The purpose of this introductory level text is to provide the reader with a background for understanding the uses of qualitative research in education, to examine its theoretical and historical underpinnings, and to discuss specific methods for conducting qualitative research. This new edition places qualitative research within current debates about research methods and alternative ways of knowing. While the authors approach the subject from a sociological perspective, they also take care to reflect the many changes in conceptualization of qualitative research brought by post-structural and feminist thought.