In my new book, Qualitative Research Methods for Everyone: An Essential Toolkit, I use a toolkit approach. But what do I mean by this? The toolkit for qualitative research is a collection of expert skills, knowledge, procedures, tools, or information. The book shares this collection of ‘tools’ across nine chapters, because I believe that once you are familiar with a wide range of tools, you can draw on them as and when required in order to make informed and relevant choices that reflect your own philosophical perspective, that respect your research participants, and that you can explain and justify when asked.

As Labour flounders and dabbles in the politics of hatred to gain a point or two, it is those far from power who will suffer most, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty

In my new book, Qualitative Research Methods for Everyone: An Essential Toolkit, I use a toolkit approach. But what do I mean by this? The toolkit for qualitative research is a collection of expert skills, knowledge, procedures, tools, or information. The book shares this collection of ‘tools’ across nine chapters, because I believe that once you are familiar with a wide range of tools, you can draw on them as and when required in order to make informed and relevant choices that reflect your own philosophical perspective, that respect your research participants, and that you can explain and justify when asked.

In my new book, Qualitative Research Methods for Everyone: An Essential Toolkit, I use a toolkit approach. But what do I mean by this? You might also enjoy The Qualitative Research Methods for Everyone Podcast  wherever you get your podcasts The toolkit for qualitative research is a collection of expert skills, knowledge, procedures, tools, or information. The book shares this collection of ‘tools’ across nine chapters, because I believe that once you are familiar with a wide range of tools, you can draw on them as and when required in order to make informed and relevant choices that reflect your own philosophical perspective, that respect your research participants, and that you can explain and justify when asked.

There is a lot of information in this blog. For example: Exercises for every chapter of my book. Assessing the value of qualitative research – is valid, transparent, useful, representative? Does it give us hope? What is sample fitness? The discussion of sampling and sample size in qualitative research. What are blended stories and indirect free speech A call to think outside of the box when it comes to designing, qualitative research methods…

Qualitative research should be guided and evaluated according to its methodological principles not by any false or imported ideas of how it should be. In my book Qualitative Research Methods for Everyone: An Essential Toolkit, Policy Press, 2025, I argue that however you approach your qualitative research, whatever methods you use - whether it is fully immersive, rich and extensive, or short-term, limited and focused, be it visual or sensory, virtual or blended – you should be guided and evaluate it by its principles not by any false idea of how it should be.

Han compartido sus previsión económica para los próximos años.

On the 80th Anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and as Japan's far-right surges, author Iain MacGregor reflects on what Japan must never forget

In my book, Qualitative Research Methods for Everyone: An Essential Toolkit (25 March 2025), I introduce the new term ‘Interpretive Analysis’ and I don’t (just) use thematic analysis. My main reason for not using the term ‘Thematic Analysis’ is that when taken literally that simply means analysing and looking for things. A theme can be a meaning, understanding, insight, norm, psychological strategy, or almost any ‘thing’ you are interested in.

Every time there is a tragedy, people bring flowers but all we see is a sea of plastic. We don’t see the flowers. There is no beauty. Just dangerous, damaging plastic. Where does all that plastic and ...

In my new book, Qualitative Research Methods for Everyone: An Essential Toolkit (Policy Press), I outline a new approach for interpretive qualitative analysis using Nine Heuristics. These are: Learning as you go Inductive immersion (becoming very familiar with all your data) Annotating (adding notes) Coding (making sure your notes can be found again and you can sort them into groups)