Although qualitative approaches to psychological research have a long history in the discipline, they have also been, and remain, marginalized from the canon of mainstream scientific psychology. At the current moment, however, there is growing recognition of the importance of qualitative methods and a movement toward a more inclusive and eclectic stance on psychological research. This volume reflects upon the historical and contemporary place of qualitative methods in psychology and considers future possibilities for further integration of these methods in the discipline. Scholars representing a wide-range of perspectives in qualitative and theoretical psychology reflect on the historical and contemporary positions of qualitative methods in psychology with an eye to the future of research and theory in the discipline. This book encourages a more critical and inclusive stance on research, recognizing both the limits and contributions that different methodological approaches can make to the project of psychological knowledge.

Qualitative research design is continually evolving. It is not only more established in disciplines beyond the traditional social sciences in which it is a standard choice, but also just as impacted by the changes in what data, technologies, and approaches researchers are using. This Handbook takes readers through the foundational theories, functions, strategies, and approaches to qualitative research design, before showcasing how it negotiates different data and research environments and produces credible, actionable impact beyond the study. Containing contributions from over 90 top scholars from a range of social science disciplines, this Handbook is not just an anthology of different qualitative research designs and how/when to use them; it is a complete exploration of how and why these designs are shaped and how, why, and into what they are evolving. This is a valuable resource for Master’s and PhD level students, faculty members, and researchers across a wide range of disciplines such as health, nursing, psychology, social work, sociology, and education. Volume One: Part I: Concepts of Designing Designs in Qualitative Research Part 2: Theories and Epistemological Contexts of Designing Qualitative Research Part 3: Elements of Designing Qualitative Research Part 4: Basic Designs and Research Strategies in Qualitative Research Part 5: Mixing Methods in Designing Qualitative Research Volume Two: Part 6: Designing Qualitative Research for Specific Kinds of Data Part 7: Designing Qualitative Online and Multimodal Research Part 8: Designing Qualitative Research for Specific Groups and Areas Part 9: Designing Qualitative Research in Disciplinary Fields Part 10: Designing Qualitative Research for Impact

This volume explores the abiding intellectual inertia in scientific psychology in relation to the discipline’s engagement with problematic beliefs and assumptions underlying mainstream research practices, despite repeated critical analyses which reveal the weaknesses, and in some cases complete inappropriateness, of these methods. Such paradigmatic inertia is especially troublesome for a scholarly discipline claiming status as a science. The book offers penetrating analyses of many (albeit not all) of the most important areas where mainstream practices require either compelling justifications for their continuation or adjustments – possibly including abandonment – toward more apposite alternatives. Specific areas of concern addressed in this book include the systemic misinterpretation of statistical knowledge; the prevalence of a conception of measurement at odds with yet purporting to mimic the natural sciences; the continuing widespread reliance on null hypothesis testing; and the continuing resistance within psychology to the explicit incorporation of qualitative methods into its methodological toolbox. Broader level chapters examine mainstream psychology’s systemic disregard for critical analysis of its tenets, and the epistemic and ethical problems this has created. This is a vital and engaging resource for researchers across psychology, and those in the wider behavioural and social sciences who have an interest in, or who use, psychological research methods.

Social problems in many domains, including health, education, social relationships, and the workplace, have their origins in human behavior. The documented links between behavior and social problems have compelled governments and organizations to prioritize and mobilize efforts to develop effective, evidence-based means to promote adaptive behavior change. In recognition of this impetus, The Handbook of Behavior Change provides comprehensive coverage of contemporary theory, research, and practice on behavior change. It summarizes current evidence-based approaches to behavior change in chapters authored by leading theorists, researchers, and practitioners from multiple disciplines, including psychology, sociology, behavioral science, economics, philosophy, and implementation science. It is the go-to resource for researchers, students, practitioners, and policy makers looking for current knowledge on behavior change and guidance on how to develop effective interventions to change behavior.

William James made many references to pluralism throughout his career. Interestingly, many contemporary psychologists also discuss pluralism and indeed call for pluralism as a corrective to the discipline's philosophical and methodological foundations. Yet, pluralism and the purposes to which it is applied are understood in a variety of ways, and the relation of contemporary pluralism to the pluralism(s) of William James is uncertain. This book offers conceptual clarification in both contexts, first distinguishing diverse senses of pluralism in psychology and then systematically examining different forms of pluralism across the writings of James. A comparison of meanings and analysis of implications follows, aimed at illuminating what is at stake in ongoing calls for pluralism in psychology.

This unique and insightful book brings together a collection of impactful essays written by former psychology doctoral students, which feature hermeneutics as a method of qualitative inquiry. Philip Cushman brings together eleven chapters in which his former students describe their hermeneutic dissertations—how they chose their topics, their approach to research, what they discovered, what it was like emotionally for them, and how the process has influenced them in the years since completion. The contributors explore important contemporary issues like social justice, identity, gender inequality, and the political consequences of psychological theories and offer fresh, critical perspectives rooted in lived experiences. This book showcases the value and importance of hermeneutics, both as a philosophy, and as an orientation for conducting research that aids in critical, culturally respectful, interdisciplinary approaches. This is illuminating reading for graduate students and scholars curious about the hermeneutic approach to research, particularly those engaged in fields like theoretical psychology, clinical psychology, psychotherapy, mental health, cultural history, and social work.

This is a critical, personalized approach to reframing the discipline of psychology through a singular narrative in the form of a memoir written by a successful research psychologist. In this book we follow Martin’s unique career, which has allowed him to understand and adopt different perspectives and ways of approaching psychology, from working in applied areas like educational and counseling psychology to more specialized areas like theory and history of psychology. His journey through and within the field describes his movement away from scientifically based psychology, which views teachings and interventions to be primarily underwritten by hard scientific evidence. Martin exposes the flaws in this approach and highlights the importance of focusing on the study of persons in their life contexts over the use of aggregated group results to ensure that the discipline survives and flourishes. This is an impactful and universally applicable book with valuable insights for students and scholars of psychology today, particularly those studying history of psychology, theoretical psychology, and philosophical psychology.

This book is a strenuous critique of the misinterpretation of statistical knowledge of populations in mainstream psychology, exploring the implications of assuming that those statistics constitute scientific knowledge of individuals. It investigates the essential nature and historical roots of this interpretive practice, and documents the lack of change in mainstream thinking despite previous critiques of the practice. The author contends that prevailing interpretive traditions result in bad science, in that invalid claims are made to knowledge of individuals. He also discusses the socio-ethical problems resulting from this misinterpretation of statistics, where psychological practitioners unjustifiably endorse interventions in the lives of individuals. Lamiell urges psychologists to abandon the aggregate statistical methods which he argues have transformed the field into ‘psycho-demography,’ and to embrace instead alternative research methods that are logically suited to gaining scientific knowledge about the psychological functioning of individuals. This book concludes by highlighting some of the currently available methodological alternatives, as well as discussing some enduring conceptual impediments to the serious consideration of those alternatives.

Do I Look at You with Love? explores the author’s mother’s dementia during her final years. Part narrative psychology, part memoir, Freeman’s story also highlights the beauty that may be found amidst of the ravages of time and memory.

This book presents a novel perspective on psychology’s methodology—moving it from quantification as a given imperative to science-philosophical look at phenomena-data relationship. The idea for this volume emerged from inquiries into the history of psychology of the 18th-19th centuries where the developmental focus within German Naturphilosophie led philosophers to emphasize the dialectical nature of biological and psychological development. The nature of the natural and social worlds is curvilinear and includes knot-complexes that cannot be investigated in terms of the consensually accepted General Linear Model of the 20th century. In this the new book continues the creative search for new forms of epistemological ways of thinking that was started in 2010 in the volume methodological thinking in psychology: 60 years gone astray. General Liner Model and turned into metaphoric complexes that acquire life of their own in psychologists’ thinking needs to be replaced by qualitative-structural units of thinking about how human psychological organization can be presented.