This second edition of Qualitative Research Methods in Public Relations and Marketing Communications is a practical guide for students undertaking qualitative research, encouraging them to engage effectively and critically with the practices and discourses of professional communication.

Part I: Getting Started 1. The Nature and Usefulness of Qualitative Research for Public Relations and Marketing Communications 2. Selecting a Topic and Relating to Your Supervisor 3. Reviewing the Literature & Writing the Research Proposal 4. Ethical Issues and Access 5. Ensuring the Quality of Research Part II: Selecting the Research Approach 6. Choosing between Different Types of Research 7. Case Studies 8. Grounded Theory 9. Ethnography 10. Discourse and Critical Discourse Analysis 11. Phenomenology 12. Additional Approaches: Historical Research and Action Research Part III: Collecting the Data 13. Sampling 14. Interviews 15. Focus Groups 16. Observation 17. Written, Visual and Multi-media Materials Part IV: Analyzing, Interpreting and Writing about the Data 18. Analyzing and Interpreting the Data 19. Writing the Report Part V: Further Issues 20. Mixed Methods Research 21. Finishing Off