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Researching Culture
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Researching Culture
Qualitative Method and Cultural Studies


September 1995 | 224 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
"A long-overdue book and one that is a most-welcome addition to the literature. . . . Now students of cultural studies have a way of empirically informing and connecting their work to the many traditions, perspectives, methods, and strategies that constitute qualitative research, which is a field in its own right. Pertti Alasuutari's work is clearly written, concrete in terms of examples and details, and thoroughly conversant with the most recent controversies that define these two fields of inquiry." --Norman K. Denzin, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign In this comprehensive volume, Pertti Alasuutari introduces approaches and methodological tools available for undertaking critical and rigorous research. Three main methods are considered: the qualitative traditions of sociological and anthropological research, including ethnography and symbolic interactionism; methods for studying images and language, including semiotics, narrative analysis, conversation analysis, and discourse analysis; and the relevance of quantitative analysis to the kind of data produced by research on culture. This fascinating volume will appeal to researchers, scholars, and students in cultural studies, language and discourse analysis, and qualitative methods.

 
Introduction
 
PART ONE: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND CULTURAL STUDIES
 
What is Qualitative Research?
 
What is Cultural Studies?
 
PART TWO: THE PRODUCTION OF OBSERVATIONS
 
Theoretical Framework and Method
 
The Factist Perspective
 
Cultural Distinctions
 
Narrativity
 
The Interaction Perspective
 
The Structures of Interaction
 
Cross-Tabulation and Quantitative Analysis
 
PART THREE: UNRIDDLING
 
Asking Why
 
Generalization
 
The Research Process
 
The Writing Process

`This clearly written, well-illustrated text satisfies a long-standing need for an authoritative account of the methodology of cultural studies. It will become required reading on many courses' - David Silverman, Goldsmiths College, University of London

`This is a most welcome book. Alasuutari's work is engagingly written, concrete in terms of examples and details, and thoroughly conversant with current controversies' - Norman K Denzin, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign


This book offers students with a cultural slant towards research method. Students will be recomended to read this publication in order to explore their research design.

Dr Martin Partridge
Faculty of Health , Staffordshire University
September 18, 2012

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