ABSTRACT
An early problem is how to organise your article, report, thesis or book. There are many ways of doing this according to what you wish to convey and to whom. As Stake (1995: 122) notes, ‘A write-up can be organised any way that contributes to the reader’s understanding of the case’. In effect, however, journal articles, academic books and theses largely follow a traditional model, at least in relation to the presentation of empirical material – the main concern of qualitative research. I shall consider some examples of this in this chapter. Nonetheless it needs to be borne in mind that this is a matter of convention. As noted in the Introduction, modes of presentation are under debate at present – and conventions can change. I shall consider some alternative forms of writing in Chapter 4.
