Pondering on methods

In this book, ten doctoral students share and discuss a number of methodological concerns they have faced in the process of doing research. In the first part, “Capturing the field,” the contributors grapple over issues regarding how to define and demarcate the field of research, for instance in studies on immigrant organizations, red light districts on the Internet, and telephone interviewing. In the second part, “Relations in the field,” the authors deal with methodological concerns regarding the relationship between the researcher and the researched, adressing for example research on disabled people, children, and people with HIV and AIDS. The third and final part, “Theory as methodology” contains contributions that emphasize methodological implications resulting from theoretical choices, such as the concepts of culture and discourse. This book is the outcome of the course Qualitative Methods offered as an interdisciplinary course within the PhD programme in the social sciences. The contributors come from various disciplines, including Health and Society, Human Geography, Communication and Media, Political Science, Social Work, and Sociology.