Questioning qualitative inquiry : critical essays / Martyn Hammersley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hammersley, Martyn.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social sciences--Research--Methodology.

Social sciences.

Qualitative research.

Physical Description:

209 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Los Angeles ; London : SAGE, 2008.

Summary:

Questioning Qualitative Inquiry raises fundamental questions about the current state of qualitative social research. Martyn Hammersley examines some of the changes that have taken place within this field over the past few decades, suggesting that the move away from science as a model, and towards an appeal to literature and art, involves a rejection of key principles that are essential to research of any kind.

In this lively and accessible book Hammersley argues that, in important respects, qualitative inquiry has not fully lived up to the claims originally made on its behalf, and that there are serious methodological issues that need addressing. Insufficient attention has been given to the problems surrounding leading ideas like thick description, analytic induction, and constructionism. The argument is pursued through discussion of the work of influential writers - including Geertz, Denzin and Lincoln, Becker, and Clifford-and by detailed examination of concrete issues, such as the value of interview data, the rationales for discourse analysis, the role of rhetoric in research reports, and the nature of assessment criteria.

At a time when qualitative inquiry is coming under renewed challenge in some quarters, the need to tackle fundamental methodological problems has become urgent. These essays on current developments and debates are essential reading for anyone interested in the future of qualitative research.

Contents:

Introduction: Dentists, Dadaists or discourse analysts? 1

1 On the failings of qualitative inquiry 20

2 Capturing complexity? Examining a commonly used rationale for qualitative research 39

3 On thick description: interpreting Clifford Geertz 52

4 The critical case of analytic induction 69

5 Assessing the radical critique of interviews / Roger Gomm 89

6 Conversation analysis and discourse analysis: self-sufficient paradigms? 101

7 The Dadaist alternative: 'postmodernist' qualitative research 128

8 Is qualitative research just rhetoric? 145

9 The issue of quality in qualitative research 158.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [183]-200) and indexes.

ISBN:

1412935148

9781412935142

1412935156

9781412935159

OCLC:

213317793