The current favour enjoyed by qualitative research methods reflects both the refinement of analytical skills within the social sciences and the increasing concern of researchers and students for a culturally and historically situated comprehension of social processes. The volume identifies available, viable tools for addressing new topics that the diversification of social contexts imposes on social psychology, clinical psychology, educational psychology, childhood psychology, and health psychology. The methods that have most drawn the attention of psychologists in recent years include discourse analysis, conversation analysis, narrative analysis, ecocultural analysis, psychosemiotic analysis of texts, speech acts and images, and analysis of talking action.

Contents: Preface - Introduction, by G. Mantovani and A. Spagnolli - 1. Qualitative Methods in Psychology: Tools for Situated Research, by G. Mantovani - 2. Everyday Life, Interaction, and Discourse Contexts, by C. Zucchermaglio - 3. Discourse Organisation, by A. Fasulo - 4. Verbal and Non Verbal Act Analysis, by A. Spagnolli - 5. Narrative Analysis, by E. Ochs and L. Sterponi - 6. The Psychosemiotic Approach: Texts and Images, by G. Minnini - 7. The Analysis of Socio-cultural Differences, by G. Axia and T.S. Weisner - 8. Computer-assisted Analysis, by U. Moscardino - Transcription Code - Bibliography - Index

Giuseppe Mantovani teaches Psychology of Attitudes at the University of Padua.

Anna Spagnolli is a researcher in Social Psychology at the University of Padua.