The Right Pathway to Becoming a Successful Qualitative Researcher: A Book Review of Char Ullman, Kate Mangelsdorf, and Jair Muñoz’ Graduate Students Becoming Qualitative Researchers: An Ethnographic Study

Abstract

Graduate Students Becoming Qualitative Researchers: An Ethnographic Study is a book written by Char Ullman, Kate Mangelsdorf, and their student, Jair Munoz, of the University of Texas. The book addresses questions such as, "What problems do inexperienced qualitative researchers face?" and “How can an individual become a qualitative researcher?” This book examines the academic and identity processes of disadvantaged students who become qualitative researchers. An in-depth ethnographic study was conducted by the authors to demonstrate how these elements fit into Communities of Practice. As ethnographers and researchers, students engage with and learn from communities, drawing from their prior experiences and identities while exploring new perspectives. Students renegotiated the significance of contributing their own expertise to the classroom and research through identity work. The authors discuss how students become researchers and construct a community of practice by discovering motivation, making personal sacrifices, embracing hybridity, and overcoming resistance. This book is appropriate for doctoral candidates, postgraduate researchers, academics, and educators conducting qualitative research in education, rhetoric, the humanities, and the social sciences. Furthermore, it will appeal to multiculturalism and diversity in the education sector.