A new edition of Qualitative Research reflects its importance in the field, demonstrated by the 11000 citations of previous iterations. This sixth edition offers a newly updated introduction to cutting edge issues, written by leading scholars in our field. Chapters from the fifth edition have been revised and updated by their distinguished authors. In addition, reflecting the changing face of qualitative research in a digital age, five new chapters have been added:

• Narrative ethnography [Gubrium, Holstein and Marvasti]
• Document analysis [Lewis and Atkinson]
• Analysing online data [Giles]
• Using AI in qualitative analysis [Schmieder]
• Ways of working with Visual and Online Data [Danby].

This new edition addresses what is missing from the methodology sections of many published journal articles, As Richard Fitzgerald has pointed out: ‘The actual work of doing research is often sanitized or hidden in ‘method reports’. This collection aims to supply what Fitzgerald calls the ‘missing what’ of research. It also offers a very different take on the nature of qualitative research [QR] from that found in many other articles and textbooks. We argue that:

• QR is a theoretically driven enterprise
• QR complements quantitative research in particular by entering into the ‘black box’ of how social phenomena [including interviews and focus groups] are constituted in real time
• QR is as much about social practices as about experience
• QR is, or should be, a credible, rigorous enterprise. 

As an edited book, this is ideal for final year students, as well as people beginning masters and doctoral programmes. The most comprehensive qualitative research book available, it is the perfect all-in-one companion for any student embarking on a qualitative research course or project. It introduces students to the big picture of qualitative research, teaching both the ‘why’ and the ‘how to’ of getting started, selecting a method and conducting research and data analysis. It is written by world experts of the highest calibre who are upfront about their analytic positions, but distilled into an accessible language and format for beginning researchers who will soon be tackling their own research study, whether at an undergraduate or postgraduate level. The particular added value of Qualitative Research is that it gives you an entrée into qualitative methods from leading experts in the field who address the needs of students who need to brush up their research skills prior to their own research projects.