Keywords: Qualitative Research

Community literacy as a field privileges qualitative research methods, which are well-suited to helping researchers highlight the social context of literacy practices. As the editors’ introduction to the Spring 2007 issue of the Community Literacy Journal notes, one of the challenges of literacy studies is the methodological quandaries that arise from the work happening in the field; Moore and Warnock argue in particular that community literacy work highlights those tensions because it “assumes some measures of social action, action research, ethnography, shifting notions of ‘community,’ assumptions about the purposes of education, and the not-always-aligned needs of academics and community members” (9). Thus, while qualitative methods and methodologies often support community literacy work—both research and praxis—we understand that we must approach such methods with an understanding of their complexity, a complexity that is borne out of their embeddedness in an interpretivist philosophical standpoint concerned with understanding and interpreting a complex, ever-shifting social world rich in detailed data. In this synthesis essay, then, I highlight some of the problems and possibilities inherent in a qualitative methodology as well as showcase some of the recent publications featuring this interpretive paradigm.

One of the places we often start in research is with choosing texts to help us ground ourselves in a methodology (or to teach others, as in a class). Given the staggering number that deal with qualitative methods and methodologies, such a task can seem daunting. In particular, many of these texts are borne out of social science fields; thus, they may not explicitly connect to the kinds of studies we perform in writing and in community literacy studies. Recently, members of the Council of Writing Program Administrators listserv, WPA-L, discussed specific methods textbooks; a lively discussion ensued with several suggestions for specific texts. Participants frequently noted that many suggested materials did not focus particularly on composition or a specific, related sub-field (such as community literacy) but instead presented from a broader behaviorist standpoint. Respondents suggested that these publications, if used in the writing classroom, could be easily supplemented with additional materials related to the disciplinary focus of the course. However, several writing-specific methods textbooks were mentioned: Becoming a Writing Researcher (Blakeslee and Fleischer); Analyzing Streams of Language (Geisler); Composition Research: Empirical Designs (Lauer and Asher); Strategies for Empirical Research in Writing (MacNealy); Qualitative Research: Studying How Things Work (Stake); and Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation (Merriam). I would like to describe these selected suggestions briefly as they may be helpful for readers who wish to design their own writing research projects or teach students—especially graduate students—about methodological approaches.

First, Becoming a Writing Researcher (2007) by Ann Blakeslee and Cathy Fleischer was highly rated by several respondents; one noted that it was accessible, was filled with useful exercises in each chapter, and was specifically attuned to qualitative techniques. Another mentioned that this text had emerged from a masters-level research methods course, presumably making it better attuned to the needs of a classroom audience. The bibliographies included at the end of each chapter make it easy for students to locate additional materials as needed. Cheryl Geisler’s Analyzing Streams of Language: Twelve Steps to the Systematic Coding of Text, Talk, and Other Verbal Data (2003), though out of print, was well-recommended as an empirical approach to exploring patterns across interviews, conversations, and texts. Similarly, Janice Lauer’s and J. William Asher’s Composition Research: Empirical Designs (1988) was another suggested text that emphasizes empiricism in composition studies; while older than some previously mentioned in this review, it can serve as a useful first introduction to empiricism as the book’s intended audience is readers without prior empirical training (3). A respondent stated that the text was rather rigid in its definitions, but that may be effective for its novice audience. A suggested pairing to better critique both qualitative and quantitative methods and designs is Lauer’s and Asher’s book alongside Mary Sue MacNealy’s 1998 text Strategies for Empirical Research in Writing, which was noted as most apt for professional writing courses. Robert Stake’s Qualitative Research: Studying How...