However exciting may be their experiences while gathering data, there comes a time when the data must be analyzed. Often researchers are perplexed by this necessary task. They are dismayed not only by the sheer number of fieldnote, document, or interview pages ("mountains of data") now confronting them, but are often troubled by the following questions. How can I make sense out of all this material? How can I have a theoretical interpretation while still grounding it in the empirical reality reflected by my materials? How can I make sure that my data and interpretations are valid and reliable? How do I break through the inevitable biases, prejudices, and stereotypical perspectives that I bring with me to the analytic situation? How do I put all of my analysis together to create a concise theoretical formulation of the area under study?
The purpose of this book is to answer these and other questions related to qualitative interpretation of data. It is written in a clear and straightforward manner. It is intended primarily to provide the basic knowledge and procedures needed by persons who are about to embark upon their first qualitative project and who want to build a theory at the substantive level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)