Varieties of Qualitative Research Methods

This book is a compilation of more than 70 qualitative research concepts that are used by researchers and practitioners in the social sciences and humanities. The concepts include methods and methodologies applied in qualitative research in various contexts. Each concept is a standalone chapter that is authored by a researcher or practitioner who has had some scholarly experience with it. The chapters are alphabetized using the titles of the concepts to provide easy access for readers. They follow a prescribed outline which ensures homogeneity in the layout of the book. Each chapter starts with a brief historical background of the concept, followed by a concise description of the concept, and the process used in its application. Readers are then provided with the possible ways in which the concept can be used, and its benefits. Each chapter concludes by providing readers with some strengths and limitations of the concept and a list of references that authors have used inthe chapter. 

Janet  Okoko is an Associate Professor in the department of Educational Administration, College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. Her research focuses on school leadership preparation and development. She has used qualitative research approaches such as case studies and phenomenology, with contextualized methods that incorporate  interviews, focus group, mind mapping, transect walk, and photo elicitation, to study school leadership problems in various African countries and in Canada. She is currently studying teacher leadership, as well as school and system leaders’ preparation for work with culturally and linguistically diverse Newcomer/ Migrants. She has published work on school leadership preparation and development in Kenya, and on the experiences of Canadian school leaders with newcomers. In addition, she has co-authored a cross-cultural analysis of school principals’ preparation in Kenya, South Africa, and development for  Canada.Her recent publication reports on the  framing of  school leadership preparation and development  for Kenya and the essence of  school leaders’ work  with newcomer families in Saskatchewan, Canada. Scott Tunison

is an Assistant Professor in the department of Educational Administration, College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. His research focuses on evidence-informed leadership practice, strategic planning, and Indigenous education. He uses a broad range of qualitative research methods on their own and as part of mixed-methods investigations. He is currently studying district- and school-wide uptake of citizenship education instructional materials, models of district assessments of the efficacy of their support of Indigenous students and families, and school teams’ use of data as evidence of progress. He has published an authored book on processes to enhance K-12 leaders’ use of academic research to inform their practice. His other publications focus on reframing research ethics frameworks as guides for education systems’ use of data, K-12 leaders’ perspectives on honouring the best interests of children, educational administrators’ views of the value of academic research to guide their practice, developing community in online learning contexts, and processes for fostering and inspiring change and improvement in educational systems. 

Keith Walker is a Professor in the Department of Educational Administration at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, where he has served for about 30 years. His academic interests, expertise, and activity revolve around positive leadership and organizational development, follower and community well-being, research methodologies, governance and decision making together with applied ethics in education, public administration and not-for-profit sectors. He most identifies with his roles as husband, father, grand-father, teacher-scholar, apprentice, colleague,mentor and friend. His formal education has been in several disciplines and fields of study, including physical education, theology, philosophy, education and educational administration. He has supervised over 100 graduate students to completion and has authored and co-authored over 150 chapters, books, and refereed articles