Course info

Welcome to Introduction to Qualitative Methods for a non-social scientist

 Topic, background and motivation for the course:

The purpose of the course is to provide students with basic knowledge about qualitative research methods.

The course is motivated by the recognized need for methodological insights and reflection by people working within interdisciplinary fields of research, and in this respect the course focusses on qualitative research methods. The course provides researchers with tools for reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of different qualitative research approaches, and in this way the course also casts light on the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative research tools. The course targets primarily researchers from, for example, a more technical background who wish to use qualitative methods in their research – or researchers who need to brush up on qualitative methods.

 

Prerequisites:

The course targets PhD students who are not familiar with qualitative research methods or who are only slightly familiar with qualitative research methods.

Learning objectives:

Students are introduced to different qualitative research methods, and they will achieve skills for identifying the appropriate qualitative tools for a qualitative research enquiry. Students are also introduced to different approaches to and ways of analyzing qualitative data. The different qualitative research approaches are demonstrated via best case examples of how these methods have been used in research. The course will also briefly introduce students to key research paradigms and their ontological and epistemological underpinnings. The students are encouraged to reflect on how qualitative research approaches may (or may not) be relevant for their own research topic; in what way relevant qualitative research methods may enrich their research, and on the overall strengths, weaknesses, challenges and potentials of such a research approach.

 

Teaching methods:

A mix of lectures, group discussions in smaller and larger fora, student presentations and readings. 

 

Criteria for assessment:

Most importantly: active participation. Moreover - a pass/fail short reflective paper, presentation or similar on the potential use of qualitative methods in the research the students are doing.

 

Preliminary literature list.

The main course book is the book “Interviews. Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing” by Brinkmann & Kvale.

The course literature is listed below. The list represents our recommended order of reading … but you don’t have to follow this recommendation, of course.

1 Guion, L. a. (2006). Conducting an In-depth Interview 1. Boards, 1–4. https://doi.org/http://greenmedicine.ie/school/images/Library/Conducting%20An%20In%20Depth%20Interview.pdf

2 Brinkmann, S., & Kvale, S. (2004). Interviews. Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing (3rd revise). SAGE Publications Inc.

Chapters 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 11 (mostly for first part of the course) 12, 13, 15 (mostly for second part of the course)

3 Morgan, David L. (1997): Focus groups as qualitative research. 2nd edition. London: Sage Publications.

Read Chapter 1, 4 and 5 (pp. 1-7 and pp. 31-64). Download scan of selected chapters here.

4 Atkinson, P., & Hammersley, M. (1994). Ethnography and Participant Observation. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 248–261).

5 Berger, R. (2015). Now I see it, now I don’t: researcher’s position and reflexivity in qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 15(2), 219–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794112468475

6 Harper, D. (2002). Talking about pictures: A case for photo elicitation. Visual Studies, 17(1), 13–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/14725860220137345

7 Pink, S. (2007). Walking with video. Visual Studies, 22(240–252).

8 Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2), 219–245. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800405284363

9 Siggelkow, N. (2007). Persuasion with Case Studies - Siggelkow - S1&2 R1.pdf. Source: The Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 20–24. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2007.24160882

10 Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed Methods Research : A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14–26. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X033007014

11 Rogers, M. (2012). Contextualizing Theories and Practices of Bricolage Research. The Qualitative Report, 17, 1–17.

Secondary litterature:

Hydén, L.-C. & Bülow, P. H. (2003): Who’s talking: drawing conclusions from focus groups – some methodological considerations. International journal of Social Research Methodology 6(4): 305-321. doi.org/10.1080/13645570210124865

Jones-Devitt, S., Austen, L., & Parkin, H. (2017). Integrative Reviewing for exploring complex phenomena. Social Research Update, (66), 1–4.

Kinney, P. (2017). Walking Interviews. Social Research Update, (67), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2779-6_28-1

Organizer: Postdoc Katinka Johansen, kaj@sbi.aau.dk

Lecturers: Senior Researcher Toke Haunstrup Christiansen, thc@sbi.aau.dk,  and Postdoc Katinka Johansen, kaj@sbi.aau.dk

ECTS: 5

Place:
30-31 March: A. C. Meyers Vænge 15, Building A, room 2.1009 cancelled
20-21 April: A. C. Meyers Vænge 15, Building D, room 3.132
New dates:
14-15 May 2020

Due to the outbreak of Corona virus the above PhD course will take place on the following dates:
April 20 – 21 and May 14 – 15, 2020.
We hope to be able to run the course with physical presence but we are prepared to have it online if the Corona virus is still present in April.

Time:  20-21 April 2020  and 14-15 May 2020

Zip code: 2450

City: Copenhagen

Number of seats: 15

Deadline: 9 March 2020

Important information concerning PhD courses: We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 3.000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registrations.