Doing Qualitative Research

David Silverman trained as a sociologist at the London School of Economics and the University of California, Los Angeles. He taught for 32 years at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is interested in conversation and discourse analysis and he has researched medical consultations and HIV-test counselling.He is the author of Interpreting Qualitative Data (Seventh Edition, 2024) and A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Qualitative Research (Second Edition, 2013). He is also the editor of Qualitative Research (Sixth Edition, 2026) and the Sage series, Introducing Qualitative Methods. In recent years, he has offered short, hands-on workshops in qualitative research for research students and faculty at universities in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.Now retired from full-time work, David aims to watch one hundred days of cricket a year. He also enjoys voluntary work in an old people’s home where he sings with residents with dementia and strokes.

• PART 1: INTRODUCTIONChapter 1: How To Use This BookChapter 2: What You Can (and Can’t) Do with Qualitative ResearchChapter 3: Focusing a Research ProjectPART 2: STARTING OUT AND PROJECT FOUNDATIONSChapter 4: Formulating a Research QuestionChapter 5: Ethical ResearchChapter 6: Research DesignChapter 7: Using TheoriesChapter 8: Choosing a MethodologyChapter 9: Writing a Research ProposalPART 3: GETTING SUPPORTChapter 10: Making Good Use of Your SupervisorChapter 11: Getting FeedbackPART 4: COLLECTING AND ANALYSING DATAChapter 12: How much data do you need?Chapter 13: Collecting Your DataChapter 14: Developing Data AnalysisChapter 15: Using Qualitative Data Analysis Software: An IntroductionChapter 16: Quality in Qualitative ResearchChapter 17: Effective Qualitative ResearchPART 5: WRITING UP YOUR RESEARCHChapter 18: What Counts as ‘Originality’?: From Plagiarism to ChatGPTChapter 19: AudiencesChapter 20: The First Few PagesChapter 21: Your Literature Review ChapterChapter 22: The Methodology ChapterChapter 23: Writing Your Data ChaptersChapter 24: Your Concluding ChapterPART 6: THE AFTERMATHChapter 25: Managing an Oral ExaminationChapter 26: Getting Published