Chapters in this volume provide an introduction to qualitative research in higher education, organizing the discussion around four central themes. Part 1, Situating Ourselves and Our Inquiry, contains: (1) Objectivity in Educational Research (Elliot Eisner); (2) Truth in Trouble (Kenneth Gergen); (3) Beyond Translation: Truth and Rigoberta Menchu (William G. Tierney); (4) The Role of Theory in the Research Process (Margaret LeCompte and Judith Preissle); (5) Competing Paradigms in Qualitative Research (Egon G. Guba and Yvonna S. Lincoln; (6) Using Alternative Paradigms: Four Case Studies (John H. Milam, Jr.); (7) Introduction: Feminist Research Methods (Joyce McCarl Nielsen); (8) Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought (Patricia Hill Collins); and (9) Research as Praxis (Patti Lather). Part 2, Preparing for the Field: Choosing Research Strategies, contains: (10) Ethnographic Research in Education (Harry F. Wolcott); (11) Critical Ethnography in Education: Origins, Current Status, and New Directions (Gary L. Anderson); (12) Case Studies as Qualitative Research (Sharan B. Merriam); (13) A Positioned Subject Approach to Inquiry (Clifton Conrad, Jennifer Grant Haworth, and Susan Bolyard Millar); (14) A Phenomenological Approach (Loren Barritt, Hans Bleeker, Ton Beekman, and Karel Mulderij); (15) Taking Narrative Seriously: Consequences for Method and Theory in Interview Studies (Susan E. Chase); (16) The Life Story (Jeff Todd Titon); (17) Grounded Theory: An Alternative Approach to Research in Higher Education (Clifton F. Conrad); (18) Guiding Principles for Participatory Action Research (Robin McTaggart); (19) Conducting Research on Practice (Virginia Richardson); (20) Standards of Quality and Verification (John Creswell); (21) Understanding and Validity in Qualitative Research (Joseph A. Maxwell); (22) Strategies of Multiple Triangulation (Norman Denzin); (23) Increasing the Generalizability of Qualitative Research (Janet Ward Schofield); (24) Issues of Validity in Openly Ideological Research: Between a Rock and a Soft Place" (Patti Lather); (25) Common Problems in Field Work: A Personal Essay (Annette Lareau); (26) Being There: Developing Understanding through Participant Observation (Corinne Glesne); (27) Doing (Margot Ely, with Margaret Anzul, Teri Friedman, Diane Garner, and Ann McCormack Steinmetz); (28) The Interview Situation (Steinar Kvale); (29) Document Analysis (Elizabeth J. Whitt); (30) In Search of Subjectivity--One's Own (Alan Peshkin); (31) Ethnicity and Expertise: Racial-Ethnic Knowledge in Sociological Research (Marjorie DeVault); (32) Crossing Sexual Orientation Borders: Collaborative Strategies for Dealing with Issues of Positionality and Representation (Robert A. Rhoads); (33) But Is It Ethical? Learning To Do Right (Corinne Glesne); (34) Ethical Considerations in Fieldwork (Maurice Punch); (35) Being at the Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Rethinking Trust in Qualitative Inquiry (Peter Magolda); (36) Using Computers in Qualitative Research (Thomas J. Richards and Lyn Richards); (37) Data Management and Analysis Methods (A. Michael Huberman and Matthew B. Miles); (38) Description, Analysis, and Interpretation in Qualitative Inquiry (Harry Wolcott); and (39) The Interpretation of Documents and Material Culture (Ian Hodder). Part 4, Crafting Test through Writing and Representation, contains: (40) Supervising the Text (Paul Atkinson); (41) Recording the Miracle: Writing (David M. Fetterman); (42) Writing Up Fieldnotes II: Creating Scenes on the Page (Robert M. Emerson, Rachael I. Fretz, and Linda L. Shaw); (43) Writing Your Story: What Your Data Say (Corrine Glesne); (44) Making the Story (Margaret Ely, Margaret Anzul, Teri Friedman, Diane Garner, and Ann McCormack Steinetz); and (45) Fieldwork, Culture, and Ethnography Revisited (John Van Maanen). Each chapter contains references. (SLD)