Longitudinal Qualitative Research: Analyzing Change Through Time

Johnny Saldana 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 theatre 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 Saldana presents a text intended as a primer for fellow newcomers to a long-term inquiry, based on traditional social methods from traditional qualitative and quantitative paradigms, but enriched by an artist-educator’s unconventional perspective.