Collecting Qualitative Data: A Field Manual for Applied Research

Greg Guest · Emily E. Namey · Marilyn L. Mitchell

Jun 2012 · SAGE Publications

About this ebook

Collecting Qualitative Data: A Field Manual for Applied Research provides a very practical, step-by-step guide to collecting and managing qualitative data. The data collection chapters focus on the three most often used forms of qualitative data collection: Participant observation, in-depth interviews, and focus groups. The book also contains chapters on other practical aspects of qualitative field research often neglected in textbooks, including sampling, data management, research ethics, and supplementary data collection activities. Designed as an instructional field manual, this textbook incorporates many checklists and tips for how to use each technique while doing research. The book also includes numerous real-life examples and cases, making it easy for readers to see the broader picture.

About the author

Greg Guest received his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Georgia. Over the past 15 years, he has designed and managed public health research studies in more than 15 countries. Greg is currently the Director of Research and Evaluation in the Economic Development and Livelihoods department at FHI 360. In this capacity he oversees multisite, mixed methods, research and evaluation activities across multiple fields of public health. Guest′s other books include two edited volumes—Globalization, Health and the Environment: An Integrated Perspective (AltaMira, 2005) and Handbook for Team- Based Qualitative Research (AltaMira 2008)—and two co-authored monographs Applied Thematic Analysis (Sage 2012) and Collecting Qualitative Data: A Field Manual for Applied Research (Sage 2013). He′s published articles in journals such as Field Methods, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, American Journal of Public Health, JAIDS, AIDS Care, AIDS Education and Prevention, African Journal of AIDS Research, AIDS and Behavior, Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care and Journal of Health Communication. Guest is also owner of the research consulting firm Social Research Solutions, which specializes in methodological training and consultation (www.socialresearchsolutions.com).

Emily E. Namey, MA, has over 10 years’ experience applying her skills in project management and knowledge of research methods to the design, implementation, conduct, monitoring, and dissemination of public health research. Emily recently rejoined FHI 360, where she manages domestic and international qualitative and mixed methods projects related to health disparities and HIV prevention. Prior to her work at FHI 360, she spent over 5 years at Duke University, splitting time among the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the Trent Center for Bioethics. At Duke, Emily implemented qualitative research on subjects ranging from maternity care to vaccine trial participation to ethical approaches to genomic research recruitment to the use and understanding of Certificates of Confidentiality. She has experience in the private sector as well, having completed projects at Intel Corporation and Nike, Inc. Emily has designed and led qualitative research training courses in more than a dozen countries and has co-authored several methodological publications, including Collecting Qualitative Data (Sage 2012), Applied Thematic Analysis (Sage 2012), Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector’s Field Guide (Family Health International, 2005) and “Data reduction techniques for large qualitative datasets” in Handbook for Team-based Qualitative Research (AltaMira 2008). Her publications also include articles in Social Science & Medicine, Fertility and Sterility, AIDS Care, IRB, and the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics. Emily received her MA in applied anthropology from Northern Arizona University.

Marilyn L. Mitchell is a cultural anthropologist with extensive experience in quantitative and qualitative research design, interviewing techniques, cultural analysis, survey development, sampling, and forecasting. She works as an independent researcher and as an associate of Gray Insight, for clients that have included dozens of Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations in the United States and nearly 100 other countries. She has lectured on social science research and related topics at University of California, Los Angeles, University of Southern California, San Francisco State University, the Nissan Summer Institute for Instructors at Historically Black Colleges, Chapman University, the U.S. Army’s Human Terrain Systems, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Marilyn earned her BA, MA, and PhD in cultural anthropology and BS in biology from the University of California at Irvine and conducted her dissertation research at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan. She is also the author of Employing Qualitative Methods in the Private Sector (Sage, 1998).