This working paper has explored the process of generating QL research data. A review has been provided of a number of broad approaches to this enterprise: ethnographic, interview-based, participatory and the use of documentary and archival sources. As in all dimensions of QL enquiry, the process of working through the longitudinal frame of a study can be a challenge. Strategies to balance continuity and flexibility in the process of generating data are needed and suggestions are made here. The paper then focuses on interview-based approaches, outlining the basic tenets of biographical interviewing, and introducing cartographic and recursive strategies that are particularly pertinent for QL researchers. Finally a range of participatory field tools have been reviewed and their potential in QL enquiry considered.
QL research offers rich potential to combine elements from different traditions and to draw on new tools as a study progresses. At the same time, there is the ever-present danger that a field enquiry will unravel, leading to the creation of an incoherent dataset. Whatever data generation tools and techniques are utilised, a clear rationale is needed for their use, and they need to be piloted and chosen with care. While QL research is an inherently creative process, the discussion here reveals the importance of working with a carefully crafted data generation strategy, one that is tailored to the aims of a study, and based on a careful choice of field tools and techniques.
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)