A Cartography of Qualitative Research in Switzerland
Journal
Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research (Online-Journal)
ISSN
1438-5627
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2005-11-01
Author(s)
Abstract
Our attempt to describe the state of qualitative research in Switzerland starts out with an impressionist sketch which inevitably is selective, subjective and culturally biased. In order to reach a more objective stance, we gather some facts and figures and present them by means of descriptive statistics. Based on the database of the Swiss Information and Data Archive Service for the Social Sciences (SIDOS), we analyze a sample of qualitative, sociological research projects funded by national science foundations (Swiss, German and French) between 1995-2004. We compare qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods projects and try to find similarities, differences and trends: Has the ratio of qualitative research projects increased over the last ten years? Can we find cultural differences, e.g. a preference of German or French Swiss researchers for either qualitative or quantitative or mixed methods designs? Do different types of institutions, or do men and women have such different preferences? Which methods are prevailing in Swiss qualitative research? In a second data set collected by a survey of our own, we broaden the perspective to other disciplines and try to identify the most commonly used methods and theoretical approaches. But we have also obtained individual portraits of the qualitative researchers in Switzerland with their preferences of theoretical approaches and methods, their expertise, their research and their teaching courses.
Language
English
Keywords
gender
methods
mixed methods designs
qualitative and quantitative methods
qualitative research
Switzerland
theoretical approaches
HSG Classification
not classified
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Freie Univ. Berlin
Publisher place
Berlin
Volume
6
Number
3
Start page
1
End page
17
Pages
17
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
21077
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Eberle_Thomas_2005_Elliker_Florian_Cartography_of_Qualitative_Research_Switzerland.pdf
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Format
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