Gateways to Understanding: A Model for Exploring and Discerning Meaning from Experience

Source: International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Volume 21, Issue 4 . July 2008 , pages 407 - 425

Qualitative research methodologies comprise distinct traditions, each of which is based on its own assumptions and discrete methods for collecting, analyzing and reporting data.
This paper examines a distinctive approach to qualitative research that was employed in a recent study to open a gateway to understanding the impact of the shootings at Columbine High School.
Using the Columbine study as a model, it analyzes and delineates a process for collecting data through modified oral history practices, displaying data through stories using a specialized form of poetic representation, and disclosing results through strategies adapted from educational criticism and connoisseurship.