Qualitative Psychology

“An introduction to the varieties of qualitative research in psychology is long overdue, and Parker’s book should with its broad scope, accessible style, and controversial viewpoints on trends of the current qualitative wave, have a wide audience.”

Steinar Kvale, Aarhus University, Denmark“This is a wonderful, insightful and necessary book…It takes students through this complex terrain in a clear, readable and yet challenging way.”

Bronwyn Davies, University of Western Sydney, Australia

“This book makes important contributions to theoretical, political and methodological debates on qualitative and action oriented research.”

Bernardo Jiménez-Domínguez, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico

"For me personally, the book worked very well, I very much appreciated the fact that the book went beyond a presentation of 'the state of the art', and that it offered new ideas and suggestions about how to take qualitative research further."

Qualitative Research in Psychology

This book is designed as a practical guide for students that is also grounded in the latest developments in theory in psychology. Readers are introduced to theoretical approaches to ethnography, interviewing, narrative, discourse and psychoanalysis, with each chapter on these approaches including worked examples clearly structured around methodological stages. A case is made for new practical procedures that encourage students to question the limits of mainstream psychological research methods. Resource links guide students to theoretical debates and to ways of making these debates relevant to a psychology genuinely concerned with critical reflection and social change.

The book includes numerous boxes that clearly outline:

Key issues in the development, application and assessment of qualitative research methodsCurrent debates and problems with particular qualitative methods taught in psychology Summaries of methodological stages and points to be aware of in the marking of practical reports in relation to specific methodsCoverage of ethical issues, reflexivity and good report writingQualitative Psychology is essential reading for students of psychology and other related social sciences who want a polemical account that will also serve as a well-balanced and rigorous introduction to current debates in qualitative psychology.