ASOK15605U Qualitative Methods: From Theory to Practice

Volume 2015/2016
Education

MA Research Methodology and Practice (MSc Curriculum 2015)

Course package (MSc Curriculum 2015):Welfare, inequality and mobility, Knowledge, organisation and politics and Culture, lifestyle and everyday life

MA course in methods in social sciences (MSc Curriculum 2005)

Specialiseringslinje: Metode


BA-Undergraduates from foreign countries (exchange students) can sign up for this course.

Content

The course focuses on the discipline and practice of Qualitative Research and its challenges in relation the following issues: ontology, epistemology, theory, research design, methods, analysis and interpretation. The course examines different approaches to qualitative research, qualitative research designs and methods as well as and analytical and interpretation tools and approaches. Special focus will be on methodological strategies combining observation, semi-structured interviews and/or biographical methods.

TENTATIVE OUTLINE

The course consists of the following fourteen units.

Unit 1: Course Overview

Unit 2: Qualitative Research and Social Research Strategies

Unit 3: The Discipline and practice of Qualitative Research

Unit 4:Theoretical approaches in Qualitative Research

Unit 5: Discussing empirical research based on contrasting theoretical approaches: realism and constructivism

Unit 6: Research Designs and research questions in Qualitative research

Unit 7: Defining Research Questions in Qualitative Research

Unit 8: Ethnography and participant observation

Unit 9: Interviewing as research: overview

Unit 10: Narrative and episodic interviewing

Unit 11: Group interviewing and focus groups

Unit 12: Qualitative analysis and interpretation

Unit 13: Qualitative analysis and interpretation

Unit 14: Writing Research Reports

Learning Outcome

The primary goal of the course is to provide each student with knowledge of the discipline and practice of Qualitative Research and its challenges (ontology, epistemology, theory, research design and methods, and analysis and interpretation) and develop personal experience in conducting qualitative research on a topic of his/her own interest. At the end of the course, the student should be able to:

  • define a research problem suitable for qualitative investigation

  • carry out a qualitative study, including making informed chocies of relevent qualtative methods

  • make an analysis of the data produced

  • evaluate the quality of the data produced

  • discuss the validity of the study

Curriculum is 800 pages (10 ECTS) and app. 700 pages (7,5 ECTS)

Requirement readings/syllabus will be distributed during the first session. The course readings related to each class will be available in Absalon. In addition to scientific journal articles, the course literature will be based on book chapters of the following list:

Bauer M and Gaskell G (Ed.) (2000): Qualitative Researching with

Text, Image and Sound –A practical handbook. London: Sage

Publications.

Bryman, A. (2012): Social Research Methods. 4th Edition. New

York: Oxford University Press.

Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. (2003) Collecting and Interpreting

Qualitative Materials. London: Sage Publications.

Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. (2011) The Sage Handbook of

Qualitative Research. Sage.

Flick, U. (2009) An Introduction to Qualitative Research, London:

Sage.

Holstein, J. A. and Gubrium J. F. (2008) Handbook of

Constructionist Research. Guilford Press.

Huberman M and Miles M B (2002) The Qualitative Researcher's

Companion: Classic and Contemporary Readings. Sage.

Maxwell, J.A. (2012) A Realist Approach for Qualitative Research,

SAGE Publications

Seale, C., Gobo, G., Gubrium, J. F. and Silverman, D. (2004).

Qualitative research practice. London: Sage.

Silverman, D. (1997): Qualitative Research – Theory, Method and

Practice. London: Sage Publications.

Steinar, K. (1996): InterViews: An Introduction to Qualitative

Research Interviewing. London: Sage Publications.

Tanur J M (Ed.) (1992): Questions about Questions. New York:

Russell Sage Foundation. ISBN 0871548429.

Students of social sciences.
The classes will include the presentation by the teacher of main theoretical/​methodological issues and debates and students’ discussion of main points. A number of classes will be focused on students ongoing research, including their presentations on:
definition of research problem; research design and methodology; field work tools (such as interviews lay out or observation guidelines); and analysis of empirical findings. In
addition, students will be encouraged to carry team work in their research.
Dette kursus har adgangsbegrænsninger. Kurset vil som udgangspunkt ikke blive udbudt igen. Du kan således ikke planlægge efter, at det udbydes i senere semestre, end hvad der fremgår af denne kursusbeskrivelse.


Workload
The number of lecture hours are the same for both 7,5 and 10 ECTS courses.

7,5 ECTS
Lectures: 28
Course preparation: 74
Exercises: 50
Exam Preparation: 54
Total: 206

10 ECTS
Lectures: 28
Course preparation: 100
Exercises: 75
Exam Preparation: 72
Total: 275

BA-Undergraduates from foreign countries can sign up for this course.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Course Preparation
  • 74
  • Exam Preparation
  • 54
  • Exercises
  • 50
  • Lectures
  • 28
  • Total
  • 206
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Individual/group. Free written take-home essays are assignments for which students define and formulate a problem within the parameters of the course and based on an individual exam syllabus. The free written take-home essay must be no longer than 15 pages. For group assignments, an extra 7,5 pages is added per additional student. Further details for this exam form can be found in the Curriculum and in the General Guide to Examinations at KUnet.
Exam registration requirements

Sociology students must be enrolled under MSc Curriculum 2015 to take this exam.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Internal examiners
Exam period

Submission dates and time will be available at KUnet, www.kunet.dk. Exchange students and danish full degree guest students please see the homepage of Sociology; http://www.soc.ku.dk/english/education/exams/ and http://www.soc.ku.dk/uddannelser/meritstuderende/eksamen/

Criteria for exam assesment

Please see the learning outcome.

Credit
10 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Individual/group. Free written take-home essays are assignments for which students define and formulate a problem within the parameters of the course and based on an individual exam syllabus. The free written take-home essay must be no longer than 15 pages. For group assignments, an extra 7,5 pages is added per additional student. Further details for this exam form can be found in the Curriculum and in the General Guide to Examinations at KUnet.
Exam registration requirements

Sociology students must be enrolled under MSc Curriculum 2005 to take this exam.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Exam period

Submission dates and time will be available at KUnet, www.kunet.dk. Exchange students and danish full degree guest students please see the homepage of Sociology; http://www.soc.ku.dk/english/education/exams/ and http://www.soc.ku.dk/uddannelser/meritstuderende/eksamen/

Criteria for exam assesment

Please see learning outcome