Chapter Overviews
Chapter Four, Design and Reflexivity in Data Collection, is the first of two chapters that focus on data collection. This chapter focuses on the processes of qualitative data collection with an emphasis on considering data from an ecological/holistic perspective that seeks rigor, validity, and criticality and that views research participants as experts of their own experiences. In this chapter, we delve into the overarching processes and values of qualitative research design, connect them to data collection, and include a discussion of what it means to define, view, and approach qualitative data collection as an iterative and reflexive process. The chapter discusses the relationship of data collection to ongoing research design and highlights the role of reflexivity and the researcher-generated nature of qualitative data sources. To support the ideals of the chapter, we include a variety of strategies, recommended practices, and questions to help support a reflexive data collection process.