Longitudinal Qualitative Research

Analyzing Change Through Time

Johnny Salda-a outlines the basic elements of longitudinal qualitative data, focusing on micro-levels of change observed within individual cases and groups of participants. He draws upon his primary experience in theater education to examine time and change in longitudinal qualitative studies; contending that 'playwrights and qualitative researchers write for the same purpose: to create a unique, insightful, and engaging text about the human condition.' Offering sixteen specific questions through which researchers may approach the analysis of longitudinal qualitative data, Professor Salda-a presents a text intended as a primer for fellow newcomers to long term inquiry, based on traditional social science methods from traditional qualitative and quantitative paradigms, but enriched by an artist-educator's unconventional perspective.