Qualitative

Feasible

The research project should be practical, given the time and resources available

Field

All the types of spaces where one could observe a phenomenon of interest; it consists of many potential sites, settings, and participants

Intersectionality

A lens developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw for understanding the cumulative ways in which different aspects of a person's identity (e.g. race, gender, sexuality) intersect and overlap to create a specific experience of discrimination or privilege in the world

Iterative approach

The researcher alternates between considering existing theories and paying heed to emergent qualitative data

Participants

The focal people of the study

The individuals whom qualitative researchers study are not known as "subjects," but as participants, because they create, and participate in, the research process together with researchers

Phenomenon

The locus or topic of study

Qualitative methods

An umbrella phrase that refers to the collection, analysis, and interpretation of interview,participant observation, and textual data in order to understand and describe meanings, relationships, and patterns

Quantitative methods

Research methods that use measurement and statistics to transform empirical data into numbers and to develop mathematical models that quantify behavior

ROC test

A heuristic for designing good research, asking if the topic is Researchable, Original, and Contributory (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2019)

Satisfice

The common practice of coming up with a decision that is merely adequate rather than optimal (Simon, 1997)

Scene

A catch‐all term that refers to the field, sites, settings, and groups of participants

Second‐order interpretations

Researchers' interpretations or explanations of participants' interpretations or explanations

Self‐reflexivity

Refers to people's careful consideration of the ways in which their past experiences, points of view, and roles impact their interactions with, and interpretations of, any particular interaction or context

A primary means to achieve sincerity, this practice asks researchers to demonstrate awareness, self‐critique, and vulnerability in their research, to their audiences, and with themselves

Setting

The specific parameters of the space of study within a field and a site (e.g. the basement)

Site

A geographical or architectural area within a field (e.g. a fraternity house)

Suitable

The research project should encompass most, if not all of the theoretical issues and characteristics that are of interest in terms of the research topic or problem

Thick description

A concept coined by Clifford Geertz (1973), which captures the fact that researchers immerse themselves in, and report on, particulars before moving toward grander statements and theories

The practice of going beyond surface understandings, to explore the contextual meanings of behaviors (coined by Clifford Geertz)

In‐depth, contextual, and rich accounts of what researchers see (and find missing) in their fieldwork; it enables readers to experience the scene, as it were, with their own senses

Yield

The specific desired research project outcomes (e.g. a class paper, a dissertation project, a publication)

Abduction

The back‐and‐forth process of reflecting on a set of observations or facts, constructing a hypothesis, carrying that hypothesis into the field of investigation, and revising it when or if the hypothesis is negated by new discoveries

Action

Contextual talk, texts, and interactions (e.g. documents, emails, verbal routines, text messages, and comments)

Big data

Extremely large and/or complex data sets generated through increased technology use (e.g. computers, internet, smartphones, and social media), which are curated and used to reveal patterns, predict trends, and influence viewpoints or behaviors

Bricolage

The practice of making creative and resourceful use of a variety of materials and tools available to get the job done

Colonialism

A system of control and exploitation of a weaker or racially different culture by a stronger (usually Western European) culture

Cripistemology

(crip+epistemology) is a specialized way of knowing and navigating the world as a disabled person. Rather than focusing on the limitations of a disability and aspirations toward an idealized recovery, cripistemology celebrates the strengths and opportunities of knowing through a diverse bodymind

Deductive reasoning

A "top‐down" type of reasoning that begins with broad generalizations and theories and then moves to the observation of particular circumstances in order to confirm or falsify the theory

Duality of structure

A key part of structuration theory; this concept refers to the idea that structure is created from the top down and from the bottom up; structures are only made "valid" when individuals follow them and make decisions that are based upon them

Emic

A perspective in which behavior is contextually described from the ground up and from the actor's point of view

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own racial and ethnic values and way of being are more important than, or superior to, those of other groups

The tendency to consider one's own culture as normal, natural, and right and therefore interprets, judges, and measures data emanating from dissimilar groups as odd, problematic, or lesser than

Etic

A perspective in which behavior is described according to externally derived, nonculture‐specific criteria

Gestalt

A German word meaning literally "form" or "shape" and used in many European languages to refer to an integrated system or culture where the whole is more than a sum of its parts

Grand narratives

Powerful systems of stories suggesting that people or processes unfold in a particular way (e.g. the notion that aging equates with decline)

Human subject protections

Codes developed in the United States to protect people ("human subjects") from unethical research

Codes developed to protect people ("human subjects") from unethical research

Inductive reasoning

A "bottom‐up" type of reasoning that begins with observing specific interactions and conceptualizing general patterns and then moves to making tentative claims and then crafting theory

Looking‐glass self

A concept borrowed from symbolic interactionism, which suggests that identity is largely created through the reactions of others (i.e. we see in ourselves what others tell us they see)

Naturalistic inquiry

The analysis of social action in uncontrived field settings

New materialism/post‐humanism

Philosophical movements that criticize human‐centeredness and instead elevate interest in the power of material objects, technologies, environments, plants, water, land, and nonhuman entities (e.g. ghosts)

Nuremberg Code

A research ethics code that arose in response to the Nazis' inhumane experimentation; the code includes clauses on voluntary and informed consent, freedom from coercion, participant comprehension of the potential risks and benefits of the research, and a scientifically valid research design

Phronetic research

Research that is concerned with practical contextual knowledge and is carried out with an aim toward social commentary, action, wisdom, and transformation

Post‐qualitative methodologies

Methodologies that are always becoming and do not have a fixed nature with strict boundaries; see also new materialism/post‐humanism

Quantified self

The practice of people wearing self‐monitoring sensors that measure, track, and log aspects of their daily life

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

A hypothesis connected to symbolic interactionism; it suggests that we do not see or understand issues or concepts for which we do not have words

Self‐fulfilling prophecy

The idea that people tend to shape themselves according to the expectations of others

Sensemaking

A theory developed by Karl Weick and typified by the three‐part process of enactment, selection, and retention; it emphasizes meaning making, ambiguity, and identity

Sensitizing concepts

Interpretive devices that serve as jumping‐off points or lenses for qualitative study

Signs

Natural symptoms or indicators of an immediate (here and now) stimulus in the environment (e.g. thunder is a sign of a storm)

Structuration theory

A theory developed by Anthony Giddens which directs the researcher's attention to the relationship between individuals and institutions; it focuses on the ways cultures, organizations, and social systems are constituted or created through the micro‐practices of individual people

Structure

Enduring schools of knowledge, societal norms, and myths that shape and delimit action

Symbol

A word or gesture that arbitrarily stands for an abstract concept; the linear sequence of letters S‐T‐O‐R‐M serves as an English‐language symbol for a storm, with which it has no inherent connection

Symbolic interactionism

Researchers using this theoretical approach (which was developed by Herbert Blumer) investigate how meaning and identity are co‐created through interaction

Theory

A bundled system of principles that serve to explain certain phenomena

User‐experience (UX)

Research is focused on understanding the experience of users (customers) of certain experiences, products, or technologies

Arts‐based research (ABR)

Incorporates aspects of the creative arts into the research study, emphasizing artistic practice as a way of exploring, knowing, and representing

Autoethnography

The systematic study, analysis, and narrative description of one's own experiences, interactions, culture, and identity

Axiology

A discipline dealing with the values associated with an area of research and theorizing (e.g. the values of social justice are emphasized by the critical paradigm)

Case study

An in‐depth contextual analysis of one or a few instances of a naturalistic phenomenon that may draw from qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze data at the micro (interactional), meso (organizational), and macro (societal/cultural) levels

Community‐based participatory research (CBPR)

A method that rigorously incorporates the input from subaltern and minoritized communities and sensitively creates results that directly help the community in need

Crisis of representation

A common postmodern notion, according to which all representations of meaning depend on their relationships with other signs, and therefore, it is impossible to identify one single true representation of reality

Movement originating among postmodernist scholars questioning traditional representational practices and urging formats that highlight the partiality and constructed nature of knowledge

Critical paradigm

A way of viewing the world that is based on the idea that thought is fundamentally mediated by power relations and that data cannot be separated from ideology (see ideology)

Deconstructionism

A postmodern method of analysis introduced by Derrida in which researchers dismantle a text, accentuate foundational word opposition, and show the complexity and instability of the text

Différance

A primary theoretical basis of deconstructionism, this is a method in which researchers point out the non‐presence of certain words or meanings in a text

Epistemology

A traditional branch of philosophy that is concerned with the nature of knowledge

Ethnography

Research marked by long‐term immersion into a culture and by the thick description of a variety of cultural aspects, including language use, rituals, ceremonies, relationships, and artifacts

Ethnography of communication (EOC)

A theoretical framework developed by Dell Hymes, which is concerned with linguistic rules and how communication reveals norms of identity, relationships, or culture

Feminism

A theoretical approach related to the critical paradigm that seeks to transform patriarchy, often marked by research on topics related to women, an ethical method of care, self‐reflexivity, and attention to multiple voices in the field

Grounded theory

A systematic analysis from the "ground up" or "bottom up" with the goal of theorizing or explaining a certain phenomenon

Hegemony

Occurs when people see hierarchical relationships as normal, natural, and unchangeable and therefore accept, consent, internalize, and are complicit in reproducing norms that are not in their own best interests

Hermeneutic circle

Describes how the interpretation of texts is always in revision by empathically imagining the experience, motivations, and context of the speaker/author and then by engaging in a circular analysis that alternates between the data text and the larger scene

Hyperreality

The postmodern idea that many representations or signifiers are constructed and consumed, but lack a specific or materially authentic referent

Ideology

A set of doctrines, myths, or beliefs, which guide or have power over individuals, groups, or societies

Incommensurability

A situation where choosing one paradigm or way of seeing the world necessarily precludes another paradigm or way of seeing the world (e.g. the positivist notion of a single true reality is incommensurable with the postmodern view that reality is multiple)

Interactive management

A consensus‐based participatory method designed to help people talk about and resolve complex problems

Interpretive paradigm

A way of seeing both reality and knowledge as constructed and reproduced through communication, interaction, and practice

Lebenswelt

A German word meaning lifeworld, which phenomenologist Husserl popularized to refer to the world of the immediate experience and what is self‐evident or given.

Methodology

Strategies for gathering, collecting, and analyzing data that are related to a certain philosophy about the world

Narrative inquiry

Research that views stories - whether gathered through fieldnotes, interviews, oral tales, blogs, letters, or autobiographies - as fundamental to human experience

Ontology

A traditional branch of philosophy, which is concerned with the nature of reality

Paradigms

Preferred ways of understanding reality, building knowledge, and gathering information about the world

Participatory action research (PAR)

A form of research based upon the notion that researchers should work together with research participants to help them address, understand, or improve local issues or dilemmas

Pastiche

A postmodern term that refers to the endless imitation, appropriation, and recycling of older cultural forms with a view to making new but familiar forms (e.g. much of what is fashionable today layers trends from the past)

Phenomenology

The reflective study of a pre‐reflective experience, concerned with how people consciously experience specific phenomena, things, or stuff

Positivist paradigm

Perhaps the most common paradigm among traditional scientists that suggests there is one true reality "out there" in the world - one that already exists and is waiting to be discovered

Postmodern and other "post" paradigms

Approach knowledge and power as dispersed, unstable, largely unknowable, and plural, highlighting occasions of domination and self-subordination, but also avenues for resistance and change

Postcolonial/decolonial

Qualitative research seeks to critique and dismantle Western epistemological norms and support Indigenous ways of knowing and learning

Post‐positivism

Like positivism, this paradigm assumes a single true reality but suggests that human's understanding of reality is inherently partial and that it is impossible to fully capture reality

Rhizomatic

A term derived from the ancient Greek noun rhizome ("root"), this qualifier emerges in the "post" paradigm, where it refers to the idea that meaning is root‐like and therefore interconnected, interdependent, and complex

Sedimented

Solid and difficult to remedy; the term is used by "post" scholars, who argue that the examination of power relations is necessary in order to understand why some problems and ideas are held with more merit than others

Simulacrum

In postmodern theory, this term refers to a representation that is a copy of something that never actually existed (e.g. Disneyland's "Main Street")

Social construction

The interpretive idea that reality and knowledge are constructed and reproduced by people through communication, interaction, and practice

Triangulate

A practice in which researchers use multiple types and sources of data, variant methods of collection, as well as various theoretical frames and multiple researchers

Unique adequacy requirement

A term coined by Garfinkel which suggests that researchers should be able to competently practice the phenomena they study

Verstehen

A German verb (meaning "to understand"), used in English as a noun describing participants' first‐person perspective on their personal experience as well as on their society, culture, and history.

Accounts

Rationales, explanations, and/or justifications given by participants to explain their own actions and opinions

Archival materials

Records or evidence of past events, which may come in the form of diaries, letters, artwork, photographs, or dated digital material