Introduction to Qualitative Data Analysis

This chapter introduces readers to the basics of data analysis and the practical handling of open, axial, and selective coding within and outside the grounded theory. Readers are introduced to segmentation/reassembling, constant comparative, and analytic induction concepts in qualitative data analysis in the first section of this chapter. They should be able to trace the origin of coding of qualitative data in qualitative research. The stages of qualitative data analysis are discussed in the second section. The third section takes readers through the practical steps of open, axial, and selective coding, and detailed examples are given.

The Structure and Writing of Qualitative Reports

The first section of this chapter contains information related the structure of the introduction of the qualitative projects' reports. Readers should be able to compile appropriate background to the study, statement of the problem, research objective, research questions, significance of the study, and other requirements for qualitative projects. The second section contains details related to the review of literature. The readers should be able to understand and apply empirical and theoretical literature in qualitative projects. The third section discusses the structure of methodology of qualitative projects and the strategies of executing it. The analysis and discussion of qualitative data is discussed in Section 4. The final section contains the concluding structure of qualitative research reports.

Ethics in Qualitative Research

This chapter exposes readers to practical techniques of handling ethics in qualitative research projects. Researchers will be able to understand qualitative research ethics for human and non-human research projects. The intellectual property discussion is central to qualitative research projects; readers will be exposed to the steps of undertaking intellectual property rights discussion. The chapter is divided into five sections; readers will be able to experience the dangers of overlooking ethics when undertaking qualitative research projects, and the chapter suggests possible solutions to reduce and control risks that are connected to the violations of research ethics.

Qualitative Data Gathering Instruments and Methods

The chapter is divided into five sections. The first section discusses the interview method from the social constructionist and qualitative perspectives. The second section contains information related to the procedures of undertaking focus group discussion in qualitative projects. The different types of observation methods are highlighted in Section 3, but only participant and non-participant observation variants are discussed. The primary and secondary documents are addressed in Section 4, and examples are given. The chapter is concluded by a question and answer section, where important questions are raised and answered in a simple way.

Qualitative Research Designs

This chapter discusses the big five qualitative traditions/designs and others. It is divided into seven sections, and the first section discusses biography design. The types and steps of undertaking projects via biography design are highlighted in detail. The second and third sections address phenomenology and grounded theory designs respectively. The case study design is exposed in Section 4 while historical design is explored in Section 5. Section 6 contains information related to ethnography design. The readers will be able to understand the data collection and analysis procedures related to each and every design and the unique characteristics of the designs are exposed in this chapter. The chapter is concluded by a question and answer section, where important questions are suggested and answered.

Qualitative Sampling Methods

The chapter takes the readers through five key types of non-probability procedures and is divided into six sections. The first section addresses purposive sampling and its seven variants. The variants discussed are maximum variation, homogeneous, total population, expert, critical case study, deviant case, and typical case sampling. The second section contains information related to quota sampling procedure and its differences with stratified and cluster sampling. The convenience sampling procedure is discussed in Section 3, snowball sampling in Section 4, and self-selective sampling in Section 5. The chapter is concluded by a question and answer section, which contains questions summarizing the entire chapter.

The Trustworthiness of Qualitative Research Outputs

This chapter exposes readers to the strategies of handling trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. The first section contains information related to the methods of promoting credibility of qualitative research projects and instruments. The computation of coefficient of credibility (CC) is demonstrated in this section. The second section addresses the strategies of promoting transferability of qualitative projects and outputs. There is a discussion on whether the qualitative research outputs and completed projects should be generalized to other contexts. The strategies of enhancing dependability are handled in Section 3, and Section 4 contains the methods of handling conformability in qualitative research projects. The chapter is concluded by a question and answer section.

Qualitative Research Philosophy

The chapter is divided into six sections. The first and second sections expose readers to the origin of social constructionist philosophy and the reasons behind its emergence respectively. The third section discusses the key tenets of the social constructionist philosophy based on ontology, epistemology, axiology, methodology, and rhetoric. A comparison of social constructionist and other methods is done in Section 4, and Section 5 addresses the unique characteristics of ideal qualitative projects. The chapter is concluded by a question and answer section where important questions about the research philosophy are suggested and answered.