Five Ways of Doing Qualitative Analysis: Phenomenological Psychology, Grounded Theory, Discourse Analysis, Narrative Research, and Intuitive Inquiry

448 Pages·2011·5.02 MB·English

FIVE WAYS OF DOING
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

Five Ways of Doing
Qualitative Analysis
Phenomenological Psychology,
Grounded Theory, Discourse Analysis,
Narrative Research, and Intuitive Inquiry
Frederick J. Wertz,
Kathy Charmaz, Linda M. McMullen, Ruthellen Josselson,
Rosemarie Anderson, and Emalinda McSpadden
THE GUILFORD PRESS
New York London
© 2011 The Guilford Press
A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc.
72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
www.guilford.com
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission
from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Five ways of doing qualitative analysis: phenomenological psychology, grounded
theory, discourse analysis, narrative research, and intuitive inquiry / Frederick J.
Wertz . . . [et al.].
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60918-142-0 (pbk.: alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-60918-143-7 (hbk.: alk.
paper)
1. Psychology—Qualitative research. 2. Qualitative research. I. Wertz,
Frederick J. (Frederick Joseph), 1951–
BF76.5.F545 2011
150.72—dc22
2010052862
To those who dedicate themselves
to learning and doing qualitative research
in the 21st century

Acknowledgments
We would like to thank our significant others and families for their
understanding, sharing of our work, and selfless support.
We also extend thanks to our doctoral students and colleagues
at Fordham University, Sonoma State University, the University of Saskatch-
ewan, Fielding Graduate University, and the Institute of Transpersonal
Psychology for their support, encouragement, and common vision. Special
thanks go to the students in the graduate class, Qualitative Research Methods
for Psychology, at Fordham University, who shaped the project that provided
data for our analyses.
Heartfelt thanks go to Kamla Modi, the person who provided the written
description and participated in the secondary interview, as well as to the two
interviewers, Frank Williams and Tameeka Jordan, whose data collection has
formed the basis of this project. Emily Maynard deserves commendation for
her meticulous editing of the manuscript.
We are especially grateful for all the help given to us by C. Deborah
Laughton, Publisher, Methodology and Statistics, at The Guilford Press.
Accompanying us as a colleague, she has consistently offered encouragement,
constructive criticism, and invaluable advice.
We also thank the following reviewers for their helpful and insightful
comments: Jeanne Marecek, Department of Psychology at Swarthmore Col-
lege; Mark A. Hector, Department of Psychology at the University of Tennes-
see, Knoxville; Suzanne Wilson, Department of Teacher Education at Michi-
gan State University; and graduate students: Heidi Mattilla and Kat Tighe at
vii
viii Acknowledgments
Fielding Institute; Sarah Kamens at Fordham University; and Melanie Bayly at
the University of Saskatchewan.
Finally, we thank those who have made contributions of so many sorts,
including understanding dialogue, offering public forums, brainstorming
ideas, giving guidance, and working with our manuscripts: Judy Abbott,
Richard Bargdill, Bob Bennett, Jayne Bigelsen, Scott Churchill, Lester
Embree, Linda Finlay, Celia Fisher, Mark Freeman, Ken Gergen, Andy Giorgi,
Barbara Held, Matt James, Sarah Kamens, Sheila Katz, Daniel Malpica, Doyle
McCarthy, Donna Mertens, David Rennie, David Rigney, Linda Silka, Kather-
ine Unthank, Mary Watkins, and Tryon Woods. Last but not least, we would
like to thank the Society for Humanistic Psychology of the American Psy-
chological Association for providing a forum and conversation space for the
development of this project over the years.
Contents
Introduction 1
The Nature and Importance of Qualitative Research Methods 2
An Adventure in Qualitative Research Methodology 3
The Road Traveled 6
The Involvement of the Research Participant 7
The Organization and Uses of the Text 10
Note 12
References 12
I. A SToRy of QuAlITATIve ReSeARch IN PSycholoGy
1. From Innovative Practices to the Call for Methodology 15
Qualitative Research in the History of Psychology 16
Sigmund Freud: Uncovering Meaning in Symptoms, Dreams, Errors,
and Culture 18
William James: Analyzing the Forms of Spiritual Experience 24
Abraham Maslow: Identifying Qualities of the Healthy Personality 29
Lawrence Kohlberg: Discovering Types of Moral Reasoning in Human
Development 36
Gordon Allport’s Call for Methodology: The Social Science Research
Council’s Initiative 42
References 45
2. The Establishment of Methodological Traditions 48
Critical Incident Technique: James Flanagan 48
Phenomenological Psychology: Amedeo Giorgi 52
Grounded Theory: Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss 56
Discourse Analysis: Jonathan Potter and Margaret Wetherell 60
Narrative Psychology: Jerome Bruner, Ted Sarbin,
and Don Polkinghorne 63
Intuitive Inquiry: Rosemarie Anderson 66
From Qualitative Practice to Methodological Traditions 69
References 71
ix