Gender and Qualitative Methods

`The book will be of particular value to those wishing to understand and review the importance of gender within their research studies. It provides a clear and critical view of some of the social theories concerning gender, society and experience′ - Nurse Researcher Gender and Qualitative Methods outlines the practical and philosophical issues of gender in qualitative research. Taking a social constructionist approach to gender, the authors emphasize that the task of the researcher is to investigate how gender/s is/are defined, negotiated and performed by people themselves within specific situations and locations. Each chapter begins with an introduction to a specific method and/or research subject and then goes on to discuss gender as an analytical category in relation to it. Areas covered include: field work; life story; membership categorisation analysis; and analysis of gender in sound and vision. Written in a clear and accessible way, each chapter contains practical exercises that will teach the student methods to observe and analyze the effects of gender in various texts and contexts. The book is also packed with examples taken from women and men′s studies as well as from feminist and other gender studies.