SARAH J. TRACY is Professor and School Director of The Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University. She developed the "Big Tent" model for high-quality qualitative research and has published more than 100 scholarly monographs, in publications such as Communication Monographs, Management Communication Quarterly, and Communication Theory.

Preface: Is this book for me? xvii

About the Companion Website xxv

1 The impact and power of qualitative methods 1

Overview and introduction 2

Three core qualitative concepts: self-reflexivity, context, and thick description 2

Self-reflexivity 2

Context 4

Thick description 4

The strengths and distinctions of qualitative research 4

How qualitative research is distinct from quantitative research 5

Strengths of qualitative research 6

Qualitative research is useful in a variety of jobs, settings, and disciplines 8

Qualitative research skills are instrumental at work 8

EXERCISE 1.1 Interviewing a friend, colleague, or classmate 10

How qualitative methods show up in a range of disciplines and settings 11

Transforming ideas to sites, settings, and participants 12

Sources of research ideas 12

EXERCISE 1.2 Field/site/participant brainstorm 13

CONSIDER THIS 1.1 Sources of research ideas 14

Ethical compatibility, yield, suitability, and feasibility 15

RESEARCHER'S NOTEPAD 1.1 Negotiating research with minoritized populations 18

TIPS AND TOOLS 1.1 Factoring the ease of fieldwork 19

Moving toward a research question 19

RESEARCHER'S NOTEPAD 1.2 Published examples of research questions 21

EXERCISE 1.3 Early research question brainstorm 22

Considering collaboration 23

FOLLOWING, FORGETTING, AND IMPROVISING 24

In summary 25

PROJECT BUILDING BLOCK 1 Three potential field sites and/or participant groups 25

2 Entering the conversation of qualitative research 27

Phronetic iterative qualitative data analysis (PIQDA) 28

Inductive/emic, deductive/etic, and abductive/iterative approaches 30

The funnel metaphor 31

EXERCISE 2.1 A quick dip into the field 32

Sensitizing concepts 32

A complex focus on the whole 33

Naturalistic inquiry 34

Thick description 34

Bricolage 34

A sampling of theoretical approaches that commonly use qualitative methods 36

Symbolic interactionism 36

CONSIDER THIS 2.1 How do I know myself? 38

Structuration theory 38

CONSIDER THIS 2.2 Why am I standing in line? 40

EXERCISE 2.2 Action versus structure 41

Sensemaking 41

Historical matters and current conversations in qualitative research 43

The early days 43

Ethically problematic research and the creation of the IRB 44

Recent history in academia and the professional sector 45

Current conversations: social justice, ethics, post-qualitative research, big data 46

CONSIDER THIS 2.3 Celebrating diverse bodyminds in qualitative research 48

In summary 50

PROJECT BUILDING BLOCK 2 Research problems and questions 51

3 Paradigmatic reflections and qualitative research genres 54

Paradigms: positivist, interpretive, critical, postmodern 55

Positivist and post-positivist paradigms 55

Interpretive paradigm 57

EXERCISE 3.1 A frog's eye view through verstehen/understanding 59

Critical paradigm 59

Postmodern and other "post" paradigms 62

Paradigmatic complexities and intersections 65

EXERCISE 3.2 Assumptions of paradigmatic approaches 66

Key genres of qualitative research 68

Case study 68

Grounded theory 69

Ethnography and ethnography of communication 70

Phenomenology 72

Participatory action research 74

Narrative inquiry and autoethnography 76

Creative, performative, and arts-based approaches 77

In summary 78

PROJECT BUILDING BLOCK 3 Paradigmatic lens and qualitative genre 79

4 Research design, sampling, research proposals, ethics, and IRB 83

Planning the data collection: fieldwork, interviews, texts, and visuals 84

The value of fieldwork and "participant witnessing" 84

The value of interviews 86

The value of textual analysis and cultural studies 87

The value of visual and arts-based materials 88

Developing a sampling plan: who, what, where, how, and when 90

Random samples and representative samples 90

Convenience/opportunistic samples 91

Maximum variation samples 91

Snowball samples 92

Theoretical-construct samples 92

Typical, extreme, deviant, and critical incident samples 92

TIPS AND TOOLS 4.1 Sampling plans 94

How and when to choose your sample 94

Ethics and institutional review boards (IRB) 95

CONSIDER THIS 4.1 Ethical considerations during the research design phase 96

Research instruments, informed consent, and confidentiality 96

Different levels of ethical risk and IRB review 98

The quirks of IRB 99

Creating a research proposal 101

TIPS AND TOOLS 4.2 Research proposal components 102

Title, abstract, and keywords 102

Introduction/rationale 103

EXERCISE 4.1 Conceptual cocktail party 104

Literature review and conceptual framework 106

EXERCISE 4.2 Annotated bibliography 107

Research questions/foci 107

Methodology and methods 107

TIPS AND TOOLS 4.3 What belongs in a qualitative methods section? 108

Budget/timeline 108

TIPS AND TOOLS 4.4 What to include in a qualitative project budget 109

Projected outcomes 109

In summary 110

PROJECT BUILDING BLOCK 4 Research proposal & institutional ethics review 110

5 Negotiating access and exploring the scene 114

Confessional tales that illustrate common challenges of access and consent 115

Riding my mentor's coattails: Citywest 911 emergency call-takers 115

Becoming a full participant: the Radiant Sun cruise ship 116

Entering a closed organization: Women's Minimum and Nouveau Jail 117

Accessing an elite interviewee population surrounding a delicate topic 118

Practical considerations of negotiating access 119

Do some homework before you begin 120

RESEARCHER'S NOTEPAD 5.1 Contact information log 121

Please don't reject me! Seeking research permission 121

RESEARCHER'S NOTEPAD 5.2 Sample access proposal: Emotion, culture, and organizational communication 124

An ethical posture of accessing virtual and digital texts 125

Negotiating access for interviews and avoiding imposter participants 127

Abandoning the ego, engaging embodiment, embracing liminality 128

EXERCISE 5.1 Self-identity audit 130

Navigating those first research interactions 131

RESEARCHER'S NOTEPAD 5.3 Initial reactions speak volumes 132

Relationship building with participants 133

Seeking informed consent in the scene 133

TIPS AND TOOLS 5.1 Navigating the beginning of the qualitative research project 134

Exploratory methods 134

Briefing interviews and participant information table 134

Member diaries 135

RESEARCHER'S NOTEPAD 5.4 Participant information table 135

Maps and narrative tours 136

In summary 138

PROJECT BUILDING BLOCK 5 Research design, map, and narrative tour 139

6 Field roles, fieldnotes, and field focus 141

Field roles and standpoints 142

Complete participant 143

Play participant 145

CONSIDER THIS 6.1 When playing is uncomfortable 146

Focused witness 146

Complete witness 147

TIPS AND TOOLS 6.1 Advantages and disadvantages of different field roles 149

Visual, virtual, and digital aspects of fieldwork 150

Writing fieldnotes: raw records, headnotes, and formal fieldnotes 151

Raw records and headnotes 151

EXERCISE 6.1 Taking raw records in the scene 153

Formal fieldnotes 154

RESEARCHER'S NOTEPAD 6.1 Fieldnote header 155

Qualities of good fieldnotes 156

Economy versus detail 156

Showing (and using dialogue) versus telling 156

Making the familiar strange and the strange familiar 157

Noticing the data as evidence 158

CONSIDER THIS 6.2 Noticing the data as evidence 159

Analytic reflections 159

Fieldnote wrap-up 160

TIPS AND TOOLS 6.2 Fieldnote writing tips 161

Focusing the data and using heuristic devices 161

FOLLOWING, FORGETTING, AND IMPROVISING 163

In summary 166

PROJECT BUILDING BLOCK 6 Fieldnotes 166

7 Interview planning and design: Structuring, wording, and questioning 169

Self-reflexivity in interviews 170

EXERCISE 7.1 Self-reflexive interviewing 171

Interview structure, type, and stance 171

Level of structure in interviews 171

Interview types: ethnographic, informant, respondent, narrative 173

Interview stances: deliberate naïveté, collaborative, pedagogical, responsive, confrontational 174

TIPS AND TOOLS 7.1 Interview structure, types, and stances 175

Interview guide and question wording 176

Wording good questions 176

EXERCISE 7.2 Strategizing interviews 176

RESEARCHER'S NOTEPAD 7.1 Research questions versus interview questions 177

Interview questions: types, purposes, examples, and sequencing 178

Opening the interview 178

TIPS AND TOOLS 7.2 Interview question types 179

Generative questions 180

Directive questions 182

Closing the interview 184

Visual, embodied, and experiential interview approaches 184

RESEARCHER'S NOTEPAD 7.2 Mobile peripatetic interviews 187

Interview question wrap-up 188

How many interviews are "enough"? 189

In summary 191

PROJECT BUILDING BLOCK 7 Annotated interview schedule/guide, sample rationale, and pilot 192

8 Interview practice: Embodied, mediated, and focus-group approaches 196

Conducting...