Offering a detailed introduction to the practice of data analysis, this book is both user-friendly and theoretically grounded. Drawing on his extensive experience of qualitative research, Douglas Ezzy reviews approaches to data analysis in established research traditions including ethnography, phenomenology and symbolic interactionism, alongside the newer approaches informed by cultural studies and feminism. He explains the difference between inductive, deductive and abductive theory building, provides a guide to computer-assisted analysis and outlines techniques such as journal writing, team meetings and participant reviews.This text is one of the first to treat computer assisted data analysis as an integral part of qualitative research. Exceptionally well written, this is a valuable reference for research students and professional researchers in the social sciences and health.