Qualitative Research Methods for Community Development

The second edition of Qualitative Research Methods for Community Development teaches the basic skills, tools, and methods of qualitative research with special attention to the needs of community practitioners. This book teaches students entering planning, community development, nonprofit management, social work, and similar applied fields the core skills necessary to conduct systematic research designed to empower communities and promote social change.

Focusing on the basic elements of qualitative research, such as field observation, interviewing, focus groups, and content analysis, this second edition of this book provides an overview of core methods and theoretical underpinnings of successful research. It also includes two new chapters on qualitative data analysis software and techniques for conducting online qualitative interviews and focus groups.

From housing, community organizing, neighborhood planning, and urban revitalization, this book gives students the skills they need to undertake their own projects and provides professionals a valuable reference for their future research. This book serves as a primary text for courses in applied qualitative research and as a reference book for professionals and community-based researchers.

Robert Mark Silverman is a Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo. He holds a Ph.D. in Urban Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He also holds a B.S. in Political Science and a Master’s in Public Administration from Arizona State University. His research focuses on community development, the nonprofit sector, community-based organizations, education reform, and inequality in inner city housing markets. He has published in Journal of Urban Affairs, Urban Affairs Review, Urban Studies, Urban Education, National Civic Review, Cityscape, Journal of Community Practice, Community Development, Journal of Black Studies, Journal of Social History, and other peer reviewed journals. He is co-author of: Affordable Housing in US Shrinking Cities: From Neighborhoods of Despair to Neighborhoods of Opportunity? (2016). He is co-editor of: Schools and Urban Revitalization: Rethinking Institutions and Community Development (Routledge, 2013); and Fair and Affordable Housing in the US: Trends, Outcomes, Future Directions (2011). He is also editor of Community-Based Organizations: The intersection of Social Capital and Local Context in Contemporary Urban Society (2004).

Kelly L. Patterson is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at the University at Buffalo. She holds a Ph.D. in Urban Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a Master’s in Public Affairs from the University at Buffalo, and a B.A. in Sociology from North Carolina Central University. Her research focuses on rent vouchers, fair housing, discrimination, social policy, and the African American experience. She has published in Journal of Community Practice, Journal of Urban Affairs, Housing Policy Debate, Housing and Society, Cityscape, Journal of Social Service Research, Journal of Black Psychology, and other peer reviewed journals. She is co-author of: Affordable Housing in US Shrinking Cities: From Neighborhoods of Despair to Neighborhoods of Opportunity? (2016). She is co-editor of: Schools and Urban Revitalization: Rethinking Institutions and Community Development (Routledge, 2013); and Fair and Affordable Housing in the US: Trends, Outcomes, Future Directions (2011).