Qualitative research is both a set of methods for gathering and analyzing data and a worldview or paradigm about the nature of knowledge and inquiry. As a set of methods, qualitative research has increasingly gained acceptance in special education, although it is still not as common as more traditional quantitative methods. As an epistemological paradigm, however, the qualitative (or interpretivist) perspective remains much more controversial and rare in the field of special education research. Early career researchers face the dual challenge, then, of not only becoming comfortable with new methods commonly associated with qualitative research, such as participant observation and in-depth interviews, but also learning about a worldview that challenges some of the basic assumptions of traditional research in the social and behavioral sciences. The article describes one way of addressing both challenges through a process of self-reflection as well as methodological virtuosity. The author argues that not only should specific methodological techniques match the research questions being asked, but also those questions should be consistent with the view of the world that one finds most persuasive. It is a process of “discovering who you are as a researcher.” Three aspects of becoming competent and three aspects of becoming adept as an interpretivist researcher are also described as a guide for those who might wish to know a little more about the methods and the paradigm, and for those who wish to explore either one or both of these topics in earnest Feature Article
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Becker, H.S. (1963). Outsiders: Studies in the sociology of deviance. New York: Macmillan.
2.
Berger, P., & Luckman, T. (1967). The social construction of reality. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
3.
Bernstein, R. (1983). Beyond objectivism and relativism: Science, hermeneutics and praxis. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
4.
Biklen, D. (1985). Achieving the complete school: Strategies for effective mainstreaming. New York: Teachers College Press.
5.
Bogdan, R., & Biklen, S.K. (1992). Qualitative research in education: An introduction to theory and methods (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
6.
Bogdan, R., & Taylor, S. (1982). Inside out: The social meaning of mental retardation. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
7.
Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
8.
Clifford, J., & Marcus, G.E. (Eds). (1986). Writing culture: The poetics and policies of ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press.
9.
Davis, C., & Ferguson, D.L. (1992). Trying something completely different: Report of a collaborative research venture. In P.M. Ferguson, D.L. Ferguson, & S.J. Taylor (Eds), Interpreting disability: A qualitative reader (pp. 124–144). New York: Teachers College Press.
10.
Denzin, N.K. (1989) Interpretive interactionism. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
11.
Dilthey, W. (1976). The development of hermeneutics. In H.P. Rickman (Ed), W. Dilthey: Selected writings (pp. 247–263) New York: Cambridge University Press.
12.
Edgerton, R.B. (1967). The cloak of competence. Berkeley: University of California Press.
13.
Eisner, E.W. (1990). The enlightened eye: Qualitative inquiry and the enhancement of educational practice. New York: Macmillan.
14.
Eisner, E., & Peshkin, A. (Eds.). (1990). Qualitative inquiry in education: The continuing debate. New York: Teachers College Press.
15.
Erickson, K. (1976). Everything in its path. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Ferguson, D.L. (1987). Curriculum decision-making for students with severe handicaps: Policy and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
18.
Ferguson, D.L. (1992). Figuring out what to do with the grown-ups: How teachers make inclusion “work” for students with disabilities. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 17(4), 218–226.
19.
Ferguson, D.L., Jeanchild, L., & Carter, P.J. (1991). The best tadpoles are in room 8: Report on a school that's changing itself. Eugene: Specialized Training Program, University of Oregon.
20.
Ferguson, D.L., & Juniper, L. (1989). A data-based programming approach for students with the most severe disabilities: An applied case study report. Eugene: Specialized Training Program, Division of Special Education and Rehabilitation, University of Oregon.
21.
Ferguson, D.L., Willis, C., & Parker, R. (1989). Regular class participation system: Ongoing support for students with severe handicaps (USDE Grant No. H086D90011) Eugene: University of Oregon, Specialized Training Program.
22.
Ferguson, P.M., & Ferguson, D.L. (1988). Supported Family Research Project: Improving professional involvement with families of adults (USDE Grant No. H133G90193). Eugene: University of Oregon, Specialized Training Program.
23.
Ferguson, P.M., & Ferguson, D.L. (in press). The interpretivist view of special education and disability: The value of telling stories. In T. Skrtic (Ed.), Exploring the theory/ practice link in special education: A critical perspective. New York: Teachers College Press.
24.
Ferguson, P.M., Ferguson, D.L., Jeanchild, L., Olson, D., & Lucyshyn, J. (1993). Angles of influence: Relationships among families, professionals, and adults with severe disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 3(2), 14–22.
25.
Ferguson, P.M., Ferguson, D.L., & Taylor, S.J. (1992). Inter-pretivism and disability studies. In P.M. Ferguson, D.L. Ferguson, & S.J. Taylor (Eds.), Interpreting disability: A qualitative reader (pp. 1–18). New York: Teachers College Press.
26.
Fielding, N.G., & Lee, R.M. (1991). Using computers in qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
27.
Frohock, F.M. (1986). Special care: Medical decisions at the beginning of life. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
28.
Gage, N.L. (1989). The paradigm wars and their aftermath: A “historical” sketch of research on teaching since 1989. Teachers College Record, 91, 135–153.
29.
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books.
30.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A.L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine.
31.
Glesne, C., & Peshkin, A. (1992). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. White Plains, NY: Longman.
32.
Gliedman, J., & Roth, W. (1980). The unexpected minority: Handicapped children in America. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
33.
Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
34.
Goode, D. (1979). The world of the congenitally deaf-blind: Toward the grounds for achieving human understanding. In H. Schwartz & J. Jacobs (Eds.), Special education and its social interests (pp. 381–396). New York: Free Press.
35.
Groce, N.E. (1985). Everyone there spoke sign language: Hereditary deafness on Martha's Vineyard. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
36.
Guba, E.G. (Ed.). (1990). The paradigm dialogue. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
37.
Guba, E., & Lincoln, Y.S. (1989). Fourth generation evaluation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
38.
Hatch, J.A. (1985). The quantoids versus the smooshes: Struggling with methodological rapprochement. Issues in Education, 3, 158–167.
39.
Heshusius, L. (1982). At the heart of the advocacy dilemma: A mechanistic world view. Exceptional Children. 49, 6–11.
40.
Howe, K.R. (1988). Against the quantitative-qualitative incompatibility thesis or dogmas die hard. Educational Researcher, 17(8), 10–16.
41.
Howe, K.R., & Eisenhart, M. (1990). Standards for qualitative (and quantitative) research: A prolegomenon. Educational Researcher, 19(4), 2–9.
42.
Jacob, E. (1992). Culture, context, and cognition. In M.D. LeCompte, W.L. Millroy, & J. Preissle (Eds), The handbook of qualitative research in education (pp. 293–336). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
43.
Kidder, T. (1989). Among school children. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
44.
Lather, P. (1986). Issues of validity in openly ideological research: Between a rock and a soft place. Interchange, 17(4), 63–84.
45.
LeCompte, M.D., Millroy, W.L., & Preissle, J. (1992). The handbook of qualitative research in education. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
46.
Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA. Sage.
47.
Lofland, J., & Lofland, L.H. (1984). Analyzing social settings: A guide to qualitative observation and analysis (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
48.
Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1984). Qualitative data analysis: A sourcebook of new methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
49.
Mills, C.W. (1959). The sociological imagination. London: Oxford University Press.
50.
Patton, M.Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
51.
Peck, C.A., & Furman, G.C. (1992). Qualitative research in special education: An evaluative review. In R. Gaylord-Ross (Ed.), Issues and research in special education (Vol. 2, pp. 1–42). New York: Teachers College Press.
52.
Rabinow, P., & Sullivan, W.M. (Eds.). (1979). Interpretive social science: A reader. Berkeley: University of California Press.
53.
Reichardt, C., & Cook, T. (1979). Qualitative and quantitative methods in evaluation research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
54.
Rist, R. (1977). On the relations among educational research paradigms: From disdain to detente. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 8(2), 42–50.
55.
Rorty, R. (1979). Philosophy and the mirror of nature. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
56.
Rorty, R. (1982). Consequences of pragmatism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
57.
Schnorr, R.F. (1991). “Peter? He comes and goes …”: First graders' perspectives on a part-time mainstream student. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 15(4), 231–240.
58.
Shulman, L.S. (1986). Paradigms and research programs in the study of teaching: A contemporary perspective. In M.C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed.3–36). New York: Macmillan.
59.
Simpson, R.G., & Eaves, R.C. (1985). Do we need more qualitative research or more good research? A reaction to Stainback and Stainback. Exceptional Children, 51, 325–329.
60.
Skrtic, T.M. (1986). The crisis in special education knowledge: A perspective on perspective. Focus on Exceptional Children, 18(1), 1–16.
61.
Skrtic, T.M. (1991). Behind special education: A critical analysis of professional culture and school organization. Denver: Love.
62.
Smith, J.K., & Heshusius, L. (1986). Closing down the conversation: The end of the quantitative-qualitative debate among educational inquirers. Educational Researcher, 15(1), 4–12.
63.
Tesch, R. (1990). Qualitative research: Analysis types and software tools. New York: Falmer Press.
64.
Thomas, J. (1992). Doing critical ethnography. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
65.
Todis, B. (1992). “Nobody helps!”: Lack of perceived support in the lives of elderly people with developmental disabilities. In P.M. Ferguson, D.L. Ferguson, & S.J. Taylor (Eds.), Interpreting disability: A qualitative reader (pp. 61–77). New York: Teachers College Press.
66.
Ullman, J.D., & Rosenberg, M.S. (1986). Science and superstition in special education. Exceptional Children, 53. 459–460.
67.
Willis, P. (1981). Learning to labor: How working class kids get working class jobs. New York: Columbia University Press.
68.
Wolcott, H.F. (1992). Posturing in qualitative research. In M.D. LeCompte, W.L. Millroy, & J. Preissle (Eds.), The handbook of qualitative research in education (pp. 3–52). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
