A Guide to Qualitative Field Research

Came Pretty much brand new in plastic wrapping. Came on time with no damage what so ever.

To give you a better idea of just what this book covers, here are the listed objectives of each chapter:1: Intro to Qualitative Field Research – write an overview of field research; compare face-to-face field research with virtual field research; explain what a research design is; discuss the types of data used by field researchers and how they are collected2: Ethics – explain the conditions under which informed consent is required; distinguish between overt and covert research and explain ethical problems related to covert research; justify why deception should not be used in field research except in highly limited circumstances; identify ethical issues related to virtual field research; write an informed consent form that meets the requirements of the Institutional Review Board at your university3: Topic, Purpose, and Research Questions – select a site appropriate for addressing a research question of interest to you; write a purpose of the research statement; explain the role of research questions in the research process; write a research question that corresponds with the purpose of your research4: Theory and Review of Literature – summarize different views on how theory is used in field research; explain the relationship between concepts and research questions; explain why a review of literature is needed for field research; locate academic sources for a review of literature; write a well-organized review of literature5: Paradigms, Research Design, and Introduction to Methodology – discuss the purpose of a research proposal; explain how paradigms affect how field research is conducted; compare the ontology, epistemology, and axiology of major paradigms used by qualitative researchers; explain what research designs are; write the paradigm sections of a proposal6: From Gaining Entrée to Exiting the Field – discuss the difficulties of gaining entrée in a setting and provide ways to increase the likelihood of gaining entrée; compare the role of a gatekeeper and a key actor; articulate the costs and benefits of working closely with a key actor; explain why rapport is important, factors that can hinder or help it development, and ways to increase it7: Observations – compare structured, semi-structured, and unstructured observations; compare the roles of participant observer and nonparticipant observer, including why using these two labels are problematic; articulate strategies that help ensure that observations are related to the research questions; write a detailed description of a setting, group, and activities; explain how the unit of analysis affects what is observed; apply techniques that can be used to improve observations; create an observation guide8: Interviews – compare structured, unstructured, and semi-structured interviews; compare the costs and benefits of face-to-face with alternative ways of interviewing; write questions that follow the rules of good question construction; conduct an interview9: Field Notes – discuss the many purposes of field notes; compare the pros and cons of paper journals versus smart phones, iPads, and other digital devices for writing field notes; explain the differences among mental notes, jotted notes, fuller jottings, and full field notes; take detailed field notes and expand them into a set of full field notes; describe the different types of material that are typically included in field notes10: Procedures for Increasing Validity and Trustworthiness – discuss validity and reliability and ways to achieve them; discuss trustworthiness, credibility, dependability, transferability, and confirmability and ways to achieve them; compare different types of generalization; explain the purposes and types of triangulation; use member checks, audit trails, peer debriefing, and expert reviews11: Intro to Analysis and Coding -- explain what it means to analyze data; explain how to code data; explain the differences among open codes, categories, and concepts; code data12: Descriptions and Typologies – explain why descriptions are important; write a thick description; explain what a typology is and how to make one; create a typology13: Thematic Analysis – compare the similarities and differences between topical themes and overarching themes; explain how the two types of themes are identified; conduct a thematic analysis14: Research Stories and Critical Events and Cases – explain the role of plots, characters, place, time, summaries, scenes, dialogue, point of view, and themes in a research story; explain what makes a research story approach a valid way of analyzing data and presenting results; write a research story; explain the purposes of and differences between critical events and critical cases15: Writing and the Final Paper – improve your writing; compare traditional and alternative ways of structuring a final paper; explain the differences between presenting results and drawing inferences from them; write a paper about your field research organized by the chapters or sections presentedVery useful for anyone actually doing research, whether or not you are using this book at a text for a class on doing field research.But that’s JustMe.

"A Guide to Qualitative Field Research" by Carol R. Bailey covers a range of process points when it comes to qualitative field research. From the introduction of qualitative research to ethics to choosing a topic to interviews and beyond, the author does a great job of keeping it practical, clear and concise. There are a few times that it went above my head but eventually, I was able to catch up. Each chapter has summary points, exercises and online/further reading resources which is always appreciated. I rather like that the author doesn't go overboard but keeps the information complete yet lean so it makes for easy focus.

A caveat - during grad school I had a single qualitative research course....the emphasis was entirely on quantitative research and statistics, software etc... Having said that, I find myself drawn toward qualitative research questions these days so have been on a bit of a binge. This is an introductory book with emphasis on conceptual issues like ethics, design etc... The applied nature makes this an excellent choice for first-timers although a bit rudimentary in nature for a graduate level course.

Essentially and happily free of academic jargon, author Carol A. Bailey takes students on a step-by-step excursion into the methodology of conducting qualitative field research. For an academic teaching text, the writing is clear and, for the most part, the concepts are made easy to grasp. Since I am neither teacher nor student, I can’t comment on its efficacy in the classroom. As a person who is occasionally called upon to conduct such research, it is an excellent refresher course and much appreciated.Jerry