Thomas R. Lindlof & Bryan C. Taylor 
Qualitative Communication Research Methods 

‘This is the best qualitative methods book I’ve seen, especially among books aimed at undergraduate audiences.’

—Michael Irvin Arrington,
Indiana State University




Qualitative Communication Research Methods, Fourth Edition introduces readers to qualitative research in speech and mass communication. Award-winning scholars and authors Thomas R. Lindlof and Bryan C. Taylor guide readers through every step of the qualitative process, from developing research topics and questions through writing a final report. Readers are given numerous examples of work in the field to illustrate how studies are designed, carried out, written, evaluated, and related to theory. In addition to covering the theories and methods currently used in qualitative communication research, the authors also discuss important trends influencing the future of that research, helping readers make informed judgments about the significance and consequences of recent trends.




New to the Fourth Edition:

• A new chapter titled ‘The Diversity of Qualitative Research in Communication Subfields’ provides readers with a complete guide to the field’s distinctive subfields and enables readers to identify the research agenda that best represents their own interests. Two rising subfields – Political Communication and Communication Activism – were added, resulting in thirteen subfields covered.  


• Two major phases of data analysis have been split into separate chapters, enabling readers to concentrate on the initial steps of analysis before moving on to the interpretation phase of analysis. 


• Discussions of important intellectual and institutional trends currently reshaping the landscape of qualitative research, including Materialist Theory, Big Data, and Open-Access publishing, provide readers with cutting-edge knowledge and skills that affect what they study and how they study it.


• An analysis of new developments in media and technology shows readers how social media networks and other digital platforms are not only topics of research, but also the means for collecting and analyzing data. 

 

Tabla de materias

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Chapter 1. Introduction to Qualitative Communication Research

Rounding the (Paradigm) Bases: A Brief History of Qualitative Communication Research

Covering New Material(ism), Going Big: Two Trends in Qualitative Communication Research

Conclusion

Exercises

Chapter 2. The Diversity of Qualitative Research in Communication Subfields

Baker’s Dozen: Thirteen Subfields, Thirteen Stories of Qualitative Communication Research

Conclusion

Exercises

Chapter 3. Theoretical Traditions and Qualitative Communication Research

Introduction: “What Would You Like on Your Sandwich?”

The Phenomenological Tradition

The Sociocultural Tradition

Critical Theories

Conclusion

Exercises

Chapter 4. Design I: Planning Research Projects

Introduction

“My City, My Society, and My Life”: Renee’s Story

Sources of Research Ideas

Evaluating the Scene

Conclusion

Exercises

Chapter 5. Design II: Implementing Research Projects

Introduction

Negotiating Access

Exploratory and Mixed Methods

Sampling

Human Subject Protections

The Research Proposal

Conclusion

Exercises

Chapter 6. Producing Data I: Participation, Observation, and Recording Communication

Introduction: Welcome to Fieldwork

Ethnography and Participant Observation

Successful Participant Observation

Adapting Roles

Tactical Observing

Writing Fieldnotes

Conclusion

Exercises

Chapter 7. Producing Data II: Qualitative Interviewing

Introduction

Purposes of the Qualitative Interview

Types of Interviews in Communication Research

Interviewing Practices

Question Design and Use

Transcribing Interviews

Conclusion

Exercises

Chapter 8. Producing Data III: Studying Materiality

Introduction

Material Culture

Documents

Conclusion

Exercises

Chapter 9. Sensemaking I: Analyzing, Coding, and Managing Data

Introduction

Qualitative Data Analysis: An Overview

In-Process Writing

Categories and Codes

Grounded Theory

Coding Examples

Leaving the Field

Tools for Analysis

Conclusion

Exercises

Chapter 10. Sensemaking II: Creating, Evaluating, and Enhancing Interpretations of Data

Introduction

Creating Interpretations

Evaluating Interpretations

Enhancing Interpretations

Conclusion

Exercises

Chapter 11. Writing, Authoring, and Publishing

Introduction: Going Public

The Crisis of Representation

After the Fall: Reading and Writing Qualitative Research

Institutional Contexts of Qualitative Writing

The Craft of Qualitative Writing: Three Types of Formats and Their Related Strategies

Some Final Thoughts on Writing

Exercises

Epilogue

References

Author Index

Subject Index

Sobre el autor

Bryan C. Taylor is a Professor of Communication, and the Director of the Peace, Conflict and Security Program at the University of Colorado-Boulder. His teaching and research interests include qualitative methods, security studies, organizational communication, and technology studies. He has published in the Annals of the International Communication Association, Communication Research, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Management Communication Quarterly, Quarterly Journal of Speech, Rhetoric and Public Affairs, Culture and Organization, and elsewhere. He is co-author with Thomas Lindlof of Qualitative Communication Research Methods (Sage) and co-editor of Nuclear Legacies: Communication, Controversy and the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Production Complex (Lexington Press), which received the 2008 Christine Oravec Research Award from the Environmental Communication Division of the National Communication Association.