Harvard Graduate School of Education

Acts of Inquiry in Qualitative Research

Edited by Bárbara M. Brizuela, Julie Pearson Stewart, Romina G. Carrillo, and Jennifer Garvey Berger

This comprehensive book from the editors of the Harvard Educational Review examines the nature and uses of qualitative research. Researchers, practitioners, participants, and scholars address the proliferation of methodologies, ethical and disciplinary concerns, and issues of equity and diversity such research raises from a wide variety of viewpoints.

Acts of Inquiry in Qualitative Research also presents a broad assortment of articles by authors from several academic disciplines who examine their own fields' contribution to qualitative research in the past as well as future trends.

The book is divided into six sections reflecting different acts of inquiry in qualitative research:
  • habits of thought and work
  • ethics and validity
  • the relationships of the researcher and the participants
  • data collection
  • data analysis and interpretations
  • the uses of research
Acts of Inquiry is unique in bringing together a rich collection of theoretical arguments and case studies, making it an invaluable resource for teaching, learning, and practicing qualitative research.

Praise:

"At long last, the rich qualitative research resources of a decade of the Harvard Educational Review are together in one readily accessible volume. Not only will readers have important perspectives from critical social science disciplines, but the many theoretical arguments and case studies are now side by side. The value of Acts of Inquiry is not just as a collection of some of the most thoughtful and biting work of the field, but also as a timesaver for teachers and students. Who hasn't searched frantically for that HER article that addressed exactly the point a student raised in class? As required reading in qualitative methods classes, it will outshine many of the resources now available for its breadth and comprehensiveness."
—Yvonna S. Lincoln , Texas A&M University

“Acts of Inquiry in Qualitative Research provides the kind of examples I search for to use in my qualitative research methods class—diverse and thoughtful articles that will not only deepen students’ understandings of (and questions about) research methods, but also stimulate their interest in and thinking about a variety of educational topics. Acts of Inquiry is a fine collection of articles and a valuable accompaniment to any qualitative research methods text.”
—Corrine Glesne, University of Vermont

“This collection of articles succeeds in bringing together an unusual assortment of writers and ideas that further the conversation on the nature, issues, and uses of qualitative research. It is definitely a volume to use as a teacher, student, or practitioner in pursuit of insight and information about qualitative research. The many articles, divided into six sections, inform the reader not only by their content, but also by their often extensive bibliographies.”
—Alan Peshkin, Stanford University

“In teaching qualitative research methodology, I give students articles and papers that explicate as well as illustrate the concepts I introduce. Acts of Inquiry in Qualitative Research does both, and it does them in one volume. Even better, it does them well! For those who do, read, and write interpretive research, Acts of Inquiry is a valuable and unique resource that offers both breadth and depth.”
—Sharon Rallis, University of Connecticut

“Long overdue, this excellent collection of essays serves to bring qualitative research to the forefront of social science inquiry.”
—Norman K. Denzin, University of Illinois at Urbana

Contributors:

Adrienne Alton-Lee, Joan Kernan Cone, Michele D. Crockett, Concha Delgado-Gaitan, Donald Freeman, Andrew David Gitlin, Lorie Hammond, Shirley Brice Heath, Diane Holt-Reynolds, Peter H. Johnston, Magdalene Lampert, Mary Haywood Metz, Elliot G. Mishler, Sonia Nieto, Graham Nuthall, Reba N. Page, John Patrick, Annie G. Rogers, Yvette J. Samson, Wendy Schoener, George Spindler, Polly Ulichny, Sofia Villenas

About the Editors:

Jennifer Garvey Berger is a doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Her research examines the connection between adult development and teacher professional development.

Barbara M. Brizuela is a doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is a teaching fellow at HGSE in the areas of teaching and learning. Her research examines the ideas that young children develop about the number system, especially focusing on their understandings and learning of notations.

Romina G. Carrillo is a doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is also a clinical professor at Brown University, where she teaches an introductory course in qualitative research methods. Her current research examines the role of professional development in the student-teacher and mentor-teacher relationship.

Julie Pearson Stewart is a doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she works as a teaching fellow in classes on quantitative methodology. Her research is on the intersection of politics, history, curriculum, and language.

Reviews:

“Acts of Inquiry in Qualitative Research presents a rich array of recent symposium articles that trace important sources of qualitative research in a range of academic disciplines. That in itself is a significant contribution to the field. But it also includes some of Harvard Educational Review’s best previously published articles that depict a range of methodologies, ethical concerns, and critical insights into the complexities of qualitative research and its intersection with issues of equity and diversity. This important new volume takes the reader to both the roots of the field of qualitative research and some of its boundaries.”
—Irving Seidman, Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

“As qualitative research approaches flourish and diversify in today’s educational world, Acts of Inquiry in Qualitative Research is a needed and welcome contribution. I particularly appreciate the fact that the volume probes gray areas in research where ethical and methodological questions are not easily answered. These include the ambiguity of researcher and participant roles in all their various educational guises—teacher, student, teacher educator, educational researcher, policymaker. This volume celebrates and explores such issues with theoretical sophistication and a wealth of empirical data.
—Nancy H. Hornberger, Professor, University of Pennsylvania

“Many texts on how to conduct qualitative research now exist, but to fully understand the fruits of qualitative inquiry, one needs exemplars of high-quality, published qualitative studies. This extraordinary collection meets that long-standing need, addressing a wide range of issues and putting to rest the myth that qualitative findings can’t be reduced to a form publishable in a premier journal. Here, in one place, is the contrary evidence. Acts of Inquiry in Qualitative Research renders a great service to the field of quantitative research.
—Michael Quinn Patton, Author, Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods