Review
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"An extraordinary achievement. This is the book I will recommend
to my quantitative colleagues when they ask, 'Just what is
qualitative research?' Unlike other books that give steps for
doing a qualitative study, Five Ways takes the reader into the
thoughts and feelings involved in conducting research. The
exciting, informative interactive discussions among the
researchers and the participant provide unique ins. I will
use Five Ways as the basic text in my qualitative
courses."--Donald E. Polkinghorne, PhD, Professor Emeritus,
Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Southern
California
"Not only do the authors look at a common data set in five
different ways, but they also reflect on how all five analyses
look to each of them, and these explorations are 'looked back at'
by the participant from whom the data set was derived. This book
provides an engaging and view of the many selves it
takes to bring qualitative analyses into being and the reflexive
practices that contribute to the scientific and ethical integrity
of research."--Margarete Sandelowski, PhD, RN, FAAN, School of
Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
"This unique work is a wholly absorbing adventure in comparative
methodology. For the student, it will serve as an effective and
informative introduction to a range of central qualitative
methodologies. For the seasoned scholar, it provides a
wonderfully nuanced view of the complex processes of decision
making in qualitative inquiry. The book challenges us to grapple
with major issues: the goals of our work, its functions in the
social world, and its ethical implications. This is a landmark
work in the development of qualitative inquiry."--Kenneth J.
Gergen, PhD, Department of Psychology, Swarthmore College
"The logic of the book is transparent: it presents a narrative,
multiple interpretations, and a comparison of the varied
interpretations. The experience of walking through the various
interpretations and then seeing how experts unpack the
differences and similarities among them is remarkable. Although
many books are written for introductory courses on qualitative
methods, very few authors attend to how the structure of a
text--not just its content--might be pedagogically significant. I
applaud Wertz et al. for thinking explicitly and intentionally
about how to conceptualize and organize their text in a way that
facilitates learning."--Suzanne M. Wilson, PhD, Department of
Teacher Education and Director, Center for the Scholarship of
Teaching, Michigan State University
"This text addresses one of the most frequently asked questions
in qualitative analysis: what is the difference between
phenomenology, grounded theory, discourse analysis, narrative
research, and intuitive inquiry? The authors explain the theory
that underlies each approach and illustrate its application and
the resultant findings, making the book a worthy text for a
qualitative methods course. As an added bonus, the authors
present the participant's reaction to the results of the five
different analyses and discuss the ethical implications in terms
of letting the participant speak for herself, issues of
confidentiality, and tensions around interpretation of data. I
would definitely use this book in my advanced qualitative
research course."--Donna M. Mertens, PhD, Department of
Educational Foundations and Research, Gallaudet University
"A powerful, richly nuanced, brilliantly innovative pedagogical
intervention into the field of qualitative inquiry. This book is
clearly written, grounded in case materials, and very accessible
to students. The narrative is driven by the voices and ins
of preeminent scholars, each an expert in one of five ways of
doing qualitative analysis. This book represents the most
innovative approach to date for teaching qualitative analysis. It
will provide a starting place for the next generation of students
who want to learn how to be well-grounded qualitative
inquirers."--Norman K. Denzin, PhD, College of Communications
Scholar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
"The authors strike a balance between providing a valuable
beginner's resource and staying true to the critical spirit of a
complex tradition....The opening history goes from strength to
strength, making a case for the legitimacy of and precedent for
qualitative methods. Continuing into a story of the development
of different threads of qualitative work, the authors do an
excellent job showing the emergence of different methodologies in
response to particular questions and circumstances....The authors
offer an abundance of resources in the forms of important
citations, centers for qualitative research, and online resource
banks....Provides good resources and concise examples of how
different theoretical perspectives would shape a project, as well
as showing in its structure and style the type of discourse that
makes qualitative inquiry unique....An exemplary introduction to
the field and should serve as a valued reference for years to
come." (PsycCRITIQUES 2011-04-01)
"What was most illuminating was how each researcher offers
reflective comments on one another's analysis of the data. These
collegial meta-commentaries are perhaps the most unique and
noteworthy feature of the entire project. These transparent
assessments of one another's analysis offer the reader not just a
comparison of five diverse modes of qualitative research but
penetrating ins into the essence of qualitative research and
the very meaning of qualitative psychology. There is no other
text like this....Throughout the text we see Wertz, like a good
committee chair, weaving between all five approaches, and sewing
together a consensus....For advanced graduate students or
seasoned professionals this material is an indispensable
resource, especially for those who are seeking a qualitative
method most appropriate to their research goals. There is no
better book for understanding and promoting qualitative research
as a general field of psychological inquiry....Serves as a
virtual Rosetta stone that can bring together an unwieldly field
perpetually under risk of fragmentation into a generative and
disciplined research community....The style of mutual respect and
careful engagement we witness in this collaborative project is
itself exemplary of the attitude of scientific openness and
collegiality that, more than anything will eventually transform
psychology into the liberatory science it was always meant to
be."
(Journal of Phenomenological Psychology 2013-01-16)
"Provides both novice and seasoned researchers with an engaging
and active approach to many dimensions of qualitative research.
Although one text cannot possibly be expected to address all of
the demands of qualitative research….The six authors have
achieved so much in this book that a thorough, but concise review
is challenging, given that there is so much to recommend….The
authors provide an excellent model for collaboration, one that is
extremely reflexive, and which should be of interest to all, but
may be of particular interest to graduate students and newer
scholars who may assume that the processes of researching and
writing are unproblematic and uneventful….The inclusion of The
Teresa Texts provides readers with the rtunity to fully
understand how researchers approach data, but would also provide
students with the rtunity to undertake their own analyses and
compare them to those shared by the first five authors….This is a
dynamic and comprehensive text. It is a ‘must read’ for anyone
who is at all interested in qualitative research and it promises
to foster much dialogue among both teachers and students of
qualitative methods." (British Journal of Psychology 2013-10-16)
"A range of traditional and creative methods are described and,
perhaps most significantly, the authors emphasize researcher
subjectivity. They offer compelling reflexive examinations of
their horizons and personal presences in the process of researcha
bold move in tune with the spirit of the qualitative
enterprise….The depth and breadth of the work of these
visionaries is astonishing. Qualitative research has surely come
of age….This is an extraordinary and challenging book. Its
accessible writing style and provision of practical examples will
appeal to those new to the field….The full data set and
step-by-step guidance offered makes this a valuable resource. For
experienced researchers, the book offers nuanced and penetrating
glimpses into other methodological worlds not normally visited
while its innovative comparative approach usefully challenges
taken-for-granted understandings. The book provides both novice
and expert privileged access to a series of inspirational,
mutually respectful masterclasses on how to conduct meticulous
in-depth analysis." (The Humanistic Psychologist 2013-10-16)
"This is a courageous book, and its success is due precisely to
the openness and audacity of its authors….This book is an
extraordinarily valuable contribution to qualitative research
pedagogy. The style of the book draws the reader into the
material and makes the reader want to do some analysis of it
oneself….The book could be used to provide master classes in
textual analysis for students who already have some acquaintance
with a few of the approaches dealt with in the book." (The
Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology 2013-10-16)
"A text that simultaneously provides depth and breadth. Beginning
with a discussion of how innovative and creative qualitative
approaches led to the five methodologies examined, the authors
provide valuable historical context….The first third of the book
could stand alone as an introduction to the evolving history of
qualitative research.…I can say without reservation that this is
a text that I’ll continue to recommend and revisit." (The
Qualitative Report 2013-10-16)
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About the Author
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Frederick J. Wertz is Professor of Psychology at Fordham
University, where he served as department chair, received the
Distinguished Teaching Award in the Sciences, and is a member of
the Institutional Review Board. His scholarship focuses on the
philosophy, methodology, theory, and cultural context of
psychology.
Kathy Charmaz is Professor of Sociology and Director of the
Faculty Writing Program at Sonoma State University. Much of her
scholarship has either used or developed grounded theory methods.
She has received mentoring and lifetime achievement awards from
the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.
Linda M. McMullen is Professor of Psychology at the University of
Saskatchewan, where she served as department head and elected
faculty member on the Board of Governors. Her research, which is
qualitative and discursive in form, focuses on how people use
language to do things and on how language shapes, and is shaped
by, social and cultural contexts. She has received the Jillings
Award from the Saskatchewan Psychological Association and the
University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association Academic Freedom
Award.
Ruthellen Josselson is Professor of Psychology at the Fielding
Graduate University. Her work uses narrative approaches to
investigate a variety of topics. She is a recipient of the
American Psychological Association’s Henry A. Murray Award and
Theodore R. Sarbin Award, and is a cofounder of the Society for
Qualitative Inquiry.
Rosemarie Anderson is Professor of Transpersonal Psychology at
the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and an Episcopal
priest. In addition to intuitive inquiry, Dr. Anderson has
developed the Body Intelligence Scale, which measures three types
of body awareness; embodied writing; and a model of human
development that describes development from the perspective of
the body. Her website is www.rosemarieanderson.com.
Emalinda McSpadden is a PhD candidate in the Applied
Developmental Psychology program at Fordham University. She is a
psychology instructor at Hunter College and Bronx Community
College, and works as a group therapy moderator for cancer
patients. Her current academic work focuses on employing mixed
methodologies in developmental and lifespan research.
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