Negotiating the Complexities of Qualitative Research in Higher Education : Fundamental Elements and Issues

Negotiating the Complexities of Qualitative Research in Higher Education illuminates the complex nature of qualitative research, while attending to issues of application. This text addresses the fundamentals of research through discussion of strategies, ethical issues, and challenges in higher education. In addition to walking through the methodological steps, this text considers the conceptual reasons behind qualitative research and explores how to conduct qualitative research that is rigorous, thoughtful, and theoretically coherent. Seasoned researchers Jones, Torres, and Arminio combine high-level theory with practical applications and examples, showing how research in higher education can produce improved learning outcomes for students, especially those who have been historically marginalized. This book will help students in higher education and Student Affairs graduate programs to cultivate an appreciation for the complexity and ambiguity of the research and the ways to think thorough questions and tensions that emerge in the process.

New in This Edition:

• Updated citations and content throughout to reflect the newest thinking and scholarship
• Expansion of current exemplars of qualitative research
• New exercises, activities, and examples throughout to bolster accessibility of theory
• A new chapter on Theoretical Perspectives with attention to new perspectives increasingly used in higher education and Student Affairs
• A new chapter on Challenges in Data Collection

Susan R. Jones is Professor and Section Head of the Higher Education and Student Affairs program at The Ohio State University, USA.

Vasti Torres is Dean of the College of Education at the University of South Florida, USA.

Jan Arminio is Professor and Director of the Higher Education Program at George Mason University, USA.