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© Uwe Flick 2014
First edition published 1998. Second edition published 2002.
Third edition first published 2006. Fourth edition first
published 2009. This edition published 2014.
© Originally published as Qualitative Forschung in the
‘rowohlts enzyklopädie’ series. © 2007 Rowohlt
Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH, Reinbek bei Hamburg Apart from
any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private
study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication
may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by
any means, only with the prior permission in writing of the
publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in
accordance with the terms of licences issued by the
Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning
reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the
publishers.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013942397
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
ISBN 978-1-4462-6778-3
ISBN 978-1-4462-6779-0 (pbk)
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Editor: Katie Metzler
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Brief Contents List of Boxes
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Case Studies
About the Author
Publisher’s Acknowledgements
Preface to the Fifth Edition
PART 1 FRAMEWORK
1 Guide to This Book
2 Qualitative Research: Why and How to Do It
3 Qualitative and Quantitative Research
4 Approaches to Qualitative Research
5 Ethics of Qualitative Research
PART 2 THEORY IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
6 Using the Existing Literature
7 Theories Underlying Qualitative Research
8 Texts as Data in Qualitative Research
PART 3 RESEARCH DESIGN
9 Designing Qualitative Research
10 The Qualitative Research Process
11 Research Questions
12 Entering the Field
13 Sampling
14 Triangulation
PART 4 VERBAL DATA
15 Collecting Verbal Data
16 Interviews
17 Focus Groups
18 Using Narrative Data
PART 5 DATA BEYOND TALK
19 Collecting Data beyond Talk
20 Observation and Ethnography
21 Visual Data: Photography, Film, and Video
22 Using Documents as Data
PART 6 QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
23 Qualitative Data Analysis
24 Transcription and Data Management
25 Grounded Theory Coding
26 Thematic Coding and Content Analysis
27 Naturally Occurring Data: Conversation, Discourse, and
Hermeneutic Analysis
28 Using Software in Qualitative Data Analysis
PART 7 GROUNDING, WRITING, AND OUTLOOK
29 Quality of Qualitative Research: Criteria and Beyond
30 Writing Qualitative Research
31 State of the Art and the Future
Glossary
References
Author Index
Subject Index
Contents
List of Boxes
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Case Studies
About the Author
Publisher’s Acknowledgements
Preface to the Fifth Edition
PART 1 FRAMEWORK
1 Guide to This Book
The Approach of This Book
The Structure of the Book
Special Features of the Book
How to Use This Book
2 Qualitative Research: Why and How to Do It
The Relevance of Qualitative Research
Research Questions as a Starting Point
Limitations of Quantitative Research
Essential Features
A Brief History of Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research at the End of Modernity
Landmarks in Qualitative Research
3 Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Relationship of Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Linking Qualitative and Quantitative Research in One
Design
Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Data
Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
Linking Qualitative and Quantitative Results
Research Evaluation and Generalization
Mixed-Methods Research
Methods’ Appropriateness as a Point of Reference
Checklist for Deciding between Using Qualitative or
Quantitative Research
4 Approaches to Qualitative Research
Research Programs in Qualitative Research
Major Methods and Types of Data
General Issues
Checklist for Locating a Study in the Field
5 Ethics of Qualitative Research
The Need for Ethics in Research
Codes of Ethics
Ethics Committees
How to Act Ethically
Qualitative Research Ethics—Necessary for Better
Research
Checklist for Taking Ethical Issues into Account
PART 2 THEORY IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
6 Using the Existing Literature
How and When to Use the Literature
How to Use the Theoretical Literature
How to Use Theories
How to Use Empirical Literature
How to Use the Methodological Literature
How to Use the Literature When Writing about Your
Study
Where to Search the Literature
How to Search the Literature
Checklist for Literature Reviews
7 Theories Underlying Qualitative Research
Positivism
Constructionism
Construction of Knowledge
Feminism
Research Perspectives
Symbolic Interactionism
Ethnomethodology
Structuralist Models
Rivalry of Paradigms or Triangulation of Perspectives
Common Features of the Different Positions
Guideline Questions for Locating Procedures in
Theoretical Frameworks
