Qualitative Research Design - Undergraduate Summer Research Programs - SPUR, SUMR, & SIRE

Overview

Many of you are interested in conducting interviews, creating surveys, or otherwise conducting some kind of qualitative research for your projects. This page gives you some links to different references (mostly books) on these subjects.

If you would like to locate additional resources besides the ones below, try searching these Subject Headings in the Subject Heading Keyword field in Franklin:

As Penn students, you also have access to Qualtrics, software for creating and distributing surveys and collecting survey data.

If you are a Wharton student: access Qualtrics here
If you are a student in any other Penn school: access Qualitrics here

General Guides

Here are a few general guides to conducting qualitative research:

SAGE Research Methods
Research Methods is a tool created to help researchers, faculty and students with their research projects. Users can explore methods concepts to help them design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method, conduct their research, and write up their findings. Since SAGE Research Methods focuses on methodology rather than disciplines, it can be used across the social sciences, health sciences, and other areas of research.

Qualitative inquiry & research design : choosing among five approaches / John W. Creswell
Available in Van Pelt Library
Handbook of research design & social measurement / Delbert C. Miller, Neil J. Salkind.
Available in Van Pelt Library
Case study research [electronic resource] / edited by Matthew David.
Full text available online through the library
Sage Benchmarks in Social Research Methods
This links you to the library's Sage Benchmarks in Social Research Methods collection, which has e-resources on many different aspects of social sciences research.

Surveys

Here are some resources on survey construction and design:

Envisioning the survey interview of the future / edited by Frederick G. Conrad, Michael F. Schober.
Available in Van Pelt Library
Standardization and tacit knowledge : interaction and practice in the survey interview / editors, Douglas W. Maynard ... [et al.].
Available in Van Pelt Library
Interaction and the standardized survey interview : the living questionnaire / Hanneke Houtkoop-Steenstra.
Available in Van Pelt Library
Questionnaires [electronic resource] / edited by Martin Bulmer.
Full text available online

Interviews

Here is a list of books available in the library or online that offer guidance on designing interview questions:

Qualitative Interview Design: A Practical Guide for Novice Investigators
Interviewing and representation in qualitative research / John Schostak.
Available in Van Pelt Library
Handbook of interview research : context & method/ editors, Jaber F. Gubrium, James A. Holstein.
Available in Van Pelt Library
The research interview / Bill Gillham.
Available in Van Pelt Library
Interviewing [I] [electronic resource] / edited by Nigel Fielding.
Full text available online
How to conduct in-person interviews for surveys / Sabine Mertens Oishi.

Focus Groups

Here are a few focus-goup specific books for if you will be running focus groups as part of your SPUR or SIRE research:

Focus group discussions [electronic resource] / Monique M. Hennink
Electronic resource. This book is also available in print in Van Pelt. The call number is H61.28 .H45 2014.
The Focus Group Kit
Electronic resource. This is a multi-volume set that covers different aspects of utilizing focus groups for research. This link takes you to the Franklin results, where links are available to all volumes in the set.

Undergraduate Summer Research Programs - SPUR, SUMR, & SIRE: Qualitative Research Design

Overview

General Guides

Surveys

Interviews

Focus Groups