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Qualitative Data Collection Tools is a new and unique supplementary text that will guide students and new researchers to design, develop, pilot, and employ qualitative tools in order to collect qualitative data. An often-omitted subject in general qualitative textbooks, qualitative tools form the backbone of the data collection process. Students and new researchers are frequently left to create their own qualitative tools from scratch, an unnecessary hurdle in the qualitative research design process. Author Felice D. Billups has used her experience as a qualitative researcher, and in teaching and advising students about qualitative research, to develop the templates in this book as a starting point for readers conducting original qualitative research. The author briefly describes each method of data collection and offers readers suggestions for using and adapting the qualitative instrument templates within the text. Templates of interview protocols, focus group moderator guides, content analysis tools, document analysis tools, reflective questionnaires, diary and journal logs, and observational rubrics give the reader either a cut-and-paste solution for their own research or a starting point to design their own personalized qualitative tools.

The first three chapters illuminate the qualitative data collection process and the role each type of qualitative tool plays in that process. The next six chapters provide detailed guides and numerous templates for each qualitative data collection method, covering interviews, focus groups, conversation and discourse analysis, observations, document analysis, field notes, journaling, and other reflective practices. A final chapter pulls together the multifaceted nature of qualitative research design and connects each tool back to the methodology to ensure trustworthiness and rigor in the data collection and instrument development process. Exemplars populate the appendices, offering readers concrete inspiration for ways to use and adapt the tools provided. 

If you have ever puzzled over how to best to design qualitative tools in order to guide and structure your qualitative data collection, or if you are embarking on your first qualitative study, Qualitative Data Collection Tools will give you a practical starting point to help make your qualitative data collection process easier and more organized. 

Read a review of Qualitative Data Collection Tools in Current Issues in Comparative Education, Vol. 23 Iss. 1, Winter 2021.

 
List of Tables
 
List of Templates
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
Glossary of Terms
 
About the Author
 
Chapter 1: The Qualitative Data Collection Cycle
What is Qualitative Research?

 
The Sources of Qualitative Data

 
Qualitative Data Collection Tools

 
 
Chapter 2: Using the Research Question to Guide Qualitative Data Collection Tool Design
The Role of the Research Question in the Design of Qualitative Tools

 
Connecting Qualitative Designs with Guiding Questions, the Research Purpose, and the Research Questions

 
Connecting Qualitative Designs with Data Collection Strategies and Tools

 
Piloting Qualitative Tools

 
 
Chapter 3: Conducting the Qualitative Study: Researcher Role, Access, Trustworthiness, and Ethical Concerns
The Researcher’s Role in Qualitative Research

 
Researcher Bias and the Practice of Bracketing

 
The Researcher’s Access to Data

 
Trustworthiness in the Qualitative Study

 
Ethics in Qualitative Research

 
 
Chapter 4: Interview Protocols
Interviewing Defined

 
Interview Applications

 
Requisite Skills and Characteristics of the Interviewer

 
Interview Formats and Types

 
Getting Started With a Basic Template

 
Template Variations: Interview Protocols for Specific Qualitative Designs

 
Piloting the Interview Protocol

 
Transforming Interview Data for Analysis

 
 
Chapter 5: Conversational and Discourse Analysis Tools
Conversational and Discourse Analysis Defined

 
Conversational and Discourse Analysis Applications

 
Requisite Skills and Characteristics of the Conversational and Discourse Analysis Researcher

 
Conversational and Discourse Analysis Formats

 
Getting Started with a Basic Template

 
Template Variations and Challenges

 
Piloting Conversational and Discourse Analysis Tools

 
Transforming Conversational and Discourse Data for Analysis

 
 
Chapter 6: Focus Group Moderator Guides
Focus Groups Defined

 
Focus Group Applications

 
Requisite Skills and Characteristics of the Focus Group Moderator

 
Focus Group Types and Variations

 
Getting Started with a Basic Template

 
Template Variations: Focus Group Moderator Guides by Focus Group Type

 
Piloting Focus Group Moderator Guides

 
Transforming Focus Group Data for Analysis

 
 
Chapter 7: Observation Tools
Observation Defined

 
Observation Applications

 
Requisite Skills and Characteristics of the Observer

 
Observation Formats

 
Getting Started with the Basic Template

 
Basic Observation Templates

 
Piloting Observation Rubrics

 
Transforming Observation Data for Analysis

 
 
Chapter 8: Document and Artifact Analysis Tools
Documents and Artifacts Defined

 
Document and Artifact Applications

 
Requisite Skills of Document and Artifact Recorders

 
Document and Artifact Types

 
Getting Started with a Basic Template

 
Template Variations and Challenges

 
Piloting Document and Artifact Rubrics

 
Transforming Document and Artifact Data for Analysis

 
 
Chapter 9: Reflective Practice Tools
Reflective Practices Defined

 
Reflective Practice Applications

 
Requisite Skills of the Reflective Researcher and Participant Reflections

 
Reflective Format Types

 
Getting Started With the Basic Templates

 
Template Variations for Reflective Tools

 
Piloting Reflective Tools

 
Transforming Reflective Data for Analysis

 
 
Chapter 10: Synthesis: The Qualitative Story
A Multifaceted Enterprise

 
The Practitioner’s Perspective

 
The Qualitative Design Process

 
A Plan for Action

 
Recommendations

 
Conclusion

 
 
Appendices: A Case Study of Department X
Appendix A Exemplar: Unstructured Interview Protocol

 
Appendix B Exemplar: Semistructured Interview Protocol

 
Appendix C Exemplar: Focus Group Moderator’s Guide: Single Purpose

 
Appendix D Exemplar: Observation Rubric for Formal or Informal Settings

 
Appendix E Exemplar: Combined Document/Artifact Rubric

 
Appendix F Exemplar: Single Question Reflective Questionnaire

 
Appendix G Exemplar: Data Collection Plan

 
 
Recommended Qualitative Research Websites
 
References
 
Index

I think that the more exposure that students have to instrumentation the more informed that can be when they build their own research studies.

Tricia J. Stewart
Western Connecticut State University

[This text] offers a rich and much-needed perspective in the field of qualitative research.

Robert T. Palmer
Howard University

A comprehensive guide for the novice and even intermediate qualitative researcher. I highly recommend this easy-to-follow textbook for anyone considering a qualitative study.

P. Bruce Uhrmacher
Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver

This new book fills a dire need in qualitative research--effectively and rigorously designing qualitative interview instruments and observation and artifact rubrics. (The author) has skillfully woven together necessary elements of qualitative design, research strategies, and research question development in order for researchers to operationalize their curiosities into successful, effective, and ethical research studies. I am particularly taken by the tone of the book. (The author) has written a book that challenges yet scaffolds readers to produce qualitative research studies with integrity and rigor.

Karin Lindstrom Bremer
Minnesota State University, Mankato

This is a very practical text for doctoral students learning research, in particular for those doctoral students in professional non-traditional doctoral degree programs who have never been exposed to the process of conducting qualitative research. The text brings students through the journey of qualitative data collection and provides a how-to approach to qualitative methodology.

Emily Martinez Vogt
Nathan M. Bisk College of Business

Practical, clear and concise, and has lots of templates for new researchers

Dr Beth Bukoski
Educational Leadership Dept, Virginia Commonwealth Univ
July 23, 2022

It depends on the students research design- qualitative research design I have recommended it to student

Dr Carine Prinsloo
Health, University of South Africa (UNISA)
November 18, 2020

This is a great resource

Mrs Josephine D Morris
Interdiscipline, Winchester University
December 9, 2020

A valuable text for under and post graduates and for early career researchers. I would have liked to see a little more on the various uses of observations but otherwise a comprehensive text. Thank you.

Mrs Eleonora Teszenyi
Faculty of Education, The Open University
January 7, 2021
Key features
  • Covers an often-omitted subject in general qualitative textbook
  • Benefits from the extensive qualitative research experience of its author
  • Provides starting point templates for readers conducting original qualitative research
  • Offers readers suggestions for using and adapting the qualitative instrument templates
  • Ties each template back to methods and methodology to ensure trustworthiness and rigor
  • Provides templates of interview protocols, focus group moderator guides, content analysis tools, document analysis tools, reflective questionnaires, diary and journal logs, and observational rubrics
  • Gives the reader either a cut-and-paste solution for their own research or a starting point to design their own personalized qualitative tools.

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