Qualitative Research: Challenging the Orthodoxies in Standard Academic Discourse(s)

Evocative and provocative, this book presents the points of view of scholars in the social sciences who used non-standard methods or writing practices to challenge the "research-as-usual" paradigm in the academy, while at the same time meeting the demands of quality and rigor set by their university examining committees and ethical review boards. The intent is to encourage new researchers who are also considering such a path. The authors discuss their lived personal experiences within and against traditional academic research and writing traditions, as well as their struggles and eventual successes. Chapters are written in dramatic form, in dialogue, in story, and include poetry, vignettes, testimonials, and autobiographical accounts. Collectively, they form a unique, distinctive situated polyphonic case study of research in the social sciences from several perspectives, challenging the orthodoxies. Book jacket.