关键词: 质性研究方法, 深度访谈, 扎根理论, 城市社会空间, 空间尺度

Abstract: Influenced by postmodernism, qualitative research is based on in-depth interview and participant observation and other methods, to construct grounded theory by deep description. It is a cyclical and interactive process which emphasizes the participation and discursive power of research objects. Urban social geography proposed a unique spatial focus on city life. The western scholars increasingly emphasize the significance of qualitative research, influenced by the ideology of structuralism, humanism and postmodernism. Domestic research on urban social space was relatively late, and nowadays still pays more attention to the use of macro analysis based on statistical survey data. As a result, the lack of the depth in socio-spatial structure formation mechanism, as well as the neglect of human beings, leads to a sterile and dried research. Combining the western research trend and practical experience, this paper brings out different application prospects of qualitative research on urban social space on different scales, especially the micro and medium scales. The qualitative research can carry out the process of deconstruction, representation, retelling and grounded theory of urban socio-spatial structure. Key issues are discussed, including how to conduct in-depth interview, reflect space and spatial restructuring and construct grounded theory. It is necessary to have in-depth interview, find the proper research respondents, and adopt useful interview skills. The essence is how to reflect space and spatial restructuring in qualitative research and construct grounded theory. Based on the achievement made by the western related studies and the domestic facts, the use of qualitative research method can set up a firsthand database which will provide a remarkable amount of information on Chinese urban social space studies. During the qualitative research which emphasizes responsibility consciousness, researchers should avoid extreme like conceit and metaphysics and keep reflection attitude. Besides, further exploration of ethics, language construction and hypothesis verification is needed.

Key words: qualitative research method, in-depth interview, grounded theory, urban social space, spatial scale