ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the primary data sources and methodological and analytic strategies used in qualitative research. It also presents information on understanding the presentation and discussion of research findings in the professional literature. In quantitative projects, one would consider the concepts of validity and reliability that are expressly designed into a research project ahead of time. Qualitative researchers often turn to the concept of verisimilitude, which the American Heritage Dictionary defines as "the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability". In quantitative methods, there is always a search for the objective tools of research validated surveys, ever-more-powerful statistical analysis methods, assessment and measurement instruments, and so forth. Ethnographic research in which the researcher is trying to explain the behaviors and norms of a group may take place over years. There is an intimacy involved in qualitative data collection, which can raise a whole host of both methodological and ethical considerations for the researcher to grapple with throughout a project.
