Thinking Qualitatively: Methods of Mind - Softcover

Johnny Saldana

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1483349837 ISBN 13: 9781483349831

Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc, 2014

Synopsis

Written in Johnny Saldaña′s elegant and accessible style, Thinking Qualitatively: Methods of Mind boldly pursues the challenge of teaching students not just how to collect and analyze data, but how to actively think about them. Each chapter presents one "method of mind" (thinking analytically, realistically, symbolically, ethically, multidisciplinarily, artistically, summarily, interpretively, and narratively), together with applications, a vignette or story related to the thinking modality, points to remember, and exercises. Designed to help researchers "rise above the data," the book explores how qualitative research designs, data collection, data analyses, and write-ups can be enriched through over 60 different lenses, filters, and angles on social life. Venturing into more evocative and multidimensional ways to examine the complex patterns of daily living, the book reveals how the researcher′s mind thinks heuristically to transcend the descriptive and develop "highdeep" insights about the human condition.

 

"This is a book for all qualitative methodologists. Not just a ‘how-to’ manual but an epistemological exercise in understanding qualitative methods."  ―Cassie F. Quigley, Clemson University

 

"This book fills an important void in the field. The market is crowded with books on techniques and strategies for conducting qualitative research. Saldaña’s volume provides a vital complement by encouraging students to develop the core analytical skills and interpretive frames they need to be truly successful in their research endeavors. He helps students flex and hone the epistemological muscles that are at the center of capable qualitative research."  ―John P. Bartkowski, University of Texas at San Antonio

 

"The focus of the book is clear and consistent. The writing is superb. It deals with sophisticated ideas in a clear and highly communicative style. It weaves important and relevant scholarship in ways that help the reader grasp the key ideas. It’s one of the best books I have read."  ―Liora Bresler, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

 

"Thinking Qualitatively invites students to think before they act and offers a rich set of options for qualitative researchers to consider."  ―Michael Brown, University of Wyoming

 

"This book brings together key ways of thinking about our work as qualitative researchers. In many ways, it captures the breadth and depth of our work, while calling for us to be ever reflexive about our practices. I see this book as positively informing the work of novice and experienced researchers. It is a much needed addition to the qualitative research community."   ―Jessica Nina Lester, Indiana University

About this title

About the Author

Johnny Saldaña is Professor Emeritus of Theatre from the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts’ School of Film, Dance, and Theatre at Arizona State University. He has been involved in the field of theatre as a teacher educator, director, playwright, and qualitative researcher. Saldaña’s research methods have been used and cited internationally for studies in K-12 and higher education, the fine arts, business, technology, social sciences, government, social services, communication, human development, sport, health care, and medicine. He is the author of Longitudinal Qualitative Research: Analyzing Change Through Time (AltaMira Press, 2003), recipient of the 2004 Outstanding Book Award from the National Communication Association’s Ethnography Division; Ethnodrama: An Anthology of Reality Theatre (AltaMira Press, 2005), an edited collection of ethnographic-based plays; The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers (Sage Publications, 2009; second edition, 2013), a handbook on qualitative data analysis; Fundamentals of Qualitative Research (Oxford University Press, 2011), a commissioned introductory textbook and volume one of the Understanding Qualitative Research series; Ethnotheatre: Research from Page to Stage (Left Coast Press, 2011), a playwriting primer for performance ethnography and recipient of the American Educational Research Association’s Qualitative Research Special Interest Group’s 2012 Outstanding Book Award; and Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook, third edition (Sage Publications, 2014), a commissioned update and revision of the late Matthew B. Miles and A. Michael Huberman’s second edition (1994) book, Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook.

Review

"This is book for all qualitative methodologists.  Not just a "how-to" manual but an epistemological exercise in understanding qualitative methods."

-- Cassie F. Quigley, Clemson University

"This book fills an important void in the field. The market is crowded with books on techniques and strategies for conducting qualitative research. Saldaña’s volume provides a vital complement by encouraging students to develop the core analytical skills and interpretive frames they need to be truly successful in their research endeavors. He helps students flex and hone the epistemological muscles that are at the center of capable qualitative research."

-- John P. Bartkowski, University of Texas at San Antonio

"The focus of the book is clear and consistent. The writing is superb. It deals with sophisticated ideas in a clear and highly communicative style. It weaves important and relevant scholarship in ways that help the reader grasp the key ideas.  It’s one of the best books I have read (and I have read hundreds...). I will recommend it to all my doctoral advisees, as well as to the students in my classes."

-- Liora Bresler, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

"Thinking Qualitatively invites students to think before they act, and offers a rich set of options for qualitative researchers to consider."

-- Michael Brown, University of Wyoming

"This book  brings  together  key  ways  of  thinking  about  our  work  as  qualitative  researchers.  In  many  ways,  it  captures  the  breadth  and  depth  of  our  work,  while  calling  for  us  to  be  ever  reflexive  about  our  practices.  I  see  this  book  as  positively  informing  the  work  of  novice  and  experienced  researchers.  It  is  a  much  needed  addition  to  the  qualitative  research  community." -- Jessica Nina Lester, Indiana University

Thinking Qualitatively offers many notable strengths for readers looking to discover creative approaches to qualitative inquiry, both including and beyond thinking poetically. Throughout the book, Saldaña provides detailed examples of qualitative reflection on interpersonal communication, paying strong attention to the nuances of these interactions. The exercises he includes at the end of each chapter create space for inquirers’ emotions as well as our thoughts―a unique feature of the text that makes it not only exciting but also deeply affirming. -- Alexandra CH Nowakowski Published On: 2019-09-14

Edition details

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1483349837
• ISBN 13: 9781483349831
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240