Creswell, 2007- Ch. 9

 

In Chapter 9, Creswell (2007) successfully described writing a qualitative study as structure. Creswell also cited rhetorical issues of which qualitative researcher and writer must be aware. The issues include writing reflexively and with representations, the audience for the writing, the encoding for the audience, and the use of quotes. Then, the author dealt with each of the five approaches (narrative, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study) of inquiry and overall rhetorical structures as well as embedded rhetorical structures in specific ways. Finally, Creswell concluded this chapter with differences in writing structures among the five approaches.

In Chapter 9, I, out of several topics Criswell stresses, find the section on “Reflexivity and Representations in Writing” agreeable.

As the author pointed out, interpretation can be transmitted differently according to the readers’ cultural, social, gender, class, and political backgrounds. For this reason, “positioned” and “within a stance” are essential in writing a Qualitative study. Also qualitative researchers must be flexible to and embrace a wide range of readership (p. 179).

As a learning novice of qualitative research, I am not ready to acknowledge several analysis steps in the five approaches of qualitative study by Criswell. Frankly, I felt as though I had gained technical and intellectual information about qualitative study in writing after reading Chapter 9. However, I remain skeptical about their effectiveness and legitimacy in my research area. Currently, I am conducting a research for this semester using phenomenological methodology (structures, analysis, observation) Creswell (2007) and Moustakes (1994) mention. As I always realize, the purpose of qualitative research is writing and informing the readers by clearly recording the findings from research thus inspiring them and engaging them in active research with renewed motivation. For the remainder of the chapters in Creswell (2007), I attempt to portray myself learning qualitative research through the research process during the current semester.