A new textbook on the qualitative research process, from start to finish
We've been releasing blogs and video guides to qualitative research for over a decade. Last year, we released our curated course, a guided tour of all our qualitative resources. It's been a delight to hear how helpful these resources have been for students and teachers of qualitative research, and they've even been cited in some academic papers! As a result, we've often been asked if we would consider releasing a textbook on qualitative research.
So finally, we have some great news: we will soon be releasing our first ever textbook, Making Qualitative Research Happen! This book covers all the stages of qualitative research, from theory, planning and data collection, through to analysis and writing up. We hope it will provide a one-stop resource which you can either read cover-to-cover, or jump between chapters to get a refresher on a specific topic. It also aims to simplify the process of teaching qualitative research to new researchers.
As well as refining and creating new resources ourselves, we've invited some amazing guest writers to contribute. We can't wait for you to read their chapters!
What's included in Making Qualitative Research Happen?
Within the textbook, you'll learn how to choose a good research question, use theoretical frameworks to choose your methodology and data, plan your data collection, select a method of analysis, produce research outputs for a variety of audiences, and use qualitative research software throughout the process.
The book does not take a prescriptive approach. Instead, we give you the resources to choose the method and methodology that is right for you. And while there are a couple of chapters on using qualitative analysis software, and making the most of Quirkos, it aims to be generic enough so you can use it with any analytical approach, even pen and paper. So whatever kind of research you're doing, we hope we can help you get there with less stress!
The book collects:
- Our best online resources, newly refined and condensed so you can access all the information you need in one place;
- Brand new chapters on the use of AI in qualitative methods, decolonising research, creative research methods, writing up research, and narrative analysis;
- New guidance for using Quirkos for each stage of your qualitative research project, whatever your methodology
The textbook will be published in January 2026, with physical and ebook editions that will ship directly from us to across the world. We are self publishing so we can keep the price as low as possible, but contact us at support @ quirkos.cloud if you would like to order an inspection or review copy. We'll let you know on this blog when it's available for purchase, so the best way to stay updated is to subscribe for email updates!
