Qualitative researchers are increasingly being called upon to become human rights advocates, to help individuals and communities honor the sanctity of life, and to promote the core values of privacy, justice, freedom, peace, and human dignity. In this volume of plenary papers from the Fifth International of Qualitative Inquiry in 2009, leading qualitative researchers show the various dimensions of the human rights work being done by scholar/activists in the social sciences, education, health care, social services, cultural studies, and other fields.

Qualitative researchers are increasingly being called upon to become human rights advocates, to help individuals and communities honor the sanctity of life, and to promote the core values of privacy, justice, freedom, peace, and human dignity. In this volume of plenary papers from the Fifth International of Qualitative Inquiry in 2009, leading qualitative researchers show the various dimensions of the human rights work being done by scholar/activists in the social sciences, education, health care, social services, cultural studies, and other fields.

This plenary volume from the Sixth International Congress on Qualitative Inquiry (2010) highlights the variety of roles played by qualitative researchers in addressing global communities in crisis. It shows how qualitative researchers can bridge gaps in cultural and linguistic understanding to address issues of disparity in race, ethnicity, gender, and environment in the interests of global social justice and human rights. Authored by many of the world’s leading qualitative researchers, the signature articles in this volume point qualitative researchers toward a research stance of ethics, meaning, and advocacy.

This plenary volume from the Sixth International Congress on Qualitative Inquiry (2010) highlights the variety of roles played by qualitative researchers in addressing global communities in crisis. It shows how qualitative researchers can bridge gaps in cultural and linguistic understanding to address issues of disparity in race, ethnicity, gender, and environment in the interests of global social justice and human rights. Authored by many of the world’s leading qualitative researchers, the signature articles in this volume point qualitative researchers toward a research stance of ethics, meaning, and advocacy.

The plenary volume from the Seventh International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (2011) examines the politics of advocacy and the context in which scholars are encouraged to pursue social justice agendas, be human rights advocates, and do work that honors the core values of human dignity and freedom from fear and violence. Contributions from many of the world's leading qualitative researchers in communications, education, sociology, and related disciplines address topics including community research, transformative education, and researcher ethics, and guide the field toward an engaged, activist research agenda.

Methodological discussion has largely been neglected in human rights research, with legal scholars in particular tending to address research methods and methodological reflection implicitly rather than explicitly. This book advances thinking on human rights methodology, offering instruction and guidance on the methodological options for human rights research.

From the fifteenth International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, this book foregrounds and engages with new ways of a politics of resistance and critical qualitative inquiry in these troubling times.