1st Edition
Conducting Qualitative Research on and with College Students Practical Considerations and Examples
As the demographics of college students in the United States continue to shift, researchers increasingly design studies that offer insight into students enrolled in higher and postsecondary education institutions.
This timely book addresses the challenges in appropriately engaging these students in research and how to develop scholarship featuring college student populations. Featuring tangible examples and strategies, this text breaks down the central tensions and opportunities that exist when designing qualitative studies that center college students and their development, experiences, and success. Chapters cover topics such as the philosophical underpinnings of qualitative research, study design, methodological approaches, data methods, issues of positionality, data analysis, trustworthiness, and writing up students’ stories.
Scholars and practitioners at all career levels will benefit from the chapters describing key considerations that scholars must make when doing research with college students in the contemporary context. Discussing both traditional as well as more contemporary and critical approaches to qualitative research, this book helps students, faculty, and researchers grapple with key considerations of doing research with and on college students in the contemporary context, as well as with tangible ideas of how to better reach the college students that are enrolling in their institutions.
Forward
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Mapping the Contemporary Landscape of Qualitative Research on and with College Students
2. Thinking Qualitatively about College Students: Why Engage Qualitative Inquiry?
3. Engaging Paradigmatic and Theoretical Congruence throughout a Study Design with College Students
4. Methodological Approaches in the Study of College Students
5. Choosing Qualitative Data Collection Materials for Studies with College Students: Complicating the Interview and Other Methods
6. Thinking through the Self and Relationships with Participants in Studies Involving College Students 7. Exploring Appropriate Analytical Strategies and Trustworthiness Measures in College Student Research
8. Writing and Representing Qualitative Research on College Students
Index
Biography
Antonio Duran is Associate Professor of Higher and Postsecondary Education at Arizona State University, USA.
Zak Foste is Associate Professor of Higher Education Administration at the University of Kansas, USA.
‘Drs. Duran and Foste offer the field a much-needed resource for teaching, learning, and doing qualitative research, as they say, “on and with” students in higher education. Designed with novice researchers in mind but also speaking to experienced scholars, this book addresses the considerations, challenges, rewards, and even joys of conducting high-quality qualitative studies that can inform postsecondary practice, policy, and theory. It will be my go-to book when working with research teams studying college students.’
Kristen A. Renn, Michigan State University, USA.
‘This text is a must-have guide that helps its readers—researchers and scholars across status and identity—critically reflect on the why and how we conduct the work of qualitative inquiry with college students. Duran and Foste beautifully narrate the reflexive and iterative decision- and meaning-making processes we should engage before and as part of doing qualitative research.’
Christa J. Porter, Kent State University, USA.
‘Conducting Qualitative Research on and with College Students should be required reading in every higher education program. The authors distill methodological texts, synthesize contemporary higher education research, and offer practical examples of how to do qualitative research on college students. And they do this in an accessible, engaging manner. It's a book I wish I had as a student but am happy to have as an instructor. Duran and Foste have offered a gift to the field of higher education.’
Antar A. Tichavakunda, University of California Santa Barbara, USA.
