Through the use of selective attention, schematic representations of perceptual components are extracted from experience and stored in memory (e.g., individual memories of green, purr, hot). The stor- age and reactivation of perceptual symbols operates at the level of perceptual components - not at the level of holistic perceptual expe- riences. Later, in a top-down manner, association areas partially reactivate sensory-motor areas to implement perceptual symbols. During perceptual experience, association areas in the brain capture bottom-up patterns of activation in sensory-motor areas. A perceptual theory of knowledge is developed here in the context of current cognitive science and neuroscience. In addition, perceptual approaches have become widely viewed as untenable because they are assumed to implement record- ing systems, not conceptual systems. Since then, developments in logic, statis- tics, and programming languages have inspired amodal theories that rest on principles fundamentally different from those underlying perception. The book has been written not only for sociologists but for all researchers in the social sciences and in such fields as education, public health, nursing, and administration who employ qualitative methods in their work.read more read lessĪbstract: Prior to the twentieth century, theories of knowledge were inherently perceptual. In addition, there is a chapter on the teaching of qualitative analysis and the giving of useful advice during research consultations, and there is a discussion of the preparation of material for publication. The difficulties that beginners encounter when doing qualitative analysis and the kinds of persistent questions they raise are also discussed, as is the problem of how to integrate analyses. Many of the procedural discussions are concluded with rules of thumb that can usefully guide the researchers' analytic operations. The reader is provided with the tools for doing qualitative analysis, such as codes, memos, memo sequences, theoretical sampling and comparative analysis, and diagrams, all of which are abundantly illustrated by actual examples drawn from the author's own varied qualitative research and research consultations, as well as from his research seminars. The special emphasis of the book is on how to develop theory through qualitative analysis. This handbook is designed to remedy that and to present students and researchers with a systematic method for interpreting qualitative data', whether derived from interviews, field notes, or documentary materials.

Abstract: The teaching of qualitative analysis in the social sciences is rarely undertaken in a structured way.

The metaphors we live by