Michelle O’Reilly (BSc [hons], MSc, MA, PhD, PGCAPHE) is an Associate Professor of Communication in Mental Health at the University of Leicester and a Research Consultant for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. Michelle is also a Chartered Psychologist in Health. Michelle has specific interest in child and adolescent mental health and has been investigating the relationship between mental health and social media as part of that work. Michelle has made several media contributions about the research with adolescents, educationalists, and parents, as funded by the Wellcome Trust. Additional to her research interests in mental health and social media, Michelle also undertakes research in self-harm and suicidal behaviour, neurodevelopmental conditions, and child mental health services, such as mental health assessments and family therapy. Michelle recently won the Anselm Strauss Award for Qualitative Family Research for her co-authored contribution on discursive psychology in this area. Michelle has expertise in qualitative methodologies and specialises in discursive psychology and conversation analysis.  Dr Nikki Kiyimba is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for the Msc in Therapeutic Practice for Psychological Trauma at Chester University UK, and also works as a Chartered Clinical Psychologist for Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust. Clinically, Nikki works with a range of clients presenting with severe and enduring psychological difficulties. Nikki’s research interests are mainly in the areas of qualitative methods and therapeutic approaches. She is also interested in the impact of trauma and vicarious trauma. Grounded in a social constructionist epistemological perspective, she has a particular interest in qualitative research, and her analytic specialism is in using discursive approaches. Nikki has also recently co-authored the book ‘Doing Mental Health Research with Children and Adolescents: A Guide to Qualitative Methods’ (Sage).

O′Reilly and Kiyimba′s thorough and thoughtful book will be a great help to qualitative researchers looking for guidance in the ′why′ of their research method. In navigating the reefs of theory that underlie empirical method, this book provides a welcome and valuable compass.

• Chapter 1: Theoretical Issues in the Qualitative ParadigmChapter 2: Issues of QualityChapter 3: Research Ethics and Researcher SafetyChapter 4: Perspective Driven Data CollectionChapter 5: Research Design and Mixing Qualitative MethodsChapter 6: Recording and TranscriptionChapter 7: Primary and Secondary Data AnalysisChapter 8: Dissemination Practice in Qualitative ResearchChapter 9: Applying Qualitative Research in Practice