Handling Qualitative Data: A Practical Guide

Starting with what's special about qualitative data, this book covers more than simply data collection. It guides you through skilfully, thoughtfully, and ethically designing a project, managing data, exploring records, creating and justifying sound theories, and reporting results in ways that will be heard. With a positive and jargon-free style, it discusses how setting up, working with, making sense of and presenting data can be a springboard into learning key research skills and reflecting on methodological issues.  With even more material to help researchers navigate the practicalities of working with qualitative data, this edition includes:

• 'To do' lists and annotated further reading suggestions to help establish ethical practice
• Guidance on tackling emerging challenges in handling qualitative data, such as uses of visualisation and online data
• Advice for communicating data to different audiences and writing a convincing research report
• Online resources that illustrate effective qualitative research in action and aid researchers in their own work, including first-hand researcher accounts, qualitative analysis software support, step-by-step guidance on software use and visualising data, and examples of communicating real-world research effectively