Course info

Description:

This PhD course focuses on writing your methodology chapter in a manner that is thorough, transparent, reflective, and reflexive and is especially intended for students using qualitative, applied, field-based, and/or action-oriented approaches.
Moreover, this course takes a problem-based approach and aims to meet students’ needs in addition to covering essential elements of writing a methodology chapter (or sections in your synthesis). Additionally. the course will attend especially to the issue of when research does not go according to plan and how social scientists and other researchers are starting to ‘expose’ and learn from methodological ‘failures.’ Depending on student interest, the course may also delve into new ethical considerations on automated transcription or other AI-assisted methods. Although there are courses oriented toward learning about qualitative methods and planning/crafting one’s (intended) research design, this course starts where these leave off: what to do about ‘writing up’ and explaining the considerations, choices, modes of analysis, and how you position yourself within your research.

Prerequisites:

Students enrolled in PhD program and at a point where they are writing their methodology (or at least a portion of it) and reflecting on what transpired in the field/during data collection. The course is especially for a student whose PhD has not quite gone according to plan and must address a level of ‘messiness’ increasingly associated with social research and qualitative, mixed methods, field research. 

Students doing qualitative or mixed method research are especially welcome in this course

Learning objectives:

1. Reflect on own methodology from conceptualization to actualization
2. Understand what makes for a ‘good’ methodology chapter for your discipline/epistemological approach
3. Recognize differences in methodological ‘standards’ for quantitative versus qualitative research (including mixed methods variations)
4. Improve writing on methods and methodology in terms of transparency, positionality, and other considerations relevant to your approach

Teaching methods:

This course will be run in a workshop style and be oriented toward the problems/challenges facing enrolled students in terms of writing up their methodology chapters/sections. There will be some introductory lectures and discussions based on course readings, but we will focus on ‘writing up’ and thus students will be expected to provide drafts for peer review and critique from the instructor and course participants.

1st encounter: 2 days of lectures/discussion/exercises and getting to know one another and the methodological challenges to be addressed.
1 month interim: time for writing your draft, exchanging drafts, and preparing for the workshop
2nd encounter (1 month later): 3 days of methodology workshop
Post course: complete peer review

Criteria for assessment:

Active participation in the course including brief presentation of ‘methodology challenge you wish to tackle’; submitted draft of methodology chapter/section before workshop; high-quality, peer review completed (post workshop)

Organizer: Kristen Ounanian

Lecturers: Kristen Ounanian and Rikke Becker Jacobsen

ECTS: 4

Time: September 19,20 and October 31 and November 1,2, 2022

Place: Aalborg University, Teglgårds Plads 1 (Nordkraft), room10.12 all days

Zip code: 9220

City: Aalborg

Number of seats: 12

Deadline: August 30, 2022


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.