The purpose of this paper is twofold: It reconstructs the development of a joint endeavor of a group of social scientists trying to make their specific approaches of doing biographical research visible by focusing on one particular autobiographical narrative interview: the interview with a female labor migrant from Turkey living in a German city. The data were collected in a student research project of the late Christa HOFFMANN-RIEM. The product of this endeavor is this issue of "Forum: Qualitative Social Research"—a preliminary product since readers are invited to take part in the analysis of this interview, the transcription of which is made available to them (in the original German version and an English translation as well) and to offer their interpretations and critical comments in the future. In addition to this the reconstruction of this endeavor is placed in the context of research connected with Fritz SCHÜTZE, which initially led to the development of this type of interview—the narrative interview. Although today this type of interview is widely used it seems necessary to remind people of its history in order to avoid an undue and narrow focus on "method" or "technique." The paper emphasizes the linkage of theoretical and methodological concerns at the beginning of this development, the decision to methodically utilize off-hand-narratives of self-lived experiences for sociological field research and the turn to autobiographical narrative interviews and their sequential analysis which proved to be fruitful with regard to the discovery of "structural processes" of the life course. Thus, this research tradition contributed to the emergence and the present shape of biographical research in the social sciences.

Anselm Strauss was interested in the sociology of work in every sense, and used his grounded theory method to observe and analyze everything he encountered, including his own “medical work.” Drawing on the reflections of his students, this introduction briefly examines Strauss’ everyday work mode using grounded theory. The eight articles in this special issue honor Strauss by using his theories and methods for studying varieties of work in very different settings. The final article in this collection provides selected statements from graduates who had the opportunity to study with Strauss. Their voices reveal how Anselm Strauss influenced their lives and work and speak for the many sociologists he trained.

Articles on ethics in social research can often seem somewhat thin on the ground. Although volumes are dedicated to a wide variety of issues within research practice, ethics tends to be overlooked. As sociologists we must consider whether there is a reason for this. Writing on ethics is surely one of the least popular activities a sociologist can do, for it is a subject which carries with it an aura of moralising which sits uncomfortably with us. After all, we all, as sociologists and researchers, have clear codes of what constitutes ethical behaviour to which we all adhere. This work is not, therefore, an attempt to describe a moral platform but to consider internet research through the lens of established paradigms in social research. Of late there has been a rising interest in what has come to be referred to as online ethnography.

¿Cuál es la noción de acción que guía a la investigación construccionista? Tomando esta pregunta como base, se recurre a una investigación realizada para evaluar el papel de la Comisión Nacional de SIDA (CNAIDS) del Ministerio de Salud de Brasil como punto de partida para formular un concepto de acción compatible con la postura construccionista. Se comienza problematizando la noción clásica de acción, pasando a continuación a proponer alternativas, explorando las implicaciones de nociones tales como la de en-acción, discutida por Varela, para la investigación construccionista. La investigación sobre la CNAIDS se usa como ejemplo de las maneras posibles de conducir la investigación-intervención. La expresión investigación-intervención se usa en este artículo como estrategia discursiva para enfatizar que toda investigación tiene consecuencias, siendo necesariamente un proceso de producción de sentidos sobre los actos de nuestras vidas.

This article explores the use of grounded theory to generate conceptualizations of emergent social patterns in research data. The naming of patterns and their abstraction across time, place and people, are discussed. The constant comparative method employed in grounded data analysis is offered as a developmental tool for enhancing researchers’ abilities to conceptualize and form emergent theories. Conceptual levels, descriptions, power and flawed approaches to analysis are explored at length. Keywords: data analysis; data coding; theory development

The research work done by the author investigates a phenomenological field—the subjective experience of chronic illness and disability—by means of a specific research instrument, the autobiographical narrative interview. It focuses on the concept of narrative identity and its empirical substrate in the scientifically generated texts. Narrative identity is regarded as a situated, pragmatic, autoepistemic and interactive activity drawing on culturally transmitted narrative conventions which is performed within the research context. We have been working with a systematic analytic approach which covers interactive and contextual aspects of the interview situation as well as rhetoric and positioning strategies in the act of telling. Other research questions concern the concept of "narrative coping" and the comparison of partner's narratives on problems of illness and disability, especially on scrutinizing aspects of identity and alterity (self and other) in the texts. This work can be understood as combining aspects of the research domains of narratology, identity and coping on the background of a qualitative methodology. Key words: autobiographical research interview, narrative identity, narrative analysis, discourse analysis, chronic illness and disability, coping

I refer to and use as scholarly inspiration CHARMAZ's excellent article on constructivist grounded theory as a tool of getting to the fundamental issues on why grounded theory is not constructivist. I show that constructivist data, if it exists at all, is a very very small part of the data that grounded theory uses. Key words: grounded theory, constructivism, constructivist data

Este artigo tem como objetivo argumentar a favor da riqueza da abordagem etnográfica no âmbito do estudo da vida de pessoas em locais de trabalho, tomando como referência pesquisas desenvolvidas com esta abordagem na escola pública, na fábrica e no transporte coletivo urbano. Centramos nossas reflexões em dois aspectos da pesquisa de campo: o estar no campo e a coleta de "dados" em uma abordagem dessa natureza. A abordagem etnográfica tem se mostrado importante instrumental no sentido de compreender como as pessoas coletivamente constróem e dinamizam processos sociais, como a subjetividade se expressa, como atribuem significado às situações sociais que ganharam uma organização formalmente constituída. Descritores: Metodologia qualitativa. Etnografia. Pesquisa. Psicologia. Trabalho. Educação.

Crime and social control are fields of qualitative research in the social sciences, where behavior is not inherently deviant or criminal, but rather, deviance is a matter of interpretation and judgment. "Crime" is constructed and negotiated in social discourses and processes of social interaction in and with institutions of social control. Therefore only qualitative inquiries of "crime" make sense. This paper reports examples of qualitative studies (from ethnography, hermeneutical sociology of knowledge, ethnomethodology/conversation analysis, discourse analysis and narrative analysis) especially of deviant subcultures, reporting conflicts to the police, police inquiries and interrogations and criminal court procedures. Key words: crime as social construction, 'Verstehen', second code of the criminal justice system, ethnography, ethnomethodology, discourse analysis, narrative analysis

Sección del sitio de Juan Muñoz con algunas herramientas (informáticas) que pueden ser de utilidad para el análisis cualitativo de datos textuales. Encuentras el mejor manual en español para usar el Atlas.ti

This paper will assess the way in which a qualitative data analysis software package—NVivo—can be used in the data analysis process. Computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) has been seen as aiding the researcher in her or his search for an accurate and transparent picture of the data whilst also providing an audit of the data analysis process as a whole—something which has often been missing in accounts of qualitative research. This paper will compare manual techniques in the qualitative data analysis of interview transcripts with the use of NVivo. In particular, this paper will consider the difficulties surrounding interrogation of interview transcripts and will assess issues of reliability and validity in the data analysis process. The time investment required in order to make full use of NVivo's tools will also be discussed. It is shown that a combination of both manual and computer assisted methods is likely to achieve the best results. Key words: reliability, validity, NVivo, qualitative data analysis, women local councillors

A number of ways of treating talk and textual data are identified which fall short of discourse analysis. They are: (1) under-analysis through summary; (2) under-analysis through taking sides; (3) under-analysis through over-quotation or through isolated quotation; (4) the circular identification of discourses and mental constructs; (5) false survey; and (6) analysis that consists in simply spotting features. We show, by applying each of these to an extract from a recorded interview, that none of them actually analyse the data. We hope that illustrating shortcomings in this way will encourage further development of rigorous discourse analysis in social psychology

Números desde 2003. DAOL is dedicated to the publication of research in all areas of discourse analytic work. DAOL makes maximum use of the digital text by giving writers the opportunity to include text, audio, still and video images and hypertext links in their published articles. DAOL also uses technologies that support an interactive and discursive review process. DAOL seeks papers in all disciplines conducting discourse analytic work such as: Conversation Analysis, Cultural Studies, Discursive psychology, Foucauldian Analysis, Interactional and Socio-linguistics, Critical linguistics, Critical discourse analysis, Discourse processes research, Feminist discourse analysis, Discourse and new media

This book was first published in 1993 by Routledge. ©1993 Selection and editorial matter, Erica Burman and Ian Parker; individual chapters, the contributors. The ISBN for the paperback was 0-415-09721-5 and for the hardback it was 0-415-09720-7. The page numbering has been marked in this web-text of the book by numbers in square brackets, so when you see a number appear you know that you are moving into that number page of the book (e.g., when you read [12] you know that the text to follow this was originally on page 12). The full reference for the book that you can still use for citations and quotes is: Burman, E. and Parker, I. (eds) (1993) Discourse Analytic Research: Repertoires and Readings of Texts in Action. London: Routledge. You can access the different sections of the book now by clicking on the relevant headings in the Contents below. Many thanks to Marilyn Barnett for scanning and correcting the text.

This book was first published in 1992 by Routledge. ©1992 Ian Parker. The ISBN for the paperback was 0-415-05018-9 and for the hardback it was 0-415-05017-0. The page numbering has been marked in this web-text of the book by numbers in square brackets, so when you see a number appear you know that you are moving into that number page of the book (e.g., when you read [12] you know that the text to follow this was originally on page 12). The full reference for the book that you can still use for citations and quotes is: Parker, I. (1992) Discourse Dynamics: Critical Analysis for Social and Individual Psychology. London: Routledge.

This site contains complete texts of out-of-print books produced by Erica Burman and Ian Parker, co-founders of the Discourse Unit. You can access these texts by clicking on the covers and then downloading chapters.

Manipulación es un concepto que se usa a menudo, pero que rara vez se explicita. Dado que la manipulación es, generalmente, discursiva e implica abuso de poder, debería ser estudiada por los estudios de Análisis Crítico del Discurso (ACD). En este artículo, desde un enfoque interdisciplinario, “triangular”, se analizan los aspectos social, cognitivo y discursivo de la manipulación. La dimensión social de la manipulación se examina en términos de abuso de poder por las élites simbólicas que tienen acceso preferencial al discurso público y manipulan grupos de personas a favor de sus propios intereses y en contra del interés de las víctimas. La dimensión cognitiva de la manipulación explica cómo el procesamiento del discurso y la formación de modelos mentales y representaciones sociales son controlados por el discurso manipulativo. Y el análisis discursivo se centra en las propiedades típicas del discurso que se usan al manipular las mentes de los receptores, tales como la presentación positiva de uno mismo y negativa de los otros, en todos los niveles del discurso y en un contexto que presenta las limitaciones típicas de las situaciones manipulativas: hablantes poderosos y receptores que carecen de recursos específicos, es decir, conocimiento para resistir la manipulación.

Este trabajo tiene como principal objetivo completar en una visión sintética las ideas de van Dijk en relación a la "cultura", "etnicidad", "género", "tipos de análisis de discurso" y la "emergencia" de otras disciplinas relevantes.

Presentamos la técnica del ‘Análisis Sociosemántico’ cuyo objetivo es revelar la estructura de comunicación de un grupo social dado y el contenido semántico de esa estructura de manera intrínsecamente interconectada. La ‘socio-semántica’ entreteje en un marco conceptual unitario las dos dimensiones fundamentales de la comunicación humana: la gente que comunica (el aspecto quién de la comunicación) y el contenido comunicado (el aspecto qué de la comunicación). Los individuos se encuentran (socio-) semánticamente conectados (son unidades potencialmente interactuantes) a través de los conceptos que poseen en común; y los conceptos se hallan socio (-semánticamente) conectados a través de los individuos que los comparten. La proximidad entre individuos o entre conceptos (conectividad semántica o social) puede ser procesada mediante un escalamiento multidimensional no métrico cuyo resultado revelará las estructuras semánticas y sociales del grupo estudiado. Se ofrece, en este artículo, el resumen de una aplicación del análisis sociosemático al estudio de los sistemas de autopercepción de cien adolescentes.

Entendiendo la conversación como el modelo principal para comprender los episodios sociales, este trabajo pretende plantear un nuevo paradigma en psicología social y explorar sus aportaciones en la investigación psicosocial

Enfoques recientes de investigación en psicología, como la investigación emancipadora, cooperativa, construccionista, investigación-acción-participativa, etnografía crítica, coinciden en proponer un modelo de relación entre investigador/a e informantes caracterizado por la simetría, dialogicidad, colaboración y respeto mutuos, así como la co-implicación de la subjetividad de ambos a lo largo del proceso investigativo. Si bien esta forma de concebir dicha relación sugiere una epistemología diferente a la que ha orientado a la investigación tradicional, nos preguntamos en qué medida se está cumpliendo este nuevo modo de relación, de qué manera se está entendiendo y cómo se está implementando. En este artículo y con base en el análisis de trabajos teóricos, reportes empíricos de investigación cualitativa y mi propia experiencia de investigación, aporto algunos elementos que den cuenta de los diversos significados y modalidades que adoptan estos planteamientos en la práctica, así como de los diferentes procedimientos que se emplean para satisfacerlos. Esta diversidad nos lleva a cuestionar la confluencia entre la praxis investigativa con la epistemología propuesta en los enfoques mencionados y por ende a plantear ya sea la revisión de los supuestos que orientan la relación investigador/a-informante o la forma de llevarlos a la práctica.

Artículos en Línea sobre Etnografía.

Partiendo de un sistema natural de categorías construido para evaluar las manifestaciones de la subjetividad durante la entrevista (Rojí, Sarriá, Brioso y Martorell, 1993), el presente estudio analiza el manejo del Punto de Vista y el Estilo ilocucionario en cuatro entrevistadores -tres periodistas y un psicoterapeuta-. Los resultados muestran que el sistema de categorización aplicado discrimina adecuadamente entre las conductas comunicativas definidas. Igualmente, estos resultados son congruentes con algunas de las prescripciones habituales en los programas de formación de entrevistadores. Sin embargo, también revelan que: a) la expertitud de los entrevistadores está ligada a la evitación de ciertas pautas relativas al manejo del Punto de Vista, b) las marcas fáticas de empatía no parecen ser, en el contexto de entrevista, tan relevantes como con frecuencia se supone y c) el terapeuta tiende a usar los recursos del Estilo Ilocucionario de manera significativamente distinta a como lo hacen los periodistas.

With the term "figurations in everyday-life" we discuss a psychological view on behavior as derived from cultural patterns more than from individual traits. Developing methods of Gestalt and depth psychology makes it possible to break up self-evident clichés and characterize some basic configurations of everyday-life. Within a research project at the Cologne university we have explored different trends of modern life by means of depth interviews and their psychological description and reconstruction: "Girly" cultures, "soap operas", the "fitness"-cult, "Sunday neurosis", educational cultures and the like. We not only found a schedule of modern ways of living, but were also able to delineate a scheme of present-day culture as a whole. Key words: figuration, everyday-life, cultural psychology, Gestalt Psychology, depth interview, qualitative research, present-day culture

This article reports an experience with the focus group as a method of data collection in nursing research. Five discussion/reflection meetings were carried out having sexuality in nursing care practice as the central focus, with a group of seven students in the Nursing Graduation Course of the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), in August and September 2001. It has been described here the motivation and the justification for the use of this technique; the organization of the group meetings; a synthesis of each one and its final evaluation. Key words: focus group, nursing research, sexuality, culture.

In order to open the forum for a meaningful discussion about the development and the status of qualitative methods in the individual disciplines, FQS issues introduce the traditional stances, current research methodologies, empirical emphases and disciplinary perspectives. Already published are issues with an emphasis on Cultural Sciences, Psychology, Ciminology, and Sport Sciences. A second emphasis regards topics which are discussed by researchers regardless of their disciplinary and national backgrounds. Readers of FQS may comment single contributions immediately by using the discussion board. Every thematic issue also contains, along with the contributions which directly have to do with the respective thematic emphasis, selected individual contributions from different fields of qualitative research. For single contributions see the publication guidelines; if you have any suggestion for future issues, please let us know via e-mail

A fin de abrir el foro hacia una discusión significativa acerca de los desarrollos y el estado de los métodos cualitativos en las disciplinas, los volúmenes FQS presenta las posturas tradicionales, las metodologías de investigación en uso, énfasis empírico y perspectivas disciplinarias. Ya se han publicado volúmenes con énfasis en ciencias culturales, psicología, criminología y ciencias del deporte. Un segundo énfasis abarca temas que son discutidos por investigadores sin importar su nacionalidad o antecedentes disciplinarios.

A final version of this paper was published as 'Gender equitable boys in a gender equitable world: reflections from qualitative research and program development with young men in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil', Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 15, 3, 2000. In the last 20 years, important initiatives have sought to empower women and redress gender inequities. But many women's rights advocates have learned that improving the health and well-being of women generally requires engaging men (Green, Cohen & Belhadj-el Ghouayel, 1995; Helzner, 1996; AVSC International, 1997; Shepard, 1996). In many settings, women are asking for greater participation by men in reproductive, maternal and child health and in child care and other domestic tasks. The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo (ICPD) and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing provided a foundation for including men in efforts to improve the status of women. The ICPD Programme of Action seeks to "promote gender equality in all spheres of life, including family and community life, and to encourage and enable men to take responsibility for their sexual and reproductive behavior and their social and family roles." At the same time, there has been increased recognition of the cost to men of certain traditional aspects of masculinity -- their general lack of involvement in their children's lives, their higher rates of death by traffic accidents, suicide and violence than women, and their higher rates of alcohol and substance use than women (WHO, 1998; NSW Health, 1998; World Bank, 1993; Keijzer, 1995; Yunes & Rajs, 1994; Keys Young, 1997; Frydenberg, 1997; Manstead, 1998). There is a significant body of research showing that the way many men are socialized can have harmful consequences for their health (Barker, 2000). A national survey of adolescent males ages 15-19 in the U.S. found that beliefs about manhood emerged as the strongest predictor of risk-taking behaviors; young men who adhered to traditional views of manhood were more likely to report substance use, violence and delinquency and unsafe sexual practices (Courtenay, 1998).

En el presente trabajo se ofrece una revisión histórica de la relación que han mantenido entre sí las Ciencias de la Educación (en especial la Pedagogía) y el conocimiento estadístico. Se analiza el contexto general hasta la década de los años treinta del pasado siglo, momento en el cual puede entenderse que existe una consolidación de la Estadística como recurso en investigación en Pedagogía. Se revisa la influencia determinante del positivismo, como marco de pensamiento general en el siglo XIX. A partir de este contexto filosófico y científico, se proyectaron distintas vías, dentro de la ciencia, que suelen coincidir en una preocupación por la “objetividad”. Se analizan la tradición de disciplinas como la psicofísica, la psicología o la medición, que influyeron decisivamente en la incorporación y consolidación del conocimiento estadístico, en la Pedagogía Experimental, y con ello, en las Ciencias de la Educación.

Sitio con recursos sobre investigación cualitativa.

Lista de distribución de IC - investigación cualitativa.

Anhand eines Fallbeispieles aus einer Schweizer Working Poor-Studie setzt sich die Autorin mit einem Interview auseinander, das sie zunächst als misslungen betrachtete, weil sie dessen verbalen Informationsgehalt als eher "mager" einschätzte. Durch die ethnopsychoanalytische Orientierung am Konzept der Irritation sind zwei weitere Ebenen ins Blickfeld gerückt, die nebst dem Wort als Erkenntnisquelle herangezogen werden: Während des Interviews traten starke Gefühle auf, und auf der Inszenierungsebene geschah Auffälliges. Die Autorin hatte zunehmend den Eindruck, dass es gerade bei diesem Fallbeispiel von entscheidender Bedeutung ist, das verbal Geäußerte mit dem nicht verbal Inszenierten und emotional Übertragenen in Beziehung zu setzen und zusammen zu denken. Die Interviews wurden im Rahmen der Studie objektiv hermeneutisch ausgewertet, wobei die Erlebensdimension – sowohl der Forschenden wie der Beforschten – völlig außer Acht gelassen wird. Im Zentrum des Artikels steht die Frage nach dem Erkenntnisgewinn durch explizit eingesetzte Subjektivität, wie das DEVEREUX als neues Paradigma in die Sozialwissenschaften eingeführt und die Zürcher Schule weiterentwickelt hat. Keywords: Ethnopsychoanalyse, Subjektivität, Epistemologie, Reflexivität, obje

Revista con textos disponibles, sobre metodologías cualitativas. Desde 2002. International Institute for Qualitative Methodology at the University of Alberta, Canada.

Palabras claves: Investigación cualitativa, Bajtin, Intertextualidad, Psicoterapia

Textos en línea

La investigación cualitativa es un campo de saberes y prácticas cada vez más difundido en el área de la salud en América Latina. Pocos trabajos, sin embargo, se han preocupado por evaluar la producción generada en la región sobre el tema o las particularidades teóricas u operacionales de los estudios llevados a cabo. Este trabajo examina la investigación cualitativa en salud generada en los países latinoamericanos desde una perspectiva crítica. Se identificaron tres movimientos regionales en el campo de la salud con una perspectiva crítica e interesados en la investigación cualitativa: la medicina social, los movimientos de base y los estudios socio-culturales. Se hace una caracterización de tales movimientos, se describen las formas como han establecido vínculos con la investigación cualitativa, se presentan ejemplos de estudios empíricos en cada movimiento y se mencionan algunas críticas de que han sido objeto. Palabras clave: Investigación cualitativa en salud, perspectivas críticas, América Latina

Se define y caracteriza a la psicología ambiental y se presenta una revisión bibliográfica de corte cualitativo en este campo. Se comparan objetivos y métodos de aproximarse al estudio de las relaciones entre el ser humano y su ambiente y se discute la pertinencia de la dicotomía cualitativo-cuantitativo. Descriptores: psicología ambiental, investigación cualitativa

This paper uses focus group data about women’s work experiences gathered in five Canadian east coast communities to examine some of the strengths and weakness associated with focus group research. I explore the case made against the use of focus group methods and the basis for some of the critiques aimed at focus group research. By examining the evolving discussions between focus group members, it is possible to understand some of the benefits of ‘group-talk’, including the creation of a unique opportunity for interaction, joint meaning creation and contradiction. Key words: Focus Groups, Theory, Meaning Construction, Interaction, and Conflict

Kritisch-psychologische Methodik, fundiert im kategorial begründeten Zusammenhang von Psychologie- und Gesellschaftskritik, hat sich in der Realisierung der Einheit von Erkennen und Verändern und in der emanzipatorischen Relevanz der empirischen Resultate zu erweisen. Angesichts der Persistenz und Systematik kapitalistischer Produktion von Ungleichheit ist die situationsenthobene Abstraktheit quantitativ orientierter Psychologie nicht durch die Auflösung gesellschaftlicher Struktur in ein Sammelsurium von pseudokonkreten Situationen zu überwinden. An den methodischen Konzepten der Bedingungs-Bedeutungs-Begründungs-Analyse und der Entwicklungsfigur wird gezeigt, wie der Zusammenhang gesellschaftlicher und individueller Reproduktion und Entwicklung konkret-psychologisch fassbar und verallgemeinerbar gemacht werden soll. Dazu ist erforderlich, Theorien nicht als Bedingungs-Ereignis-Relationen, also im kontrollwissenschaftlichen Bedingtheitsdiskurs, sondern als Prämissen-Gründe-Zusammenhänge, also im subjektwissenschaftlichen Begründungsdiskurs, zu formulieren. Gegenstand einer Psychologie vom Standpunkt des Subjekts sind nicht die Subjekte, die nämlich selber auf der Forschungsseite stehen; Gegenstand ist vielmehr die Welt, wie die Subjekte sie erfahren. Keywords: Kritische Psychologie, Bedingungs-Bedeutungs-Begründungs-Analyse, Entwicklungsfigur, Prämissen-Gründe-Zusammenhänge, Datenfunktion, Datenmodalität, Relevanz der Psychologie, Handlungsforschung, Begründungsdiskurs

La mayor colección de entrevistas relacionadas con la historia oral en Alemania se halla actualmente en el Instituto de "Historia y Biografía". Allí están archivadas, bajo el nombre de Memoria Alemana ("Deutsches Gedächtnis"), aproximadamente 1500 entrevistas de historia de vida basadas en testimonios de la Alemania Oriental y Occidental en videos o cintas grabadas (sólo un décimo de las entrevistas fueron filmadas con video cámara) y sus transcripciones (como archivos de datos electrónicos y sus impresos). Adicionalmente hay fotos, documentos personales, diarios, cartas y otras fuentes escritas por testigos particulares. Con continuos añadidos hay una gran cantidad de datos cualitativos específicos por persona provenientes de diversas fuentes de medios que hay tratar y archivar. De los numerosos problemas que emergen de los materiales espeíficos de archivo, me gustaría centrarme en los tres siguientes en el texto: el anonimato y transferencia de derechos, la preparación para uso de datos y el deterioro físico de cintas de video y de audio. Palabras clave: Historia Oral, archivo, derecho de uso, anonimato, banco de datos, medios digitales de almacenaje

En la última década se ha incrementado el interés en torno a la aplicación de las metodologías interpretativas. La medicina, la sociología y la psicología social son las disciplinas sobre las que se presenta mayor influencia. Similar a la situación de otros países de Latinoamérica, en México no se ha profesionalizado el ejercicio de todos los campos de acción científica. La investigación social cualitativa en México está pasando de la observación participante y la investigación acción a los modelos de etnografía interpretativa y Teoría Fundamentada. La salud y el cuerpo, la identidad y el espacio son temas de relevancia creciente a los que se incorpora el análisis asistido por computadora. Palabras claves: tradición interpretativa, subjetividad, teoría fundamentada, etnografía, identidad, salud

El artículo proporciona una presentación de la perspectiva discursiva en Psicología Social. Para ello, realiza un repaso de antecedentes, fundamentos, algunos recursos concretos de la Perspectiva Discursiva y una aproximación a la lectura que esta perspectiva realiza de la cognición social. A través de estos pasos, el artículo pretende: resaltar la importancia de la aportación teórica, no solamente metodológica de esta perspectiva; subrayar la importancia del lenguaje en la construcción de la realidad, y adentrarse en la comprensión de las posibilidades que esta importancia supone para el quehacer de la propia psicología.

Números desde 1998. Artículos en inglés y alemán.

Los mapas discursivos se presentan aquí como una alternativa metodológica para el/la investigador/a y tienen como objetivo principal ayudarlo/a a orientarse a sí mismo/a y a otros dentro de la globalidad y extensión de un discurso determinado. Estos mapas utilizan íconos, vectores y otros elementos gráficos para exponer aspectos discursivos y paraverbales en un relato, conversación o entrevista. Igualmente, promueven la creatividad y el sentido común al mostrar, de la manera más fidedigna posible, el cariz, los temas y las conductas paralingüísticas asociadas a un discurso, facilitando así su tratamiento metodológico posterior.

Número de revista sobre psicología del deporte. Artículos disponibles. En inglés y Alemán. Volumen 4, No. 1 – Enero 2003

La utilización de métodos cualitativos para la obtención de información en el campo de la salud pública no es un suceso reciente, pero en los últimos 15 años ha tenido un desarrollo considerable. De hecho, de acuerdo con Rosen,1 ya en el siglo pasado, el médico alemán Rudolf Virchow, mundialmente reconocido por sus aportaciones en el campo de la patología y la medicina social, gustaba de aplicar técnicas observacionales en su indagación científica cotidiana. Este hecho suele pasar desapercibido cuando se hace un recuento de las aportaciones de Virchow al campo de las ciencias médicas pero la aplicación de dichas técnicas permitió que el pensamiento de Virchow y su análisis de la realidad tuvieran una profundidad poco común. Recientemente, la antropología y la sociología han sido las disciplinas del área de las ciencias sociales que aplican con mayor rigor las técnicas cualitativas para el estudio de problemas de investigación en el área de la salud pública.La capacidad analítica e interpretativa alcanzada por las especialidades médicas de dichas disciplinas las ha convertido, probablemente, en sus áreas más dinámicas.

O aumento de interesse no estudo da narrativa e seu contexto social sugere a emergência de outro caminho ao paradigma póspositivista e um melhor refinamento da metodologia interpretativa nas ciências humanas. O problema do entendimento dos padrões dinâmicos do comportamento humano parece estar mais próximo de uma solução através dos estudos da narrativa do que até mesmo de abordagens bem conhecidas, como a utilização do modelo de regras e papéis. Nesse artigo, abordaremos algumas das qualidades que fizeram do estudo da narrativa uma abordagem produtiva. Procuramos definir a noção de narrativa e diferenciá-la de outros padrões de discurso, tendo como base estudos sócio psicolingüísticos, filosóficos e literários. Procuramos também identificar algumas dificuldades teóricas e possíveis riscos dos quais os estudiosos da narrativa deveriam estar conscie ntes. Finalmente, esboçamos uma compreensão da narrativa que objetiva levar em conta sua condição particular de um discurso contextualizado e seu caráter aberto e transitório.

Chapter to appear in Parker, I. (2005) Qualitative Psychology: Introducing Radical Research. Buckingham: Open University Press.

El objetivo de este artículo es en primer lugar discutir aspectos centrales de la naturaleza de la investigación cualitativa y presentar además en forma breve, algunos de los principales delineamientos teórico-metodológicos que han configurado el desarrollo de la metodología cualitativa en la investigación social: el Método Interpretativo Weberiano o Verstehen; el Interaccionismo Simbólico; la Etnometodología; la Etnografía; la Hermenéutica y la Metodología Teoréticamente Fundada. Cada uno de ellos representa implicaciones teoréticas y dan lugar a posiciones en el campo de las ciencias de la conducta social. No es el objetivo de este trabajo el adentrarse en el contexto teórico que ellas implican. La perspectiva del análisis es eminentemente metodológica, colocándose por tanto el acento en su contribución al desarrollo de la metodología cualitativa de la investigación social. Al presentar estos delineamientos, se pretende argumentar de que no existe ninguna metodología unificada que nos da el camino a la verdad respecto al carácter de las relaciones sociales. Lo que se debe hacer es de críticamente probar diferentes formas de trabajar metodológicamente, en estrecho acuerdo con el tipo de problema que nos preocupa y es centro de la atención investigadora.

Convém distinguir, de imediato, entre etnografia entendida como método e etnografia entendida como postura (Boumard, 1995, p. 446). Quero apresentar aqui, numa perspectiva explicitamente centralizada sobre a articulação entre metodologia e epistemologia, a reflexão que fazem na França, há alguns anos, as equipes de pesquisas das Universidades Paris 8 e Rennes 2 no que diz respeito à contribuição da etnografia no duplo contexto do interacionismo simbólico e da análise institucional.

A fotografia vem sendo amplamente utilizada na pesquisa em Psicologia, em diferentes áreas, para investigação das mais diversas questões. Contudo, este recurso ainda é pouco utilizado no Brasil. O objetivo destetrabalho é realizar, com base na literatura científica, um levantamento histórico-metodológico do uso da fotografia na ciência psicológica. Foram identificadas quatro funções principais da fotografia nos diferentes métodos adotados: registro, modelo, feedback e autofotografia. Em cada uma destas funções, são apresentados diversos estudos realizados, destacando suas vantagens e desvantagens. Paralelamente, procurou-se levantar os temas abordados nas variadas áreas da Psicologia, através do recurso fotográfico. Por fim, enfatizouse a descrição do método autofotográfico, no qual são destacadas especificidades e possíveis contribuições obtidas pela sua utilização. Palavras-chave: Fotografia, Autofotografia, Método autofotográfico, Método de pesquisa.

Online QDA is a set of training support materials which address common problems (both early and advanced) of using Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) methods and selected Computer Assisted Qualitative Data AnalysiS (CAQDAS) packages. We aim to complement courses run by, for example, the CAQDAS Networking project, many independent trainers and the large number of postgraduate social sciences research methods training courses. Materials are grouped depending on the needs of different researchers, from complete novice in QDA to advanced user of CAQDAS. The Intro section explains this and makes some suggestions about how to use this site. We hope that members of the qualitative research community will not only find this material useful, but also will wish to contribute material of their own. This may vary from short reviews of books and web sites to more substantial essays and training materials. Please get in touch with us if you wish to contribute. This development is funded by the UK Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of its Research Methods Programme which aims to improve the standards of research methods across the UK social science community. ESRC GRANT RES-333-25-0009. Researchers: Graham R. Gibbs, University of Huddersfield Professor Nigel Fielding, University of Surrey Ann Lewins, University of Surrey Celia Taylor, University of Huddersfield

Varios artículos en línea del psicólogo social Ian Parker. Algunos en español.

Revista electrónica sobre Representaciones Sociales.

O termo “pesquisa de campo” é normalmente empregado na Psicologia Social para descrever um tipo de pesquisa feito nos lugares da vida cotidiana e fora do laboratório ou da sala de entrevista. Nesta ótica, o pesquisador ou pesquisadora vai ao campo para coletar dados que serão depois analisados utilizando uma variedade de métodos tanto para a coleta quanto para a análise. Neste texto, relatamos as conclusões iniciais de uma série de discussões sobre pesquisas de campo feita numa perspectiva pós-construcionista. Partindo das dificuldades provocadas por uma noção de campo fisicamente determinada, a discussão retoma a perspectiva de Kurt Lewin sobre o campo como totalidade de fatos psicológicos, para depois se aproximar das propostas de Ian Hacking sobre “matriz” e a discussão mais ampla sobre materialidades. A conseqüência desta reflexão foi a proposição de um “campo-tema” onde o campo não é mais um lugar específico, mas se refere à processualidade de temas situados. O texto conclui com uma discussão sobre algumas implicações desta proposta para o processo de pesquisa e para as práticas narrativas usadas para relatar as suas conclusões.

Ten years have passed since the publication of Sarbin’s (1986) foundational volume Narrative Psychology. Throughout these ten years, narrative approaches to a variety of human psychological processes have gained popularity, and some of them constitute a growing body of research nowadays. The appeal of narrative as a root metaphor for human psychological functioning seems to be particularly noticeable among constructivists. To quote but a few selected examples see, for instance, the 1994 special issue of the Journal of Constructivist Psychology devoted to narrative theory and therapy or the section on "The Narrative Turn" in Neimeyer and Mahoney’s (1995) volume on Constructivism in Psychotherapy

The article describes an approach of systematic, rule guided qualitative text analysis, which tries to preserve some methodological strengths of quantitative content analysis and widen them to a concept of qualitative procedure. First the development of content analysis is delineated and the basic principles are explained (units of analysis, step models, working with categories, validity and reliability). Then the central procedures of qualitative content analysis, inductive development of categories and deductive application of categories, are worked out. The possibilities of computer programs in supporting those qualitative steps of analysis are shown and the possibilities and limits of the approach are discussed. Key words: qualitative content analysis, content analysis, category, induction, intercoder-reliability

This document appears as Appendix E in the manual for v5 of The Ethnograph. It is a statement of some of the developers ideas concerning Qualitative Data Analysis. Of course ideas change and evolve based on new experiences, discussions, and dialogues. The file you download, QDA.EXE, is a self extracting Zip File. When you down load it use either My Computer or Explorer to locate it and click on it. This will extract a file named QDA.PDF. After you have downloaded and installed the Acrobat reader, you simply need to click on QDA.PDF. This will automatically open the Acrobat Reader and the QDA document.

Methodology is not a "toolbox" of different methods from which the researcher selects some on the basis of personal or social preferences. If the Ganzheitspsychologie traditions of the last century have taught us anything, then it is the importance for scientific investigation to consider the developmental processes of the whole phenomena. We have taken a closer look at the fundamental ideology underlying qualitative and quantitative methodology in the context of development. For a thorough understanding, we must look critically at the meaning of "development," that is, the directional transformation of wholes. Through a historical overview of "lost" developmental perspectives, we discuss the possibility of a unification of qualitative and quantitative methods. We hope to make clear that methodology is an integrated structure of epistemological processes that can equally reveal and obscure the empirical reality in the knowledge construction process of social scientists. The coordination of the different perspectives depends on the interpretation of phenomena as well as the specific research questions.

Qualitative psychological family and communication research is focussed on the investigation of everyday communication of families as social unities. Discussions of "normal families" during everyday routines are videotaped and analyzed differently to answer the question of the development of family system. Key words: Qualitative family research, family culture, communication research, everyday communication, family development, family psychology, family communication style, content analysis, family communication worlds, family verbal interaction, everyday family conversation, video analysis

A web resource library of qualitative materials, exercises, and study guides to supplement the (2001) book titled Narrative Methods for Organizational and Communication Research. London: Sage Publications. See Amazon to order book and/or read book review.

The development of a methodical research style is described. The way to handle data won from 1) interviews with psychological counselors/therapists concerning their professional biography, 2) conversation analysis of therapeutic sessions and 3) evaluation of "self-confrontation interviews" stimulated through video usage (to capture the "inner aspects of given actions" on the part of the counselor/therapist) is also discussed. Furthermore, a concept for research is presented in which qualitative interviews and field research, Grounded Theory method and self-reflection of researcher subjectivity as instruments for insight and discovery are implemented in various thematic fields. The development of these methods is brought into connection with premises related to epistemological and methodological convictions and preferences. Key words: qualitative interview, biographical interview, self-confrontation-interview, content analysis, conversation analysis, Grounded Theory, self-reflection, subjectivity, research style

The Qualitative Methods Workbook is an "e-text" prepared for the college course Qualitative Research Methods (PSY 405) at Shippensburg University. While the contents are copyrighted, they may be downloaded and hardcopied for educational and personal uses without permission, as long as the source is noted. All other rights are reserved.

An online journal dedicated to qualitative research since 1990

Although ethics as a field and topic of human inquiry has a long history, concerns about research ethics are more recent. I provide a brief historical context for recent developments regarding research ethics and provide a classification of practitioners, who, in one way or another, have to deal with ethical issues in research. I end with a call for a greater salience of discussions concerning issues of research ethics, which should contribute to evolve our scientific community.

As a third year doctoral student at Nova Southeastern University's Department of Family Therapy, I am moving perilously close to the threshold of my dissertation. Although I have known and hoped that my education would eventually lead to this esteemed circumstance, I stand here now, dismayed and trembling. I wonder if I have really absorbed enough vital information to embark on this monumental task, and how to go about applying my accumulated learning to the slippery process of research. Nova's family therapy program is strongly influenced by several systemic models of theory and practices that credit Gregory Bateson with providing the epistemological foundation and language for their theories (Andersen, 1991; Boscolo, Cecchin, Hoffman, & Penn, 1987; White & Epston, 1990). In the past few years, I have tried to embody both the letter and spirit of Bateson's thinking in my work as a therapist, and I feel that many of his ideas have also enriched me as a person, as well. At this point, I find myself struggling to figure out how my Bateson way of knowing can now guide me in research. In this essay, I am going to discuss the ways in which I think a Batesonian process might inform my dissertation

Artículos y sitios web desde la "a" a la "z". En inglés y español. Acerca de Metodología de la Investigación Cualitativa.

Building on the success of David Silverman's Interpreting Qualitative Data, this book assembles a well-known international team of researchers who share a commitment to rigorous, analytically derived but nonpolarized, qualitative research.

Articles on Telephone focus groups and Articles on Focus groups and qualitative research

In this article, the authors hope to shift the debate in the practice disciplines concerning quality in qualitative research from a preoccupation with epistemic criteria toward consideration of aesthetic and rhetorical concerns. They see epistemic criteria as inevitably including aesthetic and rhetorical concerns. The authors argue here for a reconceptualization of the research report as a literary technology that mediates between researcher/writer and reviewer/reader. The evaluation of these reports should thus be treated as occasions in which readers seek to make texts meaningful, rather than for the rigid application of standards and criteria. The authors draw from reader-response theories, literature on rhetoric and representation in science, and findings from an on-going methodological research project involving the appraisal of a set of qualitative studies. Key words: Reader-response, reading, representation, rhetoric, qualitative research, quality criteria, writing

Not only is it often challenging to wade through the many different discourse analytic approaches to studying talk-in-interaction, but it is also often challenging to understand how certain methods adequately capture the complexity of the theories that lie behind them. What is needed are methods that are analytically sophisticated enough to empirically demonstrate the complexity of the theories that make fashionable and relevant the analysis in the first place. To illustrate this quandary, I will trade on some of the recent tensions between two of the most popular approaches—Critical Discourse analysis (CDA) and Conversation Analysis (CA). More specifically, attention is given to recent methodological attempts to synthesize a middle-ground position between CDA and CA. The focus of my overall argument will be that Positioning Analysis offers a viable analytic way to reconcile the discrepant methodological orientations while trading on the shared theoretical convictions of both CDA and CA. Keywords: positioning, positioning analysis, conversation analysis, critical discourse analysis, theory, method

This paper outlines my concerns with Qualitative Data Analysis' (QDA) numerous remodelings of Grounded Theory (GT) and the subsequent eroding impact. I cite several examples of the erosion and summarize essential elements of classic GT methodology. It is hoped that the article will clarify my concerns with the continuing enthusiasm but misunderstood embrace of GT by QDA methodologists and serve as a preliminary guide to novice researchers who wish to explore the fundamental principles of GT.

This paper focuses on the interrelationship between the mechanical and conceptual aspects of qualitative data analysis. The first part of the paper outlines the support role a computer program, HyperQual2, plays in the mechanical analysis process. The second part of the paper argues that the most important aspect of analysis in any research endeavour is conceptual in nature. It provides a "snapshot" of the in-depth analysis of one interview protocol. The metaphor "snapshot" is apt because the intention is to capture the "essence" of the analysis process. Such a focused approach is one way of reporting and making transparent the qualitative research process. It can be used as a framework so that readers of the research are better able to judge the fidelity of the results of the final analysis. Key words: CAQDAS, HyperQual, qualitative research, analysis of qualitative data, reporting data analysis, beginning teachers, teacher appraisal

This paper argues that research approaches which are aimed at developing our understanding of psychotherapy which fail to address the client's interpretation of events will only provide a limited picture of its true nature. The discussion explores the philosophical underpinnings of research in this area through analysing contemporary debates and controversies. The difficulties of defining the term "psychotherapy" are acknowledged while highlighting the centrality of the concept of relationship in current definitions. The question "What is psychotherapy?" is further addressed by offering a brief overview of the theoretical assumptions which influence some current approaches to clinical work. Attention is also given to previous research in psychotherapy which focuses on the client's perspective. This is followed by a discussion of the importance of researching psychotherapy from a range of ontological perspectives based on a critique of the limiting nature of current approaches. A theoretical account of the importance of the clients' perspective is also presented, concluding with an argument for the conduct of research which is more relevant to psychotherapy practice

This article theorizes the issue of validity from a social constructionist perspective, particularly as it is applied to the assessment of qualitative research. Validity must be interrogated for its discursive function within the social sciences. I will argue that, as a criterion of assessment, validity polices the social science enterprise and thus, functions as a practice of power through the de/legitimation of social knowledge, research practice, and experiential possibilities. This critique will lead into a reformulation of validity that actively recognizes and negotiates its practice of power. Within this reformulation, research findings are conceptualized as representations and should be scrutinized for their realist, critical, deconstructive, and reflexive narrative function. Put simply, assessing qualitative research entails multiple and contradictory readings of its representational failures and successes. Therefore, validity of research is no longer conceived as a determination (i.e., “is valid” versus “is not valid”) but a continual process of interrogation. This new framework will be applied to my Master’s thesis research that explored domestic violence and relationship abuse among gay males. Implications for research practice are discussed. Key words: Qualitative Methodology, Validity, Social Constructionism, and Gay Male Partner Abuse

En México coexisten dos modelos de atención a la salud reproductiva: la medicina institucional y la tradicional. La proporción de nacimientos que se atienden en cada uno de estos esquemas varía según el contexto. En la Ciudad de México, por ejemplo, 96% de ellos ocurre en los hospitales. En cambio, en las áreas rurales el patrón es inverso; en el estado de Morelos, por ejemplo,los proveedores tradicionales atienden cerca de la mitad de los partos. Con el objeto de contribuir a una mejor salud reproductiva de las mujeres del campo en ese estado se diseñó el proyecto de investigación Modelos alternativos para mejorar la calidad de la atención a la salud de la mujer rural en México.i Este trabajo se llevó a cabo en dos comunidades rurales; en una se ejecutó el programa y la otra sirivió de control. Se aplicó un diseño "cuasi-experimental" para evaluar los efectos alcanzados. El programa de intervención constaba de tres componentes: Entrenamiento a profesionales de la salud -parteras tradicionales y médicos del primer nivel de atención- para mejorar la calidad de los servicios. Visitas domiciliarias a mujeres en edad reproductiva, para impartir pláticas de educación para la salud reproductiva, sexual, perinatal e infantil. Establecimiento de un sistema formal de referencia y contrarreferencia entre los proveedores del primer nivel de atención y los hospitales.

Números desde 1996

Sitio que linkea a otros sitios relativos a software de uso en psicología.

By publishing two FQS issues on "Subjectivity and Reflexivity in Qualitative Research," we address a topic that is central for modern science. On the one hand, there are many demands from philosophy of science and there are numerous methods that aim at eliminating researchers' impact on the research process except in controlled treatments. On the other hand, the insight spread that researchers, in continuously interacting with those being researched, inevitably influence and structure research processes and their outcomes—through their personal and professional characteristics, by leaning on theories and methods available at a special time and place in their (sub-) cultures, disciplines and nations. This is especially (but not exclusively) true for qualitative research, because qualitative methods are less structured than quantitative methods, and qualitative researchers interact for most part very closely with research participants in their respective research fields.

Basically community psychology is not associated with a certain methodology but there are good reasons why qualitative methods are chosen in many investigations in community psychology. Characteristic features of the community psychology approach are nearness to everyday life, multiperspectivity, partiality, and process orientation. These characteristics become relevant if complex psycho-social processes like empowerment, social networks etc. are investigated. In this contribution I will discuss in which way qualitative methods today can contribute to a better understanding of these processes in community psychology research. Keywords: community psychology, qualitative methods, everyday life, complex systems, psycho-social processes, empowerment, participation, multiperspectivity, partiality, process orientation

It is the aim of this article to justify the use of a cooperative research method, the narrative grid interview, within the framework of a research project on experience of mobility. The crucial characteristic of this method is to guarantee universal transparency from data collection to the description of generalized results and models. Thus, two requirements are met: The appropriateness is based in the narratives of the participants on their respective lifeworld, the ability to generalize is based on rules for data-analysis and -interpretation in agreement with legitimate paradigms (for the purpose of KUHN). Thereby greater closeness between theoretical groundwork research and concrete applications, be it in planning or counseling, should be guaranteed. After a concise introductory glance on the psychological and interdisciplinary understanding of mobility, the requirements on the concrete research project 'Psychological basis of mobility behavior' are deduced. In the articles' core quality (komma) criteria are formulated and examined in a concrete description of the methodological approach. Key words: Repertory-Grid, narrative interview, quality criteria, mobility, ecological psychology

Hypermedia offers ethnographers a powerful new medium for authoring. Its potentialities suggest various levels of convergence with the concerns of critical theory and post-paradigm ethnography. Nevertheless, the project of authoring academic ethnographic hypertexts is fraught with difficulty, not least due to the difficulties of formulating a new rhetorics which can offer the same persuasive power as the conventional printed narrative. Hypertext opens up particular kinds of authoring innovations, such as the linking together of data, analysis and interpretation in the same medium, and the juxtapositioning of materials in written, visual and aural forms. A new multi-semiotic ethnography is becoming possible through digital technologies, which will have to develop new ways of ordering academic argumentation and analysis. We argue that finding creative means of assembling narrative sequences will be germane to the 'art' of hyper-authoring for ethnography, as it has been for the book and the film (although in different ways). We offer some insights from our own experiences of constructing an 'ethnographic hypermedia environment' as a means of illustrating some of these dilemmas

My goal was to understand the subjective understandings that medical couples have about their lives. My interest in career and home life dates back fifteen years to the time that I completed a master's thesis on medical and law students. After taking a rather extended hiatus which included marrying a physician, having children, and divorcing a physician, I decided to compare my own experience with the experiences of other medical wives. As I reviewed the published literature on medical couples, it soon became evident that the trend included a rather bleak view of physicians and their marriages. The overall theme that ties together the several hundred articles and books on the topic reflects a pathologizing perspective discussed in the familiar deficit descriptions depicted in the medical model of doctors' and their spouses' personalities. Such descriptions include the doctor as a compulsive, workaholic, emotionally distant robot and his wife as a dependent shell of a being whose most characteristic feature is that of an emotional cripple. By the time I exhausted the literature on the topic of medical marriages, I knew that a significant element of the research was missing. I knew that the research should invite the voices of the couples themselves and explore these couples' lives by exploring the perspectives, meanings, understandings, descriptions, and interpretations the couples themselves brought forth. I wanted what ethnographic research typically calls an emic or native perspective. The goal of emic understanding is elaborated in hermeneutic and phenomenologic methodologies (Kvale, 1983; Packer, 1985).

The aim of this paper is to outline how a theoretical intersection between systems theory and grounded theory could be articulated. The paper proceeds by marking that the important difference between systems theory and grounded theory is primarily reflected in the distinction between a revision of social theory on the one hand and the generation of theory for the social world on the other. It then explores figures of thought in philosophy that relate closely to aspects of Luhmann’s theory of social systems. An effectual intersection, an operational intersection, an intersection based on the concept of primary redundancy and a global/transcendental intersection between systems theory and grounded theory are proposed. The paper then goes on to briefly outline several methodological consequences of the intersection for a grounded systems methodology. It concludes by discussing the sort of knowledge for the social world that is likely to emerge from this mode of observation.

The Department of Clinical Psychology I represents the psychoanalytically oriented section of the Institute of Psychology at the University of Zurich. For the past 10 years the department’s research has placed emphasis on content analytical and qualitative investigations of patient narratives. These narratives are obtained through the department’s own psychotherapy department practice and examined using the JAKOB narrative analysis developed specifically for this purpose. For the data collection a high quality video system is available. All data and research results are systematically administered in the JAKOB database. Keywords: Qualitative research, narrative analysis, patient narratives, psychotherapy research,

An online journal dedicated to qualitative research since 1990.

Research methods are "technique(s) for ... gathering data" (HARDING 1986) and are generally dichotomised into being either quantitative or qualitative. It has been argued that methodology has been gendered (OAKLEY 1997; 1998), with quantitative methods traditionally being associated with words such as positivism, scientific, objectivity, statistics and masculinity. In contrast, qualitative methods have generally been associated with interpretivism, non-scientific, subjectivity and femininity. These associations have led some feminist researchers to criticise (REINHARZ 1979; GRAHAM 1983; PUGH 1990) or even reject (GRAHAM & RAWLINGS 1980) the quantitative approach, arguing that it is in direct conflict with the aims of feminist research (GRAHAM 1983; MIES 1983). It has been argued that qualitative methods are more appropriate for feminist research by allowing subjective knowledge (DEPNER 1981; DUELLI KLEIN 1983), and a more equal relationship between the researcher and the researched (OAKLEY 1974; JAYARATNE 1983; STANLEY & WISE 1990). This paper considers the quantitative/qualitative divide and the epistemological reasoning behind the debate before investigating two research methods, the statistical survey and the semi-structured interview, in respect of their use to feminist researchers. It concludes by arguing that different feminist issues need different research methods, and that as long as they are applied from a feminist perspective there is no need for the dichotomous "us against them", "quantitative against qualitative" debates. Key words: feminist, interview, survey, epistemology, debate

In this article, the method "Theme-Centered Interview" which draws on the theme-centered group discussion conceived by LEITHAEUSER and VOLMERG is introduced. Besides practical research steps of the survey, single steps of evaluation in vertical and horizontal hermeneutics are explained. Key words: theme-centered interview, depth hermeneutic text interpretation, vertical hermeneutics, horizontal hermeneutics, theme-centered group discussion, research supervision

This paper aims at exploring and discussing the possibilities of applying qualitative content analysis as a (text) interpretation method in case study research. First, case study research as a research strategy within qualitative social research is briefly presented. Then, a basic introduction to (qualitative) content analysis as an interpretation method for qualitative interviews and other data material is given. Finally the use of qualitative content analysis for developing case studies is examined and evaluated. The author argues in favor of both case study research as a research strategy and qualitative content analysis as a method of examination of data material and seeks to encourage the integration of qualitative content analysis into the data analysis in case study research.

This paper offers a situated overview of the work of Anselm Strauss. Beginning from its intellectual genesis at the University of Chicago with Blumer and Hughes, Strauss's creation of a sociology of action through concepts of routine and nonroutine action, negotiated order, social worlds, arenas, properties and kinds of work, and trajectory are examined. Strauss's ideas about medicine and chronic illness, psychiatric institutions, death and dying, awareness contexts, biography and trajectory are discussed. His profoundly innovative contributions to research methods, including grounded theory and the integration of structural elements through his conditional matrix, are also detailed. In conclusion, the ways in which Strauss himself framed the critical space of an interactionist sociologist are laid out through new interview materials.

An interview is not a dialogue. The whole point of the interview is to get the narrator to tell her story. Limit your own remarks to a few pleasantries to break the ice, then brief questions to guide her along. It is not necessary to give her the details of your great-grandmother's trip in a covered wagon in order to get her to tell you about her grandfather's trip to California. Just say, "I understand your grandfather came around the Horn to California. What did he tell you about the trip?"

Programa gratuito para apoyo en análisis de videos y audio.

In this article we would like to demonstrate what conversation analysis can contribute to the understanding of psychotherapy as a joint social practice. We will concentrate on analysing one extended example of proposing a problem for consideration, the kind of thing that tends to happen at early stages of (many kinds of) psychotherapy sessions. What is interesting about this particular example is that the client and therapist have a battle over what the problem is, and whether it merits attention. We will try to bring out how the therapist brings off her formulation of the client’s complaint, and about how the client resists it. We speculate on whether the conversational turbulence is indicative of a mis-match between client’s and therapist’s understanding of how therapy should proceed. The therapist’s institutional objective of making a provisional list of problems may conflict with the client’s objective of explaining fully the problem she is currently expressing. We can’t say how often this kind of sequence of proposal-reformulation-resistance happens in therapy as a whole, but by revealing how this particular example works, we hope the paper says something about one feature of cognitive-behaviour therapy, and stands as an advertisement for CA as a useful way of approaching therapy data more generally.

Este artículo proporciona una valoración, desde la perspectiva de la investigación cualitativa, sobre los Standards de 1993 para la evaluación de programas. En este sentido tres son los aspectos de los Standards que más aportan a los investigadores cualitativos: a) la preocupación por los aspectos humanos de la evaluación; b) los temas de la validez y el significado; y c)una definición más amplia de las técnicas legitimadas de recogida y análisis de datos. Han sido necesarias varias décadas para que la comunidad evaluativa reconozca la utilidad del enlace entre los diseños cualitativos y cuantitativos. Los Program Evaluation Standards actualizan los procedimientos de evaluación, a la vez que legitima una integración sensata de la amplia variedad de procedimientos disponibles para los evaluadores de programas.

Número de revista electrónica. Artículos en inglés, alemán y castellano.

The rejection of reliability and validity in qualitative inquiry in the 1980s has resulted in an interesting shift for “ensuring rigor” from the investigator’s actions during the course of the research, to the reader or consumer of qualitative inquiry. The emphasis on strategies that are implemented during the research process has been replaced by strategies for evaluating trustworthiness and utility that are implemented once a study is completed. In this article, we argue that reliability and validity remain appropriate concepts for attaining rigor in qualitative research. We argue that qualitative researchers should reclaim responsibility for reliability and validity by implementing verification strategies integral and self-correcting during the conduct of inquiry itself. This ensures the attainment of rigor using strategies inherent within each qualitative design, and moves the responsibility for incorporating and maintaining reliability and validity from external reviewers’ judgements to the investigators themselves. Finally, we make a plea for a return to terminology for ensuring rigor that is used by mainstream science.

This publication basically represents a collection of former conference papers and some other contributions mainly by North American social scientists on the dilemmas that qualitative researchers encounter when they submit research applications to research ethics committees. Collectively, the contributions demonstrate the tensions that exist in the policy and practice of applied research ethics in qualitative research. Thirteen chapters are included in this volume. They focus on the themes of: differentiating between ethics and morality; dealing with ethics committees and policies; research processes; research ethics trends; and, ethical issues when submitting research applications. The emphasis is on research policy in a North American context (Canada and the United States), but can be relevant for qualitative researchers in other parts of the world. One challenge to this context is that it does not capture the essence of some European perspectives, especially those from Continental Europe. However, it does raise the issue of ethics in qualitative research to a high level.

In diesem Beitrag wird eine methodologische Position für die FOUCAULTsche Diskursanalyse vorgestellt und eine darauf aufbauende Schrittfolge für eine empirische Diskursanalyse skizziert. Anhand eines Anwendungsbeispiels wird diese Methodologie veranschaulicht. Es wird hervorgehoben, dass Diskursanalysen – um vollständige Analysen zu sein – soweit vorangetrieben werden müssen, dass sie (1) den Systemcharakter des Regelsystems in einer diskursiven Formation erfassen und (2) daran anschliessend die Tiefenstruktur der diskursiven Formation freilegen. Zur Theoriebasis der FOUCAULTschen Diskursanalyse zählt der französische Kontext des Strukturalismus/ Poststrukturalismus. Es wird argumentiert, dass der Poststrukturalismus nicht als Überwindung des Strukturalismus, sondern als eine kritische Öffnung des Strukturalismus zu verstehen ist. Damit können Strukturen in Diskursen auf eine diskursive Praxis bezogen werden und das Strukturkonzept kann (z.B. zur Interdiskursivität und zu Jacques DERRIDAs Strukturalitätsbegriff hin) geöffnet werden. Die strukturalistische Perspektive wird damit fortgesetzt und radikalisiert, aber nicht aufgegeben. Die FOUCAULTschen Theoreme werden hier verknüpft mit den Arbeiten von Michel PÊCHEUX und (insbesondere für die empirische Kultur- und Wissenssoziologie) den Arbeiten von Pierre BOURDIEU. Die praktische Diskursanalyse wird als theoriefundierte und im Material reflexiv vorgehende Kopplung von Dekonstruktion/Rekonstruktion vorgestellt. Sie ist insofern eine rekonstruktive qualitative Methodologie. Am Ende setzt sich der Beitrag kritisch mit solchen Diskursanalysen auseinander, die weder den Systemcharakter der diskursiven Praxis systematisch erfassen noch die diskursive Tiefenstruktur (Episteme bzw. Sozio-Episteme) erfassen wollen. Diese bleiben entweder Diskurskommentierungen oder einfach phänomenologisch und damit jeweils vorstrukturalistisch.