This is a key text for any student embarking on a qualitative research project, it provides worked examples and valuable models which can be used as guides for plans and proposals, answering key questions and providing a comprehensive guide to a student's project.


It shows that when planning a qualitative research proposal, researchers should adopt an approach where they ask themselves the following four questions:




What research paradigm informs my approach to my research area?
What theoretical perspective do I choose within the paradigm?
What methodology do I choose?
What methods are most appropriate?


Including examples of the write-up of two central types of research projects: studies on participants' `perspectives' on phenomena and studies on how participants manage or `cope with' phenomena, the book outlines five research proposals to illustrate ways in which these two central `types' can be varied and applied when engaging in five other types of studies, namely, policy studies, life history studies, retrospective interactionist longitudinal studies and interactionist historical studies, and `problem-focused' studies.