A Book Review of Laura Ellingson’s Engaging Crystallization in Qualitative Research: An Introduction

Ellingson (2009) might be the first qualitative researcher to contextualize "crystallization" as a formalized sub-methodology for conducting qualitative research using a nontraditional approach. For Ellingson "crystallization depends upon including, interweaving, blending, or otherwise drawing upon more than one genre of expressing data" (p. 11). Epistemologically, Ellingson’s feminist and social constructivist approach moves her notion of crystallization past positivism on one end and radical interpretivism on the other end of the qualitative research continuum. She looks beyond the established focus of traditional qualitative research to present crystallization as a holistic approach and "radical way of knowing" (Ellis & Ellingson, 2000, p. 30, as cited in Ellingson, 2009) by using the metaphors of a crystal and a quilt to frame her inquiry process. She advocates for researchers to interpret meaning of the participants’ personal experiences through poetry, film, theater, dialogue, song, and dance.