We begin with a brief introduction to the philosophical underpinnings, history and traditions of qualitative research. This is not intended as a comprehensive or detailed account, but rather as edited highlights of some of the key issues in an ever advancing process. There are several reasons why it is helpful to understand something of the background of qualitative research before going on to discuss the specifics of how to do it.

First, it is important to be aware that there is no single, accepted way of carrying out qualitative research. Indeed, how researchers proceed depends upon a range of factors, including their beliefs about the nature of the social world (ontology), the nature of knowledge and how it can be acquired (epistemology), the purpose (s) and goals of the research, the characteristics of research participants, the audience for the research, the funders, and the positions and environments of the researchers themselves. Differences in the mix of these factors have led to numerous variations in approaches to qualitative research.