Rapid Qualitative Inquiry: A Field Guide to Team-Based Assessment

(Hardback, Second Edition)

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Practitioners in need of timely results for program and policy planningand students looking for realistic research projectswill find solutions in Rapid Qualitative Inquiry (RQI), a team-based, applied research method designed to quickly develop an insiders perspective on and preliminary understanding of complicated on-the-ground situations. In this accessible field guide to RQI, James Beebe provides an introduction to research that substitutes teamwork for long-term fieldwork; uses iterative data collection, data analysis, and additional data collection; triangulates data from multiple sources; and applies techniques and concepts from ethnography and case study research. Extensive examples make clear that rapid does not mean rushed and that rigorous RQI depends upon flexibility rather than an arbitrary list of techniques. Throughout, Beebes clear prose guides interdisciplinary readers through the process, promise, and potential pitfalls of RQI.

Reviews

The RAP/RQI approach is a tool in the practitioners kit, and this book is an excellent introduction to the perspective and approach. It also provides an easily accessible introduction to students in methods classes because it is possible to conduct one or more complete studies through the course of a semester-long class. The book is to be recommended. * Qualitative Health Research *
Beebes Rapid Qualitative Inquiry is a timely addition to the contemporary applied anthropologists skillset and toolbox. This book is a must read for interdisciplinary teams conducting timely and responsible research that seeks to identify and solve real-world problems in the twenty-first century. -- Guillermina Gina Nez-Mchiri, University of Texas at El Paso
We need more books like this! In addition to the ample discussion of how to do this kind of researchincluding extensive examples of real researchers using RAP/RQIBeebe delves into the why issues in a way that I have rarely seen. -- Juliana McDonald, University of Kentucky
This is a great book which will be immensely useful to established and new researchers alike. -- Timothy Dye, University of Rochester

Author Bio

James Beebe, retired professor of leadership studies at Gonzaga University and director of the Center for Rapid Qualitative Inquiry, is a social activist and an applied social scientist whose more than twenty years of experience includes service as a foreign service officer with USAID, researcher, and consultant in developing countries. He is currently a visiting researcher in the anthropology department at Portland State University.