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Qualitative Research

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Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology

Introduction

Qualitative research (QR) offers a rich and varied set of strategies and methods for investigating questions about social and psychological life (see, e.g., Camic, Yardley, & Rhodes 2003). Sometimes known as real-world inquiry (Robson, 2011), QR stands in stark contrast with laboratory experimentation and its core practice of isolating variables (e.g., the presence or absence of group pressure) in strictly controlled situations. The logic of laboratory experimentation is that, because no unknown or confounding variables are operating, it is possible to objectively measure specified variables along with their predicted effects. The logic and ethos of qualitative inquiry (Henwood & Pidgeon, 1993) is rather different as it entails recognising the ways in which knowledge is produced through the researcher’s active engagement in the world under study. Careful looking, listening, recording, and contextualizing people’s “real-world” experiences, thoughts, actions, and...

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References

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Online Resources

  • The website of the section of the British Psychological Society that is dedicated to qualitative research. http://qmip.bps.org.uk/

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK

    Karen Henwood

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  1. Karen Henwood
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Correspondence to Karen Henwood .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Thomas Teo

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Henwood, K. (2014). Qualitative Research. In: Teo, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5583-7_256

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5583-7_256

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5582-0

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