Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research

Sample articles

• Sample Volume 1

FQS is a peer-reviewed multilingual online journal for qualitative research established in 1999 ISSN: 1438-5627 (ONLINE) Journal metadata

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• Aims and scope
• Profile
• Editors
• Guide to authors
• Contact
• Terms and conditions

• Indexing

• Aims and scope

  FQS is a peer-reviewed multilingual online journal for qualitative research established in 1999.
  
  
  FQS is interested in empirical studies conducted using qualitative methods, and in contributions that deal with the theory, methodology and application of qualitative research. Innovative ways of thinking, writing, researching and presenting are especially welcome. On request, we will endeavor to organize Internet-specific forms of interaction between authors and readers, such as online discussions. We favor contributions with an inter-disciplinary and/or multinational perspective which was already manifest at the conceptualization stage, for example through co-authorship.
  
  
  With regard to empirical work, authors are encouraged to provide more detailed information about the research process such as field notes and details of coding procedures. If lengthy transcript excerpts are provided, then it is necessary to prove to the editors that data protection/privacy standards have been adhered to.

• Profile

  FQS Issues are published tri-annually. Additionally, selected single contributions and contributions belonging to the rubrics FQS Debates, FQS Interviews, FQS Reviews and FQS Conferences are published immediately after they go through the peer review process.

  
  
  Contributions, submitted to be published within the sections FQS Interviews, FQS Debates, FQS Reviews, FQS Conferences are reviewed directly by the respective rubric editors. If a contribution is submitted to be published in a thematic issue, the editors of the respective issue are responsible for organizing the peer review process; if necessary, the FQS editors provide support through external reviewers.

  
  

  Single contributions are made anonymous and sent to two independent reviewers (double blind review). Most of the times these reviewers belong to the FQS Editorial Board, in some cases we also consult external reviewers. Contrary to the practice of some other scientific journals, we usually do not accept author's suggestions to select reviewers.

  
  

  Usually, the peer review process takes about eight weeks. Principally three different responses are possible: accepted for publishing, rejected in the current form (minor/major revisions necessary), and rejected. Based on the reviewers' recommendations, the main editor (in the case of single contributions) or the issue editors (when contributions submitted for thematic issues) decide whether a contribution will be published or not, and the authors are informed of the decision and its reasons. If major revisions are needed, the revised version will be reevaluated by at least one of the reviewers.
  
  
  FQS provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

• Indexing

  FQS is covered by various indexing/abstracting services: for example, in Accredited Open Access Journals - South Africa (AOAJSA), Cabell's Directories, Directory of Open Access Journals, Cabell's Commendable Journal, ICAAP, Intute: Social Sciences, SCOPUS, and SocioSite; abstracts in CSA Sociological Abstracts, CSA Worldwide Political Science Abstracts, IBSS: International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Hinari, Open J-Gate, Psyndex, and Solis, full texts in ProQuest Social Science Journals and SocINDEX.

• Editors

  Main Editor
  
  
  Katja Mruck, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
  
  
  FQS Debates
  
  
  Franz Breuer, Universität Münster, Germany
  Carlos Kölbl, Universität Hannover, Germany
  Jo Reichertz, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Germany
  Wolff-Michael Roth, University of Victoria, Canada
  FQS Interviews
  
  
  Günter Mey, University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal, Germany
  César A. Cisneros Puebla, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Mexico
  Robert B. Faux, Duquesne University, United States
  
  
  FQS Reviews
  
  
  Günter Mey, University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal, Germany
  Myriam Birch, United Kingdom
  Daniel Domínguez Figaredo, UNED Madrid, Spain
  Alejandra Martínez, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina
  Leigh O'Brien, State University of New York Geneseo, United States
  FQS Conferences
  
  
  Günter Mey, University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal, Germany
  Robert B. Faux, Duquesne University, United States
  Aldo Merlino, Universidad Siglo 21, Argentina
  
  
  Coordinator FQS Ibero America
  
  
  César A. Cisneros Puebla, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Mexico
  
  
  Associate Editors
  
  
  Jarg Bergold, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
  Robin Cooper, Nova Southeastern University, United States
  Editorial Assistants
  
  
  Bozana Bokan, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
  Tina Patel, Plusform Culture Language, Germany
  Aurelie Roy, University of Arizona, United States
  Al Sabado, Philippines
  
  
  Editorial Board
  
  
  Roni Berger, Adelphi University School of Social Work, New York, United States
  Ralf Bohnsack, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
  Renate Buber, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Austria
  Michael B. Buchholz, Universität Göttingen, Germany
  Juliet M. Corbin, United States
  John Cromby, Bradford University, United Kingdom
  Norman K. Denzin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States
  Hans-Liudger Dienel, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
  Thomas S. Eberle, Universität St. Gallen, Switzerland
  Carolyn Ellis, University of South Florida, United States
  Nigel Fielding, University of Surrey, United Kingdom
  Uwe Flick, Alice Salomon FH, University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany
  Jörg Frommer, Universität Magdeburg, Germany
  David Fryer, Charles Sturt University, Australia
  Kenneth J. Gergen, Swarthmore College, United States
  Mary Gergen, Penn State University, United States
  Graham R. Gibbs, University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom
  Roland Girtler, Universität Wien, Austria
  Barney G. Glaser, The Grounded Theory Institute, United States
  Giampietro Gobo, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
  Paul ten Have, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
  Ronald Hitzler, Universität Dortmund, Germany
  Eva Jaeggi, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
  Kip Jones, Bournemouth University, United Kingdom
  Gerd Jüttemann, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
  Werner Kallmeyer, Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, Germany
  Udo Kelle, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany
  Bobbi A. Kerlin, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
  Gerhard Kleining, Universität Hamburg, Germany
  Hubert Knoblauch, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
  Klaus Peter Koepping, Universität Heidelberg, Germany
  Zdenek Konopásek, Center for Theoretical Study, Praha, Czech Republic
  Wolfgang Kraus, Institut für Praxisforschung und Projektberatung, München, Germany
  Marilyn Lichtman, Virginia Tech, United States
  Andras Mate-Toth, Universitat Szeged, Hungary
  Philipp Mayring, Universität Klagenfurt, Austria
  Heinz Moser, Pestalozzianum Zürich, Switzerland
  Dieter Münch, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
  David J. Nightingale, Chromasia Limited, United Kingdom
  Alexander von Plato, Fernuniversität Hagen, Germany
  Roland Posner, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
  Carl Ratner, Institute for Cultural Research and Education, United States
  David L. Rennie, York University, Canada
  Gerhard Riemann, Georg-Simon-Ohm University of Applied Sciences, Germany
  Gabriele Rosenthal, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany
  Rudolf Schmitt, University of Applied Sciences Zittau-Görlitz, Germany
  Margrit Schreier, Jacobs University Bremen gGmbH, Germany
  Wilhelm Heinz Schröder, GESIS Zentralarchiv für Empirische Sozialforschung, Germany
  Falk Seeger, Universität Bielefeld, Germany
  Jürgen Straub, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
  Kazuyo Suzuki, Saitama Gakuen University, Japan
  Jürgen Trabant, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
  Miguel S. Valles, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
  Jaan Valsiner, Clark University, United States
  Shalva Weil, Hebrew University, Israel
  Harald Welzer, Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut NRW, Germany
  Clemens Wischermann, Universität Konstanz, Germany
  Andreas Witzel, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Germany
  
  

• Guide to authors

  Contributions, belonging to thematic issues, should be submitted to the editors of the respective issue. Single contributions and contributions for the various FQS Sections should be submitted online.
  
  
  Before sending in your contribution, please ensure that FQS guidelines for submissions are followed. This is absolutely necessary as it minimizes the workload and increases the turnaround period. The guidelines follow to a great extent the conventions of the American Psychological Association. Please also take a look at contributions published so far.
  
  
  To ensure a successful review process, please make sure the contribution has the following components:
  
  
  The main text
  
  
  The main text should be structured as follows:
  
  
  Title of the contribution
  Name of the author(s)
  Abstract: 100 to 200 words, if possible in English, German and Spanish
  Key words: 5-10
  Text: see the notes below for text layout
  Acknowledgments (optional)
  References: see the notes below for text layout
  Appendix: (optional)
  Author information: brief biographical information. We recommend that authors give at least some information about the research/work interest and the discipline of study. At the very least, the complete postal address should be included, and if existent: the URL for the Web site and the e-mail address.
  
  
  Illustrations, tables and graphics
  
  
  Illustrations, tables and graphics should be numbered consecutively in the text as Table 1, Table 2 etc. or rather Illustration 1, Illustration 2 etc. and additionally be given a title. The tables, illustrations and graphics are to be sent as extra documents (if applicable as GIF or JPEG files) to the Editorial Staff. It is important that space markers for overviews, tables and graphical material in the text are numbered accordingly and that the numbers and titles are identical in the non textual files. You may send an additional Word or Adobe file or a printed copy of the text in which one can see the layout as you would like to have it (structure, tables, and so on).
  
  
  Formatting your contribution
  
  
  The following passages provide information for the layout of the main text.
  
  
  Headings
  
  
  The headings in the text are to be numbered consecutively, main headings with 1., 2., 3. and so on; sub-headings with 1.1, 1.2, and so on; further sub-headings with respectively 1.1.1, 1.1.2 etc.
  
  
  The headings are separated from the text with one line before and after the heading (irrespective of the degree of specification).
  
  
  Emphasis
  
  
  An emphasis within the text is to be marked in italics.
  
  
  Appendix
  
  
  Additional/supplementary pieces of text that give further information regarding the main text may be organized as annexes and placed at the end of the text. It is important that every annex is given a title. With more than one annex, the annexes are to be numbered consecutively. Markers/references to these annexes can be given in the main text; without a reference it is not possible to create a link between the main text and sub-texts.
  
  
  References and citations
  
  
  References to author(s) should be made by providing the author's name(s) and the year of publication, in citations, additionally the page number(s) in print or rather (if available) the paragraph number in online publications. Citations should be marked with double quotation marks and with information regarding the source, and it should look like this:
  
  
  (NAME, year, p.page number)
  
  
  Citations for quotations are enclosed by simple quotation marks.
  
  
  Authors can be mentioned in the text by a) naming them in parentheses or b) mentioning them in the running text; in this case, optionally, the first name of the author can also be given in the first case.
  
  
  Example for a):
  
  
  ... (GLASER & STRAUSS, 1967, p.45) ...
  
  
  Example for b):
  
  
  Barney GLASER and Anselm STRAUSS (1967, p.45) suggested ...
  
  
  Citations with more than 40 words should have quotation marks and be set apart from the text in a new line.
  
  
  Always write the last names of all authors mentioned in the text in capital letters, when mentioned in the running text or in parentheses. (Do not capitalize authors last names in the list of references!). Do not use small capitals, since they change into lowercase letters when transported in HTML.
  
  
  Citations that have two authors, both authors should be mentioned in the text, in the cases where the citations have 3-5 authors, all authors should be mentioned in the first citation, thereafter only give the first author, supplemented with et al. With more than five authors, the initial citation should only mention the first author, supplemented by et al. In the bibliography, a complete naming of all of the authors should be included.
  
  
  List of references
  
  
  The bibliography is to be produced recursively, i.e. all of the literature citations which are given in the text should be included in the bibliography and the bibliography should only have the literature which is mentioned in the text.
  
  
  If possible, please always include the full first names of the authors in the bibliography (not just the initial). The literature is to be organized alphabetically by the names of the first authors. In case of reference to more than one publication by the same author, the order is ascending in correspondence to the publication year. When citing several publications of one author from the same year, then these are to be marked (at the end of the citation) with a, b, c etc. in accordance to their appearance in the text.
  
  
  In the bibliography, monographs must include the title of the book, for contributions within an edited book, the title of the edited book, for contributions from journals, the title of the journal—all titles should be in cursive style. Additionally, if possible, in those cases translations are cited, the original title should be added to the end of the citation with the complete bibliographic information.
  
  
  Examples: Book
  Spradley, James (1980). Participant observation. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
  
  
  Editor as author
  Morse, Janice (Ed.) (1992). Qualitative health research. Newbury Park, California: Sage.
  
  
  Article in an edited book
  Fielding, Nigel G. (1993). Ethnography. In Nigel Gilbert (Ed.), Researching social life (pp.154-171). London: Sage.
  
  
  Journal article
  Lazarsfeld, Paul F. (1937). Some remarks on the typological procedures in social research. Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung, 6(2), 119-139.

• Contact

• Terms and conditions

  Copyright Notice
  
  
  Upon submitting a contribution, the FQS editors have the right, after a successful peer review, to publish it. After the contribution appears in FQS, it is still possible to publish it elsewhere after the consent of the FQS editors and with reference to the place of the first publication.
  
  
  The contributions submitted should be original ones. They should not have been published or submitted for publishing at any other point in time in a similar form or with generally the same content. It is the responsibility of the author, not of FQS, to obtain permission to use any previously published and/or copyrighted material.
  
  
  Reprints of contributions already published elsewhere are only accepted if (a) it appeals to the interests of the FQS readers and it has not already reached a wide audience and if (b) it is assured that the copyright owner allows the reprint (in the case the submitting person is not the copyright owner). If these conditions are fulfilled, FQS may accept reprints, which will be published with reference to the place of the first publication.
  
  
  FQS has the right to publish any contribution e.g. on CD-ROM or for selected print editions at any time in the future. In that case, the respective authors will be informed. Authors will also be notified, if other publishers ask for reprints of contributions, originally published in FQS.
  
  
  Privacy Statement
  
  
  The names and e-mail addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.