Qualitative Family Research: Enduring Themes and Contemporary Variations

Abstract

This chapter begins with an overview of the history of qualitative family research. This section shows that today’s research builds upon a rich heritage that extends to the origins of social science research. This heritage is a source of enduring principles, methodologies, and methods, as well as a rich vocabulary that qualitative family researchers can use as they explain their work to others. This heritage emphasizes, multiple perspectives, person-environment interactions, critical stances regarding gender, race, and other power issues, theory-building, descriptive research, and the meanings of human experience. From this overview, I construct an analytic framework that I use to examine contemporary qualitative family research. I show how this heritage has endured, as well as how it has changed over time. I end with a discussion of the implications of the analysis for the future of qualitative family research.