Qualitative Communication Research Methods, Fourth Edition introduces you to qualitative research in speech and mass communication. Award-winning scholars and authors Thomas R. Lindlof and Bryan C. Taylor guide you through every step of the qualitative process, from developing research topics and questions through writing a final report. You are given numerous examples of work in the field to illustrate how studies are designed, carried out, written, evaluated, and related to theory. In addition to covering the theories and methods currently used in qualitative communication research, the authors also discuss important trends influencing the future of that research, helping you make informed judgments about the significance and consequences of recent trends. New to the Fourth Edition: A new chapter titled “The Diversity of Qualitative Research in Communication Subfields” provides readers with a complete guide to the field’s distinctive subfields and enables you to identify the research agenda that best represents your own interests.Two rising subfields— Political Communication and Communication Activism— have been added, resulting in 13 subfields covered.  Two major phases of data analysis have been split into separate chapters, enabling you to concentrate on the initial steps of analysis before moving on to the interpretation phase of analysis. Discussions of important intellectual and institutional trends currently reshaping the landscape of qualitative research, including Materialist Theory, Big Data, and Open-Access publishing, provide you with cutting-edge knowledge and skills that affect what you study and how you study it. An analysis of new developments in media and technology shows you how social media networks and other digital platforms are not only topics of research, but also the means for collecting and analyzing data.