Synopsis
"A long-overdue book and one that is a most-welcome addition to the literature. . . . Now students of cultural studies have a way of empirically informing and connecting their work to the many traditions, perspectives, methods, and strategies that constitute qualitative research, which is a field in its own right. Pertti Alasuutari′s work is clearly written, concrete in terms of examples and details, and thoroughly conversant with the most recent controversies that define these two fields of inquiry."
--Norman K. Denzin,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
In this comprehensive volume, Pertti Alasuutari introduces approaches and methodological tools available for undertaking critical and rigorous research. Three main methods are considered: the qualitative traditions of sociological and anthropological research, including ethnography and symbolic interactionism; methods for studying images and language, including semiotics, narrative analysis, conversation analysis, and discourse analysis; and the relevance of quantitative analysis to the kind of data produced by research on culture.
This fascinating volume will appeal to researchers, scholars, and students in cultural studies, language and discourse analysis, and qualitative methods.
About the Author
Pertti Alasuutari is a sociologist, cultural studies scholar, paterfamilias and a highly significant figure in the development of both Finnish and international qualitative research. His career has gone from strength to strength as regards advancement in Finnish academia, as witnessed by some twenty books, and numerous articles in both Finnish and foreign journals.
Yet Professor Alasuutari insists that he did not consciously choose the career of a sociologist.
Professor Alasuutari completed his school education in Rovaniemi, Lapland in 1975 and went to study technology at the University of Oulu. But not for long. In 1977 he dropped out and began to dream of becoming a journalist, in the meantime doing supply teaching.
"In summer I studied journalism at summer university in Lapland and began my military service"
His days in the army driving a desk led him to another state agency. In autumn 1978 the train from the north arrived in Tampere with the 22-year-old on board. He had gained admission to study sociology.
"For the first year I only studied journalism, and didn′t even set foot in the Department of Sociology," grins Professor Alasuutari.
Career development
In 1983 the Westermarck Society awarded a prize for a master′s thesis to the youthful Alasuutari. The thesis was entitled "The Realm of Male Freedom". The ethnographic approach was to describe the alcohol culture of a group of men patronizing a suburban pub.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
