Approaches to qualitative research: Theory and its practical application (A guide for dissertation students)

Qualitative Research is a multifaceted approach that investigates culture, society and behaviour through an analysis and synthesis of people’s words and actions. Qualitative methods produce compelling knowledge of how and why people behave as they do, whether in organisational, family, personal, or other social roles. The primary objective of this book is to introduce students to the concepts underlying qualitative research and how this kind of research can be conducted in a practical manner. To this end, it discusses various approaches to qualitative research and provides examples of these approaches being carried out in practice. In doing so, the book shows how various disciplines all use qualitative research in order to discover answers to their own particular research questions. The book is primarily designed to be a qualitative research guidebook for undergraduate and postgraduate students undertaking dissertations as part of their course of study. Each of the chapters has been structured like a mini dissertation with introductions, brief literature reviews, methodology sections, and finally analysis. As qualitative methodologies can be applied across a broad spectrum of disciplines, the book can be used by students working in any area of research from business studies to the social sciences.