Becoming Qualitative Researchers: An Introduction

This is my second text, besides the Carol Grbich book on Qualittive Data Analysis: an Introduction, that explains each component of the Qualitative Research process. It's an easy read for understanding questions you might have, such as, "how should I act?" and "what is my role as an Interviewer?" Her use of headers and sub-headers breaks things down to prepare your frame of mind. Glesne's writing style helps the reader enter the mind of her examples and encounter unexpected situations that arise. She could only do that because Glesne demonstrates years of sophisticated and comprehensive experience in the field and captures the fine nuances of Interviewer behaviors and possible issues that arise with participants. Glesne actually prepares the reader for the unexpected so that when you run into it, you can pick up the book and say, "Now what did Glesne say to do about this problem and read it for problem-solution?" Glesne actually anticipates what I am thinking as a qualitative researcher-novice reader. So it reads like a manual on the challenges and highlights of becoming a qualitative researcher.

This text is an essential resource that should be on any qualitative researcher's bookshelf. As a dissertation advisor, I frequently refer students to Glesne for help in understanding not only the theory but also the practice of qualitative inquiry The writing is approachable and easy to read, and since students actually enjoy reading it, it succeeds in helping to prepare them to go out and "do" good qualitative research. I highly recommend this book.

As a teacher of qualitative research methods to doctoral students, I highly recommend this book. It is easy to read and gives students a broader understanding of qualitative approaches to research than books that focus specifically on one or more methods. I also appreciate the attention given to the impact of postmodernism in the field. I am an instructor who typically favors articles and chapters over textbooks, but I find this one to be a very solid foundation for the course.

I had to buy this book for a sociology class, and I'm glad I did. The book is easy to read and covers many topics related to research, focusing on qualitative but noting quantitative as well. This would be a great read to learn how to get started doing qualitative research.