Ashley T. Rubin

Rocking Qualitative Social Science

An Irreverent Guide to Rigorous Research

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The inclusive, flexible alternative to rigid traditional advice.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Stanford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 304
• Erscheinungstermin: 3. August 2021
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 225mm x 150mm x 19mm
• Gewicht: 478g
• ISBN-13: 9781503628236
• ISBN-10: 150362823X
• Artikelnr.: 59912470

Autorenporträt

Ashley T. Rubin is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Hawai'i at M¿noa.

Inhaltsangabe

Contents and Abstracts
1Introduction to Dirtbagging
chapter abstract
This chapter introduces the Dirtbagging approach to qualitative social
science research. The chapter lays out the main themes and arguments of the
book, contrasting the Dirtbagging approach to the traditional approaches,
and argues that there is no One Right Way of doing research. It also
introduces rock climbing as the major motif for the book and what we can
learn from rock climbers.
2Topo: What Exactly Are Qualitative Methods?
chapter abstract
This chapter tries to define qualitative methods, while discussing some of
the difficulties with the most common ways to define them. We begin with a
rundown of the typical methods of qualitative data collection but note that
qualitative data can also be quantitatively analyzed. We then review a lot
of the traditional ideas or even stereotypes about qualitative methods,
pointing out that they have been repeatedly challenged lately.
Consequently, the easy markers of qualitative methods recited in various
texts no longer hold up very well. Finally, we discuss when qualitative
methods are appropriate and what type of research they let you do.
3Picking Your Proj: Identifying Your Research Question
chapter abstract
This chapter seeks to do four things. First, it describes the role of
research questions in the larger research process. Second, and building on
that first discussion, this chapter dispels some misconceptions about
research questions, especially what counts as a research question and why
people disagree about this. Third, the chapter discusses strategies for
coming up with a research question. Finally, it identifies some of the
secrets about research questions relating to challenges and opportunities
that can arise, particularly when you are Dirtbagging about in the field.
4On Belay: Connecting Your Work to an Anchor
chapter abstract
This chapter discusses how to anchor your work to the academic literature.
Importantly, even though there is a lot of advice out there on how to do
this, much of it is unhelpful. So this chapter discusses some of the key
ways in which people tend to evaluate research-not so much in its nitty
gritty details of research design and analysis, but in terms of whether
your entire project is worthwhile. I maintain that you can pretty much make
any project valuable, but you have to be able to do certain things to
convince people of your project's worth. If you can't do those things, then
maybe it's not actually a good project.
5Mapping out the Route: How and When Research Design Matters
chapter abstract
This chapter is the first of three chapters on research design. Research
design is how you explain or justify your decisions about how to collect
and analyze your data. Your explanation may not actually be what guided
your decisions (the conventional idea of research design is that it takes
place before you collect and analyze your data). But your ability to defend
your choices is key to how we evaluate research. This chapter addresses
general things about planning and executing your research, such as whether
you want to map everything out carefully ahead of time or play it by ear.
Keeping these things in mind-not necessarily acting on them immediately but
letting them inform your decisions-will lead to a better project.
6Starting on the Right Foot: Making and Justifying Your Case Selection
chapter abstract
This chapter reviews the various considerations that go into case
selection, which everyone has to do (whether you think you do or not). We
start with some strategies for figuring out how to select a case if you are
in the design phase and don't know which case(s) to choose. Then we turn
the various types of cases we use in social science; each type of case
comes with its own justifications for why you might choose this case and
not that case. Thinking about these justifications can also remind you
about the limits of the type of case you have selected and thus what you
can (and can't) claim with your study. The type of case you choose will
substantially impact what you can do with your project and what type of
relationship your study will have with existing theories.
7Flaking out the Rope: How to Check Your Sample
chapter abstract
This chapter examines the issues you need to think about carefully when it
comes to your data collection. For starters, we discuss how you decide what
data to actually collect. Next, we return to one of the banes of a
qualitative scholar's existence: the question of how much data are enough;
but rather than worrying about what other people think is the answer to
this question, we will answer it on our own terms. Finally, we talk about
what you can do to really think through the limitations of your data and
how to make your project stronger. Skipping these steps can (justifiably)
open you up to criticism. Doing them carefully will protect you against
some bad falls.
8Bivvy Time: The Fieldwork Model of Data Collection
chapter abstract
This chapter discusses the process of collecting data in "the field," which
I define broadly to include any place you collect your data. I have adopted
this ethnographic language because it provides a broadly useful model, even
for those of us doing online or archival research. In this chapter, I
review the specific strategies fieldworkers use that I have found useful in
my work. Some readers, who have never conducted ethnographies, will
recognize these strategies, because the strategies are not unique to
ethnographers. Most of the non-ethnographic methods texts I have come
across have not said much about the mundane realities of data collection,
while this is something at which ethnographers excel.
9The Crux: Content Analysis, Analytic Memos, and Other Tricks
chapter abstract
This chapter discusses the central tools you will need as a qualitative
social scientist to analyze your data. While there are certainly more
advanced analysis tools, content analysis (open and focused coding) and
analytic memos (notes to yourself with varying degrees of analysis) will
get you through most projects. Designed and perfected by ethnographers,
these tools are once again broadly applicable, whether you are conducting
formal interviews, using archival data, or reviewing websites and online
documents. They allow you to systematically review your data and keep track
of the many insights your mind will be swimming with as you do so.
10Placing Pro: Making Causal Claims with Qualitative Data
chapter abstract
This chapter discusses the tricks and tools you can use to establish causal
claims and, ultimately, to give yourself-and your audience-confidence that
you aren't just making shit up. The more of these tricks you use, the more
confidence you will have. I think of it like climbers laying down pro-the
more nuts and cams you embed on the wall, the less likely it is that you
will plummet to the ground if you miss a handhold and fall. One piece of
pro might pop out if it's poorly placed or there's some loose rock, but if
you have several pieces placed, you're still safe. Likewise, the more of
these extra steps you take, the more confidence you can have-and if you are
wrong, the more you can be forgiven for believing you had it right.
11Living on the Sharp End: Dealing with Skeptics of Qualitative Research
chapter abstract
Qualitative scholars frequently face skepticism about their ability to
produce high-quality research-and in sufficient amounts. There are many
implicit critiques of qualitative methods vis-á-vis quantitative methods
when it comes to things like defining qualitative methods (Chapter 2) or
making causal inference (Chapter 10). Underlying these critiques are basic
misconceptions-on the part of not only critics but also over-eager
qualitative researchers-about qualitative methods' inherent limitations.
(Bad qualitative research is, sadly, one contributor to these
misconceptions.) So part of learning about qualitative methods requires
understanding common critiques of qualitative methods, both so you can be
prepared to defend your choice of methods and so you can defend against
rote critiques.
12The Sweeper
chapter abstract
This chapter summarizes the Dirtbagging approach to qualitative social
science and revisits why having a flexible, inclusive approach to
qualitative research is beneficial for everyone.