Making Qualitative Research Happen
Getting the best out of your qualitative research project
Edited by J. T. Weisser, Cathy Gibbons, and Daniel Turner
Qualitative research is a great tool for understanding complex social issues, but it can be difficult to understand whether you are choosing the best qualitative methods for your research project. Our reference book will help you make key decisions throughout the course of your research project, providing a clear explanation of each stage in the qualitative research process.
Everything you need to get started with qualitative research
Who this book is for
Designed to support new qualitative researchers, this book is also a handy reference for experienced researchers or those teaching research, with the contents organised thoughtfully for this purpose.
Learn more about our process for creating this textbook in our blog posts:
About the editors and guest authors
J.T. Weisser, Cathy Gibbons, and Daniel Turner have helped countless researchers over the years with their online resources for qualitative research. They have now collected their best resources into this book, along with brand new materials and guest chapters, to create a simple reference guide for qualitative researchers everywhere.
The book's expert contributors include:
- Mónica Sánchez-Hernández: Decolonising approaches to qualitative research, and avoiding academic extractivism
- Helen Kara: Creative and collaborative qualitative research methods
- Christina Silver: Qualitative AI/machine learning tools, and shifting paradigms
- Kimberly Hirsh: A priori coding and framework analysis
- Anuja Cabraal: Using emojis to analyse qualitative data
Information and contents
Book information
| ISBN: | 9781914458705 |
|---|---|
| Date of publication: | 2026 |
| Publisher: | Quirkos Ltd. |
| Licencing: | Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International |
Table of contents
Part 1: Epistemology and meta issues
- Why do qualitative research?
- Positioning ourselves as researchers: ontology and epistemology
- Political paradigms of research
Part 2: Design and plan
- Developing your research question [Free download]
- Organisational and practical considerations for research planning
- Watch out! Researcher landing: Academic extractivism and the exploitation of 'the Other' in the pursuit of 'knowledge'
Part 3: Gather data
- Gathering qualitative data
- Core qualitative data gathering methods
- Other forms of data collection: secondary data and creative methods
Part 4: Manage and handle data
- Preparing data for analysis
- Software and tools
- What's occurring in the Qual-AI space and why it matters
- Managing and handling data in Quirkos
- Storing and collaborative qualitative analysis in Quirkos
Part 5: Analyse and transform data
- Starting out with your qualitative analysis
- Analytical approaches
- Coding, organising and collaborating on qualitative analysis
- Analysing and transforming data in Quirkos
Part 6: Write and report
- Writing up and sharing your qualitative research
- Writing up with Quirkos