The Qualitative Dissertation A Guide for Students and Faculty 2nd Edition by MARIA PIANTANIDA
ISBN 9781412951074
ISBN 9781412951081
Preface to the Second Edition
The seeds for the first edition of The Qualitative Dissertation were planted
in 1980, before the term qualitative research had entered the mainstream
discourses of educational inquiry. At that time, we, the authors, shared an
interest in understanding what it would mean to do an “alternative”
dissertation—one that would not follow the precepts of quasi-experimental
research that was so dominant at our university back then. Because so few
references were available in the educational literature to guide our thinking,
we formed a dissertation study group in which to cultivate our
understanding of what came to be called qualitative research. Since then,
the study group has evolved through several generations, providing an
exceptionally fertile context for our learning about the intricacies of
dissertation work. In addition, our understanding has been enriched and
challenged by a number of experiences including teaching a two-semester
course on the nature of doctoral study, developing and teaching a research
oriented master’s program for practicing teachers, teaching an introductory
course on qualitative research, participating in two qualitative research
discussion groups that are flourishing in Pittsburgh, participating in the
growing number of qualitatively-oriented research sessions at national
conferences, working with several doctoral students from Australia, and
coediting a book on the dissertation experience of study group members
(Garman & Piantanida, 2006). Together, these experiences serve as the
context within which this second edition of The Qualitative Dissertation
took root and grew.
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