Key Themes in Qualitative Research: Continuities and Changes [Paperback]

Paul Atkinson (Author), Amanda Coffey (Author), Sara Delamont (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003 | ISBN-10: 0759101272 | ISBN-13: 978-0759101272

Key Themes in Qualitative Research is an attempt by three well-respected ethnographic researchers to present a balanced view of qualitative methodology and research. The book is structured around classic texts, written by methodological pioneers, which comprise the basic foundation of modern qualitative research. The authors examine key premises in these texts, such as intimacy, advocacy, and validity, and how they may be supported, redesigned, or made problematic in today's field. This allows for a critical analysis of Old Guard vs. Avant-Garde ideas and provides for the reader a guide to wade through the proliferation of texts and theories available since the postmodern turn. While not designed as a primer in qualitative research methods, anyone with modest experience in the field should find this book extremely useful.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This reading of the recent history of qualitative research from the leaders of the Cardiff school of ethnography provides a measured, useful analysis of a field now so vast as to be unwieldy, so conflicted (in part) as to be balkanized and so multi-faceted as to appear opaque when transparent, transparent when opaque. The authors present a balanced perspective in their book, referring to classic texts and themes in examining contemporary issues. Chapters such as 'Whose Side Are We On?' make this book a contender for required reading in a qualitative methods class where beginners too easily slip into an individualistic way of viewing respondents/participants. I enthusiastically recommend this book as an essential text to anyone wanting to better understand the field and literature of qualitative research. (Olesen, Virginia )

The three authors, especially Atkinson, are experienced in studies of ethnography and qualitative research methods from a postmodern perspective...Highly recommended. (R. Wang Choice Reviews Online )

Overall, Key Themes is a useful book for educational researchers conducting ethnographic inquiries—and for those engaged with participant observation and/or interview as research method. The historical contextualization in anthropology and sociology is helpful, as is the delineation of key classic texts. The tensions outlined are relevant to all involved with qualitative research. (Canadian Journal Of Education )

This is an important book, a manifesto written by the leaders of the Cardiff School of Social Sciences. (Journal Of The Royal Anthropological Institute )

About the Author

Paul Atkinson, Amanda Coffey, and Sara Delamont are at the Cardiff School of Social Science in Wales and are well-known writers on qualitative research methods.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Altamira Press (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759101272
• ISBN-13: 978-0759101272
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #308,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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