Learning in the Field: An Introduction to Qualitative Research

by Gretchen B. Rossman, Sharon F Rallis

This comprehensive introduction to qualitative methods reveals the complexity of the qualitative research enterprise in an engaging and accessible way. The authors introduce readers to the fundamental tools that need to be mastered to gain proficiency as a researcher. They also examine the personal qualities needed in a good researcher, such as comfort with ambiguity and humility, and an abiding curiosity about, and respect for, the experiences of others.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 9, 1998

Reviews

[Alex Mobley Hildebrandt]

This book was incredibly helpful and really serves as a guide for beginners conducting qualitative research. It walks you step-by-step through the research process and uses real examples of studies with various qualitative methods throughout the book to make it coherent and engaging.

[Abby]

this is actually an anthropology / ethnography book... uh, and i learned that i would never recommend it to anyone! well, maybe an undergraduate... every chapter started off with this goofy vignette about 3 students in an anthropology class who discuss how confused they are with what they just learned in class. WTF?! I was wishing that instead of reading their insipid dialogue, that I had been able to sit in the professor's class! Skip this book.

[Kalynda]

I found this book to be extremely helpful. The authors gave clear, and multiple, examples of the different genres of qualitative research. However, my FAVORITE part were the characters that they included--fictional students who were taking the "same course" I was, and who often had the same hurdles, questions, aha moments, that me and my friends had...this part was the real link between reading and practice for me.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt]

I highly recommend this book for novice researchers. It goes step by step through the process of designing, implementing, and analyzing qualitative research. Throughout the book, there are vignettes of novice researchers that got annoying after a while, but the writing style was relaxed and accessible.

[Sara]

A good introduction to qualitative research. The text is both informative and accessible. The anecdotes about the students you follow throughout the process are especially helpful and they allow you to see the bumps and glitches throughout the process.

[(Elizabeth)]

Boo...you book...I want fiction!