Aims

The aim of this module is to provide all students with the conceptual and practical knowledge to be able to undertake rigorous qualitative research.Further Qualitative Research Methods enables students to move beyond a basic understanding of qualitative research based around descriptive analysis of interviews and focus groups. Combining lectures, practical sessions, examples from applied research and an online journal club, this module seeks to provide those interested in discovering more about qualitative research with a strong foundation in a range of approaches. On completion of the module, students will have gained theoretical knowledge and practical experience in ethnographic and document-based studies, longitudinal qualitative projects, meta synthesis and mixed method case studies. Students will critically appraise different approaches to data analysis and students will be introduced to qualitative analysis software, as well as undertaking rigorous qualitative analysis of a range of data sets. This module will equip all students with the necessary knowledge and skills to plan and conduct rigorous qualitative research.

Outline Of Syllabus

The Further Qualitative Research Methods module will cover the following topics:
•       Further qualitative interviewing
•       Ethnographic research;
•       Text and document based research;
•       Longitudinal qualitative studies;
•       Mixed and multi-method research designs;
•       Key approaches for rigorous analysis including meta-synthesis and analysis software)

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

This module aims to provide students with the confidence and skills to undertake rigorous qualitative research. In order to ensure that all students are at a similar level of comprehension, students will be asked to read and prepare, prior to the face-to-face lectures and practical sessions. The face-to-face teaching is designed to deliver theoretical and conceptual issues around conducting a range of research methods and methodologies. There will be a mixture of lectures, examples from current applied research, practical sessions and group work during which students will be encouraged to interact with one another and discuss and practice specific qualitative research methods and methodologies. There is a focus on practical sessions and group learning which is the most effective way to impart the skills required for qualitative research. This will be supplemented with the on-line journal club, which will provide students with an alternative format within which to benefit from peer learning and discussion around focused reading facilitated by an experienced member of staff.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Students will undertake analysis of qualitative data. They will be provided with a data pack including one or more of the following: interview transcripts, ethnographic fieldnotes, documents/texts. They will produce a 2000 word assessment including: the approach they took to analysing the data; the findings from the analysis, including examples of coded data or analytic memos; and the range of methods they would employ if they had to collect more data to further their analysis.

Qualitative data analysis involves a constant interplay between working with data (reading and marking up data) and writing about data (creating analytic memos, creating written reports of findings). This assessment will enable us to assess student’s skills and knowledge in actually conducting qualitative analysis. Students will be expected to refer to the rationale for choosing a specific approach to data analysis and the range of methods they would employ if they had to collect more data.

In the formative assessment students will have the opportunity to obtain feedback on the coding framework they have developed for the analysis they are conducting for the summative assessment.