Being a qualitative researcher

Abstract

This article, from a keynote address, is the result of some of the things which I learned about qualitative research during my many years of doing and teaching it. The main point I make is that qualitative researchers should present a good story which is based on evidence but focused on meaning rather than measurement. In qualitative inquiry, the researchers' selves are involved, their experiences become a resource. Researchers cannot distance themselves from the other participants, although they cannot fully present their meaning and experience. I also discuss voice, paradigm, and innovation as potentially problematic issues in qualitative research. These are terms often used but not always examined for their meaning in qualitative inquiry. If researchers are aware and sensitive, rather than overemotional or self-absorbed, qualitative research can be enlightening, person-centered, and humanistic.