangers During Ethnographic Research 190

Watching, Listening, and Learning 192

How to Learn: What to Watch and Listen For 194

Field Notes 197

Computers and Ethnography 204

Analyzing Ethnographic Data 205

Other Analysis Strategies: Typologies, Sociograms, and Metaphors 207

Typologies 207

Sociograms 208

Metaphors 213

Disengaging: Getting Out 213

Chapter 7 Action Research 222

The Basics of Action Research 224

Identifying the Research Question(s) 226

Gathering the Information to Answer the Question(s) 227

Analyzing and Interpreting the Information 227

Procedures for Using Interview and Ethnographic Data 227

Guiding Questions of Analysis: Why, What, How, Who, Where, When? 228

Descriptive Accounts and Reports 228

Sharing the Results with the Participants 229

The Action Researcher's Role 230

Types of Action Research 230

Technical/Scientific/Collaborative Mode 231

A Practical/Mutual Collaborative/Deliberate Mode 231

Emancipating/Enhancing/Critical Science Mode 232

Photovoice and Action Research 233

The Goal in Photovoice 234

Action Research: A Reiteration 235

Chapter 8 Unobtrusive Measures in Research 239

Archival Strategies 241

Public Archives 242

Private Archives: Solicited and Unsolicited Documents 252

A Last Remark about Archival Records 256

Physical Erosion and Accretion: Human Traces as Data Sources 256

Erosion Measures 256

Accretion Measures 257

Some Final Remarks about Physical Traces 258

Chapter 9 Historiography and Oral Traditions 264

What is Historical Research? 264

Life Histories and Historiography 268

What are the Sources of Data of Historical Researchers? 268

Doing Historiography: Tracing Written History as Data 269

External Criticism 271

Internal Criticism 274

What are Oral Histories? 275

The Nature of Case Studies 283

Theory and Case Studies 284

The Individual Case Study 286

The Use of Interview Data 288

The Use of Personal Documents 289

Intrinsic, Instrumental, and Collective Case Studies 291

Case Study Design Types 292

Exploratory Case Studies 292

Explanatory Case Studies 292

Descriptive Case Studies 293

The Scientific Benefit of Case Studies 294

Objectivity and the Case Method 294

Generalizability 295

Case Studies of Organizations 296

Case Studies of Communities 297

Data Collection for Community Case Studies 298

Community Groups and Interests 298

Chapter 11 An Introduction to Content Analysis 303

What is Content Analysis 303

Analysis of Qualitative Data 304

Interpretative Approaches 304

Social Anthropological Approaches 305

Collaborative Social Research Approaches 305

Content Analysis as a Technique 306

Content Analysis: Quantitative or Qualitative? 307

Manifest versus Latent Content Analysis 308

Blending Manifest and Latent Content Analysis Strategies 309

Communication Components 309

What to Count: Levels and Units of Analysis 310

Category Development: Building Grounded Theory 310

What to Count 312

Combinations of Elements 313

Units and Categories 314

Classes and Categories 316

Open Coding 317

Coding Frames 320

A Few More Words on Analytic Induction 322

Interrogative Hypothesis Testing 323

Stages in the Content Analysis Process 325

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Content Analysis Process 327

Computers and Qualitative Analysis 329

Word Processors 331

Text Retrievers 331

Textbase Managers 331

Code-and-Retrieve Programs 331

Code-Based Theory Builders 332

Conceptual Network Builders 332

Qualitative Research at the Speed of Light 334

Chapter 12 Writing Research Papers: Sorting the Noodles from the Soup 340

Plagiarism: What It Is, Why It's Bad, and How to Avoid It 341

Why Plagiarism Occurs 341

How to Avoid Plagiarism 342

Identifying the Purpose of the Writing: Arranging the Noodles 344

Delineating a Supportive Structure: Visual Signals for the Reader 345

The Title 347

The Abstract 348

Literature Review 350

Methodology 351

Findings or Results 353

Discussion/Conclusion 354

References, Notes, and Appendices 354

Presenting Research Material 357

Disseminating the Research: Professional Meetings and Publications 357

A Word About the Content of Papers and Articles 361

Write It, Rewrite It, Then Write It Again! 361.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

0205482635

OCLC:

63116473