An Introduction to Qualitative Research

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  • Robert A. Croker 3  

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Qualitative research — when you first heard the term, your initial thought might have been, ‘What do qualitative researchers actually do?’ It may come as a surprise to you that you are already familiar with many of their activities, and you actually do them yourself — every day — as you watch and listen to what happens around you, and ask questions about what you have seen and heard.

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Robert A. Croker ( Associate Professor in the Faculty of Policy Studies )

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Croker, R.A. (2009). An Introduction to Qualitative Research. In: Heigham, J., Croker, R.A. (eds) Qualitative Research in Applied Linguistics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230239517_1

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    qualitative methods to address questions about people's ways of organizing, relating to, and interacting with the world. Despite the interdisciplinary recognition of the value of "qualitative research" (or perhaps because of it), qualitative research is not a unified field of theory and practice. On the contrary, a plethora of viewpoints ...

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    to understand the scope of the qualitative research approach. Denzin . and Lincoln's seminal definition is presented as a starting point: Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the . observer in the world. Qualitative research consists of a set of interpretive, material practices that make the world visible.

  5. PDF What Is Qualitative Research?

    What Is Qualitative Research? 5 Table 1.2 attempts to paint a realistic picture of what most qualitative research looks like - of course, there are exceptions. However, research methods are not always a subject for rational debate. In the next section, you will see how people often make loaded assumptions about different research methods.

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