ABSTRACT
The chapters contained in this book effectively accomplish the task of discussing the qualitative approach to research in the areas of human communicative sciences and disorders. Linking my work to a number of the authors of these chapters and the issues that they describe is a great honor for me. Whether I deserve the recognition and kindness afforded me in this handbook is a judgment best left to the reader. However, I can say with complete candor that I have been fortunate, over an approximately 35-year career, to have had contact with a number of the contributors here and have benefitted greatly from their knowledge and practice. Each of the authors in this text (and a number of others who are not included) has contributed to the progressive development and utilization of qualitative research in our discipline. It has not been an easy enterprise. As has been rightly discussed in a previous chapter, the “meme” for research in communicative sciences and disorders has been more quantitative-experimental than qualitative, and this has delayed the acceptance of the qualitative research process.
