Qualitative Research: A Defense of Traditions

Abstract

I recently published two papers (Jacob, 1987, 1988) that dealt with research traditions. In one (Jacob, 1988) I argued that confusion has arisen in the educational literature because many scholars have treated the alternatives to traditional positivistic research as a single approach, often called qualitative research, when, in fact, there are a variety of alternative approaches. I also asserted that the confusion could be clarified by using the concept of tradition. In the other article (Jacob, 1987), I described and compared several American traditions and discussed how they might contribute to educational research. This article replies to the response by Atkinson, Delamont, and Hammersley (1988) to my discussion of selected traditions (Jacob, 1987).' They faulted my review article on two main points. First, they argued that the concept of tradition is not useful for understanding social science research. Second, they complained that I should have included British work in my review article. In reply, I explain my use of the concept of tradition, explore various ways in which I find the concept helpful, and show why I did not need to include British work in my article.