In 2003 the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a grant to the University of Arizona to support a workshop on the scientific foundations of qualitative research. Principal Investigator, Charles Ragin, convened the workshop in July, 2003 at NSF in Arlington, Virginia. The purpose of the workshop was twofold. The first goal was to address a practical NSF Sociology Program concern. An increasing number of qualitative research projects are being submitted to the Sociology Program. These proposals employ a wide range of qualitative research approaches and data collection and analysis methods. Workshop participants were charged with the task of providing guidance both to reviewers and investigators about the characteristics of strong qualitative research proposals and the criteria for evaluating projects in NSF's merit review process. The second focus of the workshop was to provide recommendations to address the broader issue of how to strengthen qualitative methods in sociology and the social sciences in general. Qualitative research is especially valuable for generating and evaluating theory in the social sciences, revealing the workings of micro and macro processes, illuminating the mechanisms underlying quantitative empirical findings, and critically examining social facts. To the extent that the NSF can contribute to advancing the quality of qualitative research, it will have contributed to advancing research capacity, tools, and infrastructure in the social sciences. The workshop on the Scientific Foundations of Qualitative Research was a remarkable gathering of prominent qualitative researchers with a high degree of consensus about the challenges of advancing qualitative methods and research in the social sciences. The 24 invited workshop participants represented a range of social science disciplines (sociology, political science, anthropology, social psychology, human development) and a wide variety of qualitative approaches and methods, ranging from those who study the fleeting social constructions that emerge in interpersonal interaction to researchers who examine broad institutional changes occurring over decades. Despite these differences, there was general agreement on the core features of qualitative research, the characteristics of strong qualitative projects, and the challenges of obtaining funding support for qualitative proposals. This report is organized into two major sections -- general guidance for developing qualitative research projects and recommendations for strengthening qualitative research. The intent of the first section of the report is to serve as a primer to guide both investigators developing qualitative proposals and reviewers evaluating qualitative research projects. The goal of the second section of the report is to present workshop recommendations for (1) designing and evaluating qualitative proposals and (2) supporting and strengthening qualitative research. This report presents a set of recommendations for investigators and reviewers of qualitative proposals and a list of activities that workshop participants consider important for strengthening qualitative research across the social sciences.

Ragin, Charles C.; Joane Nagel; Patricia White

Ragin, Charles C.; Joane Nagel; Patricia White

964.R3.W6

2004

Sociology ; Methodology ; Research ; Theory ;

TOC: General Guidance for Developing Qualitative Research Projects; Recommendations for Designing, Evaluating, and Strengthening Qualitative Research in the Social Sciences

Arlington, VA

National Science Foundation

WORKSHOP ON SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATIONS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH, JULY 11-12, 2003

WORKSHOP ON SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATIONS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH, JULY 11-12, 2003

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