What Counts as Qualitative Research? Some Cautionary Comments

Many PhD students begin as unconscious Naturalists or Emotionalists using interview studies to report people’s “experience” of an unquestioned social “problem.” An analysis of articles in one journal shows that this naïve use of interview data has become the common currency of qualitative research....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Qualitative sociology review : QSR 2013-04, Vol.9 (2), p.48-55
Main Author: Silverman, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Interviews
Journalism
Methodology (Data Analysis)
Qualitative analysis
Qualitative Methods
Qualitative research
Social Problems
Social sciences
Sociology
Students
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
cited_by cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c3005-9edf593e4c08e308f51a35e8972028f531b91ef697d262fe6a8d8cb0671d38523
cites cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c3005-9edf593e4c08e308f51a35e8972028f531b91ef697d262fe6a8d8cb0671d38523
container_end_page 55
container_issue 2
container_start_page 48
container_title Qualitative sociology review : QSR
container_volume 9
creator Silverman, David
description Many PhD students begin as unconscious Naturalists or Emotionalists using interview studies to report people’s “experience” of an unquestioned social “problem.” An analysis of articles in one journal shows that this naïve use of interview data has become the common currency of qualitative research. In a critique of one such article, I show how interview studies may simply reproduce interviewees’ own accounts, glossed over by a few social science categories. By “mining” interviews for apposite extracts, such researchers lose sight of how sequence is consequential for what we say and do. Much more needs to be done if qualitative research is not to be just a set of techniques but an analytic project, different from journalism.
doi_str_mv 10.18778/1733-8077.09.2.05
format article
fullrecord <record><control><sourceid>proquest_cross</sourceid><recordid>TN_cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_1684423237</recordid><sourceformat>XML</sourceformat><sourcesystem>PC</sourcesystem><sourcerecordid>1525913242</sourcerecordid><originalsourceid>FETCH-LOGICAL-c3005-9edf593e4c08e308f51a35e8972028f531b91ef697d262fe6a8d8cb0671d38523</originalsourceid><addsrcrecordid>eNqFkMlKxEAQhhtRcBx9AU8BL14Sq5dKdx9EZHCDAXHDY9OTVJgMWcZ0Ivj2ZhwR8eKpFr76oT7Gjjkk3GhtzriWMjagdQI2EQngDpv87HZ_9fvsIIQVgDKIOGHnr0vfR7N2aPoQ-RA9DL4qe9-X7xQ9UiDfZcuL6KmtKZr5oS_bxncfI1_XNF4csr3CV4GOvuuUvVxfPc9u4_n9zd3sch5nEgBjS3mBVpLKwJAEUyD3EslYLUCMk-QLy6lIrc5FKgpKvclNtoBU81waFHLKTre56659Gyj0ri5DRlXlG2qH4HhqlBJSSP0_igItl0JtUk_-oKt26JrxEceVQFQaUI2U2FJZ14bQUeHWXVmPFhwH9yXfbeS6jVwH1gkHKD8B8C50UQ</addsrcrecordid><sourcetype>Aggregation Database</sourcetype><iscdi>true</iscdi><recordtype>article</recordtype><pqid>1425547054</pqid></control><display><type>article</type><title>What Counts as Qualitative Research? Some Cautionary Comments</title><source>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)</source><source>Publicly Available Content Database</source><source>Social Science Premium Collection</source><source>Sociology Collection</source><source>Sociological Abstracts</source><creator>Silverman, David</creator><creatorcontrib>Silverman, David</creatorcontrib><description>Many PhD students begin as unconscious Naturalists or Emotionalists using interview studies to report people’s “experience” of an unquestioned social “problem.” An analysis of articles in one journal shows that this naïve use of interview data has become the common currency of qualitative research. In a critique of one such article, I show how interview studies may simply reproduce interviewees’ own accounts, glossed over by a few social science categories. By “mining” interviews for apposite extracts, such researchers lose sight of how sequence is consequential for what we say and do. Much more needs to be done if qualitative research is not to be just a set of techniques but an analytic project, different from journalism.</description><identifier>ISSN: 1733-8077</identifier><identifier>EISSN: 1733-8077</identifier><identifier>DOI: 10.18778/1733-8077.09.2.05</identifier><language>eng</language><publisher>Lodz: Uniwersytet Lodzki, Wydzial Ekonomiczno-Socjologiczny, Instytut Socjol</publisher><subject>Interviews ; Journalism ; Methodology (Data Analysis) ; Qualitative analysis ; Qualitative Methods ; Qualitative research ; Social Problems ; Social sciences ; Sociology ; Students</subject><ispartof>Qualitative sociology review : QSR, 2013-04, Vol.9 (2), p.48-55</ispartof><rights>Copyright Uniwersytet Lodzki, Wydzial Ekonomiczno-Socjologiczny, Instytut Socjol Apr 2013</rights><lds50>peer_reviewed</lds50><oa>free_for_read</oa><woscitedreferencessubscribed>false</woscitedreferencessubscribed><citedby>FETCH-LOGICAL-c3005-9edf593e4c08e308f51a35e8972028f531b91ef697d262fe6a8d8cb0671d38523</citedby><cites>FETCH-LOGICAL-c3005-9edf593e4c08e308f51a35e8972028f531b91ef697d262fe6a8d8cb0671d38523</cites></display><links><openurl>$$Topenurl_article</openurl><openurlfulltext>$$Topenurlfull_article</openurlfulltext><thumbnail>$$Tsyndetics_thumb_exl</thumbnail><linktohtml>$$Uhttps://www.proquest.com/docview/1425547054?pq-origsite=primo$$EHTML$$P50$$Gproquest$$Hfree_for_read</linktohtml><link.rule.ids>314,776,780,12827,21374,21375,25732,27323,27903,27904,33202,33203,33590,33591,33753,33754,34509,34510,36991,36992,43712,44094,44569</link.rule.ids></links><search><creatorcontrib>Silverman, David</creatorcontrib><title>What Counts as Qualitative Research? Some Cautionary Comments</title><title>Qualitative sociology review : QSR</title><description>Many PhD students begin as unconscious Naturalists or Emotionalists using interview studies to report people’s “experience” of an unquestioned social “problem.” An analysis of articles in one journal shows that this naïve use of interview data has become the common currency of qualitative research. In a critique of one such article, I show how interview studies may simply reproduce interviewees’ own accounts, glossed over by a few social science categories. By “mining” interviews for apposite extracts, such researchers lose sight of how sequence is consequential for what we say and do. Much more needs to be done if qualitative research is not to be just a set of techniques but an analytic project, different from journalism.</description><subject>Interviews</subject><subject>Journalism</subject><subject>Methodology (Data Analysis)</subject><subject>Qualitative analysis</subject><subject>Qualitative Methods</subject><subject>Qualitative research</subject><subject>Social Problems</subject><subject>Social sciences</subject><subject>Sociology</subject><subject>Students</subject><issn>1733-8077</issn><issn>1733-8077</issn><fulltext>true</fulltext><rsrctype>article</rsrctype><creationdate>2013</creationdate><recordtype>article</recordtype><sourceid>8BJ</sourceid><sourceid>ALSLI</sourceid><sourceid>BHHNA</sourceid><sourceid>HEHIP</sourceid><sourceid>M2R</sourceid><sourceid>M2S</sourceid><sourceid>PIMPY</sourceid><recordid>eNqFkMlKxEAQhhtRcBx9AU8BL14Sq5dKdx9EZHCDAXHDY9OTVJgMWcZ0Ivj2ZhwR8eKpFr76oT7Gjjkk3GhtzriWMjagdQI2EQngDpv87HZ_9fvsIIQVgDKIOGHnr0vfR7N2aPoQ-RA9DL4qe9-X7xQ9UiDfZcuL6KmtKZr5oS_bxncfI1_XNF4csr3CV4GOvuuUvVxfPc9u4_n9zd3sch5nEgBjS3mBVpLKwJAEUyD3EslYLUCMk-QLy6lIrc5FKgpKvclNtoBU81waFHLKTre56659Gyj0ri5DRlXlG2qH4HhqlBJSSP0_igItl0JtUk_-oKt26JrxEceVQFQaUI2U2FJZ14bQUeHWXVmPFhwH9yXfbeS6jVwH1gkHKD8B8C50UQ</recordid><startdate>20130401</startdate><enddate>20130401</enddate><creator>Silverman, David</creator><general>Uniwersytet Lodzki, Wydzial Ekonomiczno-Socjologiczny, Instytut Socjol</general><scope>AAYXX</scope><scope>CITATION</scope><scope>0-V</scope><scope>3V.</scope><scope>7U4</scope><scope>7XB</scope><scope>88J</scope><scope>8BJ</scope><scope>8FK</scope><scope>ABUWG</scope><scope>AFKRA</scope><scope>ALSLI</scope><scope>AZQEC</scope><scope>BENPR</scope><scope>BHHNA</scope><scope>BYOGL</scope><scope>CCPQU</scope><scope>DWI</scope><scope>DWQXO</scope><scope>FQK</scope><scope>GNUQQ</scope><scope>HEHIP</scope><scope>JBE</scope><scope>M2R</scope><scope>M2S</scope><scope>PIMPY</scope><scope>PQEST</scope><scope>PQQKQ</scope><scope>PQUKI</scope><scope>PRINS</scope><scope>Q9U</scope><scope>WZK</scope></search><sort><creationdate>20130401</creationdate><title>What Counts as Qualitative Research? Some Cautionary Comments</title><author>Silverman, David</author></sort><facets><frbrtype>5</frbrtype><frbrgroupid>cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c3005-9edf593e4c08e308f51a35e8972028f531b91ef697d262fe6a8d8cb0671d38523</frbrgroupid><rsrctype>articles</rsrctype><prefilter>articles</prefilter><language>eng</language><creationdate>2013</creationdate><topic>Interviews</topic><topic>Journalism</topic><topic>Methodology (Data Analysis)</topic><topic>Qualitative analysis</topic><topic>Qualitative Methods</topic><topic>Qualitative research</topic><topic>Social Problems</topic><topic>Social sciences</topic><topic>Sociology</topic><topic>Students</topic><toplevel>peer_reviewed</toplevel><toplevel>online_resources</toplevel><creatorcontrib>Silverman, David</creatorcontrib><collection>CrossRef</collection><collection>ProQuest Social Sciences Premium Collection【Remote access available】</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (Corporate)</collection><collection>Sociological Abstracts (pre-2017)</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (purchase pre-March 2016)</collection><collection>Social Science Database (Alumni Edition)</collection><collection>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (Alumni) (purchase pre-March 2016)</collection><collection>ProQuest Central (Alumni)</collection><collection>ProQuest Central</collection><collection>Social Science Premium Collection</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Essentials</collection><collection>ProQuest Central</collection><collection>Sociological Abstracts</collection><collection>East Europe, Central Europe Database</collection><collection>ProQuest One Community College</collection><collection>Sociological Abstracts</collection><collection>ProQuest Central</collection><collection>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Student</collection><collection>Sociology Collection</collection><collection>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences</collection><collection>Social Science Database</collection><collection>Sociology Database</collection><collection>Publicly Available Content Database</collection><collection>ProQuest One Academic Eastern Edition (DO NOT USE)</collection><collection>ProQuest One Academic</collection><collection>ProQuest One Academic UKI Edition</collection><collection>ProQuest Central China</collection><collection>ProQuest Central Basic</collection><collection>Sociological Abstracts (Ovid)</collection><jtitle>Qualitative sociology review : QSR</jtitle></facets><delivery><delcategory>Remote Search Resource</delcategory><fulltext>fulltext</fulltext></delivery><addata><au>Silverman, David</au><format>journal</format><genre>article</genre><ristype>JOUR</ristype><atitle>What Counts as Qualitative Research? Some Cautionary Comments</atitle><jtitle>Qualitative sociology review : QSR</jtitle><date>2013-04-01</date><risdate>2013</risdate><volume>9</volume><issue>2</issue><spage>48</spage><epage>55</epage><pages>48-55</pages><issn>1733-8077</issn><eissn>1733-8077</eissn><abstract>Many PhD students begin as unconscious Naturalists or Emotionalists using interview studies to report people’s “experience” of an unquestioned social “problem.” An analysis of articles in one journal shows that this naïve use of interview data has become the common currency of qualitative research. In a critique of one such article, I show how interview studies may simply reproduce interviewees’ own accounts, glossed over by a few social science categories. By “mining” interviews for apposite extracts, such researchers lose sight of how sequence is consequential for what we say and do. Much more needs to be done if qualitative research is not to be just a set of techniques but an analytic project, different from journalism.</abstract><cop>Lodz</cop><pub>Uniwersytet Lodzki, Wydzial Ekonomiczno-Socjologiczny, Instytut Socjol</pub><doi>10.18778/1733-8077.09.2.05</doi><tpages>8</tpages><oa>free_for_read</oa></addata></record>
fulltext fulltext
identifier ISSN: 1733-8077
ispartof Qualitative sociology review : QSR, 2013-04, Vol.9 (2), p.48-55
issn 1733-8077
1733-8077
language eng
recordid cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_1684423237
source International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS); Publicly Available Content Database; Social Science Premium Collection; Sociology Collection; Sociological Abstracts
subjects Interviews
Journalism
Methodology (Data Analysis)
Qualitative analysis
Qualitative Methods
Qualitative research
Social Problems
Social sciences
Sociology
Students
title What Counts as Qualitative Research? Some Cautionary Comments
url http://sfxeu10.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/loughborough?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&ctx_tim=2025-01-23T13%3A40%3A18IST&url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=infofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rfr_id=info:sid/primo.exlibrisgroup.com:primo3-Article-proquest_cross&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=What%20Counts%20as%20Qualitative%20Research?%20Some%20Cautionary%20Comments&rft.jtitle=Qualitative%20sociology%20review%20:%20QSR&rft.au=Silverman,%20David&rft.date=2013-04-01&rft.volume=9&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=48&rft.epage=55&rft.pages=48-55&rft.issn=1733-8077&rft.eissn=1733-8077&rft_id=info:doi/10.18778/1733-8077.09.2.05&rft_dat=%3Cproquest_cross%3E1525913242%3C/proquest_cross%3E%3Cgrp_id%3Ecdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c3005-9edf593e4c08e308f51a35e8972028f531b91ef697d262fe6a8d8cb0671d38523%3C/grp_id%3E%3Coa%3E%3C/oa%3E%3Curl%3E%3C/url%3E&rft_id=info:oai/&rft_pqid=1425547054&rft_id=info:pmid/&rfr_iscdi=true