Qualitative Research Using R : A Systematic Approach

In the language of qualitative scholarship, RQDA-R package for Qualitative Data Analysis-belongs to the computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS). The growing interest in CAQDAS-based qualitative research is well reflected in the increasing number of books that address this topic. Examples include technical-oriented CAQDAS software textbooks such as those focusing on NVivo (Bazeley 2007; Richards 2014) and ATLAS.ti software (Friese 2011; Woolf and Silver 2017). The number of general qualitative research methods books (e.g., Maxwell 2013; Tracy 2012; Savin-Baden and Howell 2012) has also grown in recent years. What is missing, and what qualitative scholars most urgently need, is a book or manual that integrates the methodological and technical content for CAQDAS-based qualitative research. The world of R contains numerous books on R programming, and they all focus on the quantitative applications of R, but not one concentrates on qualitative research. This book is the first that integrates CAQDAS, particularly RQDA and the Gioia approach, to offer step-by-step instructions on how to conduct qualitative research. Our book begins with a discussion on the rise of the Gioia approach as an important paradigm in social science qualitative research-in addition to the Yin-Eisenhardt and Langley approaches-and demonstrates how the Gioia approach can be operationalized and enhanced using an R package called RQDA. It provides a methodological and technical review of RQDA as a new CAQDAS tool. Using samples of textual data, we demonstrate the execution of the R-based Gioia approach, from selecting a research question to developing a data structure and grounded process model. Various techniques are covered, including a general overview of R programming language; the installation of R, RStudio, and RQDA; data preparation, data coding techniques, data attributes, and “memo-ing” in RQDA; code abstraction and code plotting in RQDA; and grounded theory development as the final output in qualitative research. Our book is aimed at helping researchers-as well as undergraduate, Master, and Ph.D. to postdoctoral students-to publish their work in scholarly journals. Publishing in scholarly journals is a tough “game” in a researcher’s life. This game is even tougher because of the relatively lower rate of acceptance of qualitative papers in top social science journals. Our logic in this book goes like this: If one has learnt the highest standard of qualitative scholarship (that we hope we have imparted to readers through this book), it will be relatively easier to apply it in the contexts that do not subject a research to double-blind, multiple-round review processes such as those in the industry, NGO, or policy-making fields. We believe that our book helps professionalize the qualitative craftsmanship in these non-scholarly settings. We strongly encourage academic readers to start reading from the “author’s reflection” above and then read the philosophical treatment on qualitative research (Chap. 1) and onwards. Because some of the chapters (e.g., Chap. 1) might sound a little too philosophical or “dry” for nonacademic readers, simply scan that chapter and quickly move to the core of the book via Chap. 3 and onwards. For experienced qualitative scholars who primarily use a “manual” approach in analyzing qualitative data, the best part to start is the coding process using RQDA (Chap. 8) right through to Chap. 11. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019.