From Numbers to Narratives: Becoming a Qualitative Researcher in the Global South
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52296/vje.2025.487-
Downloads
How to Cite
Abstract
In this paper, I narrate my journey of becoming a qualitative researcher from the Global South. My transformation has been facilitated by five conditions: learning from fieldwork masters to value rapport and context; learning from diverse communities to embrace multiple interpretations and give voice to the marginalized; learning from key methodology literature to gain theoretical foundations; learning to navigate academic writing and publishing to develop resilience and persuasive skills; and learning to be authentic to transform myself as a researcher and human being.
Downloads
References
Becker, H. S. (2008). Tricks of the trade: How to think about your research while you’re doing it. University of Chicago Press.
Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., Davis, I., & Wisner, B. (1994). At Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability and Disasters. Routledge.
Castoriadis, C. (1987). The Imaginary Institution of Society. Polity.
Chambers, R. (1994). The origins and practice of participatory rural appraisal. World Development, 22(7), 953-969.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Sage Publications.
Chenail, R. J. (n.d.). The Qualitative Report guide to qualitative research journals. The Qualitative Report. Retrieved September 14, 2024, from https://tqr.nova.edu/journals-2/
Clark, A. M., & Thompson, D. R. (2016). Five tips for writing qualitative research in high-impact journals: Moving from #BMJnoQual. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406916641250
Collins, R. (2004). Interaction ritual chains. Princeton University Press.
Creswell, J. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches. SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (Fourth edition). SAGE Publications.
Dados, N., & Connell, R. (2012). The global south. Contexts, 11(1), 12-13.
Denzin, N. K., Lincoln, Y. S., Giardina, M. D., & Cannella, G. S. (2023). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin, Y. S. Lincoln, M. D. Giardina, & G. S. Cannella (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Dirlik, A. (2007). Global South: predicament and promise. The Global South, 1(1), 12-23.
Ellis, C. (1999). Heartful autoethnography. Qualitative Health Research, 9(5), 669-683. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973299129122153
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures. Basic Books.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Aldine Transaction.
Goffman, E. (1956). The Nature of Deference and Demeanor. American Anthropologist, 58(3), 473-502.
Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Penguin Books.
Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1989). Fourth generation evaluation. Sage Publications.
Kaplan, R. B. (1966). Cultural thought patterns in inter‐cultural education. Language Learning, 16(1‐2), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1966.tb00804.x
Kenway, J., & Fahey, J. (2009). Globalizing the research imagination. Routledge.
Krippendorff, K. (2018). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (Fourth Edition). SAGE Publications.
Kuhn, T. S. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago press.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage Publications.
Lofland, J., Snow, D. A., Anderson, L., & Lofland, L. H. (2006). Analyzing social settings: A guide to qualitative observation and analysis (4th ed.). Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Manning, P. (1989). Ritual talk. Sociology, 23(3), 365-385.
Maxwell, J. A. (2012). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Maxwell, J. A., & Chmiel, M. (2014). Generalization in and from qualitative analysis. In U. Flick (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis (pp. 540-553). Sage Publications.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. SAGE Publications.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2013). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Mills, C. W. (2000). The sociological imagination. Oxford University Press.
Morgan, D. L. (2007). Paradigms lost and pragmatism regained: Methodological implications of combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(1), 48-76.
Morgan, D. L. (2014). Pragmatism as a paradigm for social research. Qualitative Inquiry, 20(8), 1045-1053.
Narayanasamy, N. (2009). Participatory rural appraisal: Principles, methods and application. SAGE Publications.
Nguyen, K. (2015). The “sacred face”: What directs Vietnamese people in interacting with others in everyday life. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 1(3), 246-259.
Nguyen, K. (2016). Daily deference rituals and social hierarchy in Vietnam. Asian Social Science, 12(5), 33-46. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v12n5p33
Nguyen, N. T., & Chia, Y. T. (2023). Decolonizing research imagination: A journey of reshaping research epistemology and ontology. Asia Pacific Education Review, 24(2), 213-226. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-023-09822-8
Nguyen, T. K. (2012). Năng lực tham gia của phụ nữ dân tộc thiểu số: Một phân tích từ lý thuyết nhóm im lặng [The participatory capacity of ethnic minority women: An analysis from the muted group theory’s perspective]. Tạp chí Nghiên cứu Gia đình và Giới [Vietnam Journal of Family and Gender Studies], 22(3), 53-68.
Nguyen, T. K. (2014). Vietnamese deference rituals in everyday life encounters: A grounded theory of Hanoi City [Master’s thesis]. Flinders University.
Nguyen-Trung, K. (2022). “Khi mô về?” (When will you go home?) Evocative autoethnography on death, impermanence, and time-space extension. The Qualitative Report, 27(10), 2174-2184. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5590
Nguyen-Trung, K. (2024). The power of qualitative research: Cultivating autoethnography for personal awakening, humanity, and transformation. The Qualitative Report, 29(5), 1334-1345. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6543
Nguyen-Trung, K., Saeri, A. K., & Kaufman, S. (2024). Incorporating pragmatism in a behaviour change-led climate adaptation project: a collaborative reflection. Qualitative Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/qrj-11-2023-0168
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Sage Publications.
Phạm Văn Quyết, Nguyễn Quý Thanh (2007). Phương pháp nghiên cứu Xã hội học [Sociological research methods]. NXB Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội.
Rittel, H. W., & Webber, M. M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences, 4(2), 155-169.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2011). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. SAGE Publications.
Saldaña, J. (2018). Researcher, analyze thyself. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17(1), 1609406918801717.
Saldaña, J. (2024). Developing theory through qualitative inquiry. SAGE Publications.
Schwandt, T. A. (2016). Egon Guba: Observations on a journey to constructivism. In The constructivist credo (pp. 15-24). Routledge.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. SAGE Publications.
Taylor, S. J., & Bogdan, R. (1984). Introduction to qualitative research methods: The search for meaning. John Wiley & Sons.
Wisner, B., Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., & Davis, I. (1994). At risk: Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability and disasters. Routledge.
Wisner, B., Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., & Davis, I. (2004). At risk: Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability and disasters (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research: Design and methods (6th ed.). Sage Publications.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Vietnam Journal of Education

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.