Qualitative Inquiry and the Politics of Evidence

What is evidence in qualitative inquiry and how is it evaluated? What is true or false in research is strongly influenced by socially defined criteria and by the politics of academia. In providing an alternative to conservative science, qualitative researchers are often victimized by these politics. The use of qualitative evidence within the policy arena is also subject to social and political factors. Within qualitative inquiry itself, evidence is defined differently in different discourses--law, medicine, history, cultural, or performance studies. The interdisciplinary, international group of contributors to this volume address these questions in an attempt to create evidential criteria for qualitative work. Sponsored by the International Center for Qualitative Inquiry.

Norman K. Denzin is Distinguished Professor of Communications, College of Communications Scholar, and Research Professor of Communications, Sociology, and Humanities at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. One of the world s foremost authorities on qualitative research and cultural criticism, Denzin is the author or editor of more than two dozen books, including Searching for Yellowstone; Reading Race; Interpretive Ethnography; The Cinematic Society; The Voyeur s Gaze; and The Alcoholic Self. He is past editor of The Sociological Quarterly, co-editor (with Yvonna S. Lincoln) of three editions of the landmark Handbook of Qualitative Research, coeditor (with Michael D. Giardina) of three plenary volumes from the annual Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, co-editor (with Lincoln) of the methods journal Qualitative Inquiry, founding editor of Cultural Studies/Critical Methodologies and International Review of Qualitative Research, and editor of three book series.Michael D. Giardina is Visiting Assistant Professor of Advertising & Cultural Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. With Norman Denzin he has edited Qualitative Inquiry and the Conservative Challenge (Left Coast Press, 2006), Ethical Futures in Qualitative Research (Left Coast Press, 2007), Qualitative Inquiry and the Politics of Evidence (Left Coast Press, 2008), Qualitative Inquiry and Social Justice (Left Coast Press, 2009), and Qualitative Inquiry and Human Rights (Left Coast Press, 2010).＂