Using qualitative research for the sociology of food

Presents an outline of the value of qualitative approaches to research into social life specifically within the area of the sociology of food and eating. Uses a study funded by the ESRC as an illustration for the decision to take a qualitative perspective. Highlights two specific methods, the focus group and the semi‐structured interview. Examines the effect on the family of one member′s change in diet, and uses a multi‐method, multi‐stage research design. This design has offered the opportunity to use an inductive process of analysis which has resulted in the emergence of a series of conceptual frameworks within which family members may be seen to understand the process of absorbing change.