TAFAARM75U Compulsory course: Advanced Research Methods

Volume 2019/2020
Education

MA in African Studies

Content

This course provides students with advanced knowledge of research methods from the humanities and social sciences and serves as a grounding for the collection and analysis of research evidence. The course covers data collection approaches and data analysis methods. This includes ethnographic fieldwork such as participatory observation and interviewing, textual and discourse analysis and quantitative methods such as surveys. Various aspects of research ethics are covered. The course consists of lectures on research methods as well as hands-on training in research planning such as defining a research topic and question, identifying sources, planning of fieldwork, analysis of research findings and writing.

Learning Outcome

The aim is for the student to acquire the following qualifications:

  • Knowledge of core concepts and methods relevant for data collection and analysis
  • Knowledge of research ethics
  • Skills in selecting relevant methods for data collection in relation to Internship, Field Study and MA thesis research
  • Ability to plan and conduct data collection and analysis
  • Competences to critically reflect on use of methods and ethical aspects of data collection and analysis
Literature

Suggested literature:

 

Barber, Karin, 2012. ‘Interpreting Texts and Performances’, in Richard Fardon et al (eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Social Anthropology, Vol. 2, Los Angeles: SAGE, pp. 69-83

 

Cerwonka, A. and L. Malkki (eds.) Improvising Theory: Process and Temporality in Ethnographic Research, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press

 

Emmerson, R.M, R.I. Fretz and L. L. Shaw. 2011. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.

 

Flyvbjerg, B. 2006. ‘Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research’, Qualitative Inquiry 12 (2): 219-245.

Konopinski, Natalie (ed.), 2014. Doing Anthropological Research. A practical guide. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.

 

Lund. C. 2014. ‘Of What is This a Case?: Analytical Movements in Qualitative Social Science Research’, Human Organization  73 (3): 224-234

Mason, J. (2006). Mixing methods in a qualitatively driven way. Qualitative Research, 6 (1), 9–25.

Meinert, Lotte, Julaina A. Obika and Susan Reynolds Whyte. 2014. ‘Crafting forgiveness accounts after war: Editing for effect in northern Uganda”, Anthropology Today, 30 (4): 10-14. 

Seale, C. (1999). Quality in Qualitative Research. Qualitative Inquiry, 5 (4): 465-478.

Kvale, Steiner (2007). Doing InterViews. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi, Singapore: SAGE Publications.

The course is only open for CAS MA students and professional master students.
The course is organised in sessions of 2 hours twice per week over 7 weeks in the second half of the second semester. The course will be based on lectures combined with classroom discussions and practical exercises, requiring active participation from the students.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 28
  • Course Preparation
  • 122
  • Exam
  • 1
  • Exam Preparation
  • 59
  • Total
  • 210
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Other
Students write two assignments during the course, and receive feedback from the course lecturer and fellow students. The written assignments are: 1) proposal for the Internship or Field Study or a methodology essay (for those not doing Internships or Field Studies) and 2) thesis outline including overall theme, research question, relevant literature, theory and methods. Further details of the assignments are defined and provided by the course lecturer. Each assignment should be 10,500-12,000 characters long and the total length of both assignments should be 21,000-24,000 characters long. The final assignments are handed in as a single document during the exam period.
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Internal censorship
Exam period

Summer Exam