Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography

This was my required course reading for a special topics Geography course, Qualitative Research Methods, two years ago. When I was looking through Kent's reference section for this assignment, I found The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Geography (http://kentlink.kent.edu/record=b3344097~S1). I read through the introduction and while I'm sure it is an informative text, I don't think I would have selected it to be included in the reference collection. I think Oxford's Qualitative Research Methods is much more concise and usable as a reference text and I was happy to see that I hadn't gotten rid of the book so that I could write about it.

Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography is written as a comprehensive guide to various methods of research used by social geographers. It also introduces the idea of qualitative research as opposed to quantitative research, and discusses its place in the field of geography. Following the enumeration of methods, there are also sections that discuss communicating and constructing research proposals and findings. From start to finish it can be a very important text, priming someone new to research to the process. As a reference text, though, it can aid in the planning and design of one's own research. Each chapter covers the logistic considerations associated with each method of research, as well as ethical concerns.

The chapters are written by contributing authors. Most of the authors hold PhDs in the field. They typically write by combining concise instruction on the method or topic with personal experiences they have had in their own research. This makes the text an easier read and also offers insight that might not be gained from a simple "how-to" guide for research. The authors elaborate on mistakes they may have made or nuances to research that they have discovered by doing. There is also an emphasis on considering your role as the researcher, and how you are affecting the "subjects" of the study. We referred to this as reflexivity.

This is the third edition (2010), with the original appearing in 2000. The editor, Iain Hay, writes that the text has been updated to reflect changes in how the Internet and other technologies have changed qualitative research. I think this text should make its way in to more reference collections; there are 20+ copies in OhioLINK of the different editions, but none of them seem to be marked as reference books. I would recommend this as a guide for research to anyone in the social sciences, and especially to geography undergraduates and graduate students.

Hay, I. (ed.) (2010). Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography (3rd ed.). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.