Handbook of Constructionist Research

Constructionism has become one of the most popular research approaches in the social sciences. But until now, little attention has been given to the conceptual and methodological underpinnings of the constructionist stance, and the remarkable diversity within the field. This cutting-edge Handbookbrings together a dazzling array of scholars to review the foundations of constructionist research, how it is put into practice in multiple disciplines, and where it may be headed in the future. The volume critically examines the analytic frameworks, strategies of inquiry, and methodological choices that together form the mosaic of contemporary constructionism, making it an authoritative reference for anyone interested in conducting research in a constructionist vein.

James A. Holstein (PhD, University of Michigan) is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences at Marquette University. His research and publications have addressed social problems, deviance and social control, family, and the self--all approached from an ethnomethodologically informed, constructionist perspective.

 

Jaber F. Gubrium (PhD, Wayne State University) is Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has had a long-standing program of research on the social organization of care in human services institutions and pioneered in the reconceptualization of qualitative methods and the development of narrative analysis. Dr. Gubrium has published widely on aging, the life course, medicalization, and representational practice in therapeutic context.

 

As collaborators for 20 years, Drs. Holstein and Gubrium have developed a distinctive constructionist approach to everyday life in a variety of coauthored and coedited projects.