Strategies for Interpreting Qualitative Data (Qualitative Research Methods)

"Presented in a clear, understandable format, this book provides a broad . . . comparative starting point for researchers considering various techniques for interpreting data."

--Choice

Analyzing and interpreting the mounds of notes you have accumulated from the field can be daunting tasks. Sometimes it′s unclear which analytic strategy will best answer the questions that first drew you into the field in the first place. This brief volume outlines four key interpreting strategies for dealing with qualitative data: ethnomethodology, semiotics, dramaturgical analysis, and deconstruction. The author examines the strengths and weaknesses of each strategy and shows you when to use them. In addition, each technique is applied to a single data set to illustrate potential differences in results. Strategies for Interpreting Qualitative Data is an ideal tool for teaching students to analyze and interpret qualitative data. Professionals involved in qualitative methods, sociology, anthropology, and nursing will find assistance in this volume.

Martha S. Feldman (Stanford University PhD, 1983) is the Johnson Chair for Civic Governance and Public Management at the University of California, Irvine.  Her current research on organizational routines explores the role of performance and agency in creating, maintaining, and altering these fundamental organizational phenomena.  Her research on public management examines how we can use our understandings of organizational process to create inclusive management practices.  Her research in qualitative and interpretive methods develops ways of gathering and analyzing data that help researchers open the black boxes they confront in theory and in informants’ descriptions.  She is a Senior Editor for Organization Science (as of June 2006), the Book Review Editor for International Public Management Journal, and serves on the editorial boards of Advances in Organizational Studies, Journal of Management Studies, and Organization Studies.  She has written 4 books and dozens of articles on the topics of organization theory, public management and qualitative research methods. She received the Administrative Science Quarterly′s 2009 award for Scholarly Contribution for her work on organization routines.