Feminist Research Practice

Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber (PhD, University of Michigan) is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Women’s Studies & Gender Studies Program at Boston College in Massachusetts. She has published widely on the impact of sociocultural factors on women’s body image, including her book Am I Thin Enough Yet? The Cult of Thinness and the Commercialization of Identity, which was selected as one of Choice Magazine’s best academic books for 1996. She has also written widely on methodological and methods issues, including the role of technology and emergent methods in social research. Dr. Hesse-Biber is co-editor of Emergent Methods in Social Research and the Handbook of Emergent Methods, as well as co-author of The Practice of Qualitative Research. She is also editor of the Handbook of Feminist Research: Theory and Praxis, which was selected as one of the Critics’ Choice Award winners by the American Education Studies Association and was also chosen as one of Choice Magazine’s Outstanding Academic titles for 2007. Dr. Hesse-Biber is co-developer of the software program HyperRESEARCH, a computer-assisted program for analyzing qualitative data, and the new transcription tool HyperTRANSCRIBE. For more information, see www.researchware.com. Patricia Leavy specializes in qualitative methodology, collective memory, popular culture and gender. Leavy previously taught at Boston College, Northeastern University and Curry College. She is the author of Iconic Events: Media, Politics and Power in Retelling History (Lexington Books, 2007), Method Meets Art: Arts-Based Research (Guilford Press, 2009) and Oral History: Understanding Qualitative Research (Oxford University Press, 2011). She is coauthor of Feminist Research Practice (Sage, 2007) and The Practice of Qualitative Research (Sage, 2005; 2011). She is the co-editor of Hybrid Identities: Theoretical and Empirical Examinations (Brill, 2009); Handbook of Emergent Methods (Guilford Press, 2008); Emergent Methods in Social Research (Sage, 2006) and Approaches to Qualitative Research: A Reader on Theory and Practice (Oxford University Press, 2004). She is currently the editor for a large book series with Oxford University Press titled Understanding Qualitative Research. Leavy has also authored articles on methodology, body image, collective memory, and media. She is regularly quoted in newspapers for her expertise on popular culture and gender and has appeared on CNN’s Glenn Beck Show and Lou Dobbs. Leavy is the founding Director of the Gender Studies Program at Stonehill. Patricia Leavy was named the New England Sociologist of the Year 2010 by the New England Sociological Association.

The many voices of feminist social researchers here provide a welcome focus on inquiry practices.  They sort through more than three decades of social research as well as reflections on it. They illuminate these analyses with "tales from the field."  This is a valuable text for graduate and undergraduate social science researchers.

• AcknowledgmentsPrefaceAbout the AuthorsAbout the Chapter ContributorsAbout the Behind-the-Scenes Contributors1. An Invitation to Feminist Research, by Abigail Brooks and Sharlene Nagy Hesse-BiberPart I: Feminist Approaches to Epistemology and Theory2. Feminist Empiricism: Challenging Gender Bias and "Setting the Record Straight," by Denise Leckenby3. Feminist Standpoint Epistemology: Building Knowledge and Empowerment Through Women′s Lived Experience, by Abigail Brooks4. Feminist Postmodernism and Poststructuralism, by Patricia Lina LeavyPart II: Feminist Approaches to Research Methods and Methodology5. The Practice of Feminist In-Depth Interviewing, by Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber6. The Practice of Feminist Oral History and Focus Group Interviews, by Patricia Lina Leavy7. The Feminist Practice of Ethnography, by Elana D. Buch and Karen M. Staller8. The Feminist Practice of Content Analysis, by Patricia Lina Leavy9. Feminist Approaches to Mixed-Methods Research, by Denise Leckenby and Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber10. Feminist Survey Research, by Kathi Miner-Rubino and Toby Epstein Jayaratne - Antoinette Errante, Lisa Cosgrove, Dana Jack Crowley, Diana E. H. Russel, Kristin L. Anderson, Maxine Birch, Sandra Harding, Suheyla Kirca Schroeder, Lisa Dodson, Patti Lather, Deborah Piatelli, Judith Preissle, Leah SchmalzbauerPart III: Feminist Praxis11. Putting It Together: Feminist Research Praxis, by Sharlene Nagy Hesse-BiberIndex