Qualitative Methods

This course introduces students to discourse analysis with a particular focus on the (re)construction of discourse and meaning in textual data. It takes students through the different stages of conducting a discourse analysis in four practical-oriented sessions. The overall course focus is guided by a Foucauldian and Critical Discourse Analysis approach, conceptualising discourses as not only representing but actively producing the social world and examining its entanglement with power.

The first session gives an overview of theoretical underpinnings, exploring the epistemological positions that inform different strands of discourse analysis. In the second session, we delve into the practical application of discourse analysis of textual data. Topics covered include, among others, what research questions and aims are suitable for discourse analysis as well as data sampling. In the third session, we discuss how to analyse textual data based on discourse analysis using the computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software Atlas.ti. The fourth session will take a workshop format in which students apply the gained knowledge by developing their own research design based on discourse analysis.

Course aims

• Understanding different approaches to discourse analysis and their theoretical underpinnings
• Being able to assess what research questions are suited for discourse analysis and its limitations
• Being able to develop and conduct a research project based on discourse analysis
• Learning how to use the computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software Atlas.ti for discourse analysis

Course outline
Session 1: Theoretical foundations of discourse analysis
Session 2: Discourse analysis as a method
Session 3: Conducting discourse analysis with computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software
Session 4: Workshop – Developing a research design based on discourse analysis

Reading
Students will receive literature recommendations to read in preparation for the sessions. Students are encouraged to read these in advance but will be able to follow and participate in the course without prior preparation. A short list of additional references for further engagement with topics covered throughout the module will be provided.

Sessions

How to Book

Bookings can be made via the Modules List where you will also find the module dates. Click on the module you want and you will be taken to a booking screen. As soon as you book, you will receive an automated email confirming your place. Please note, some modules (though not all) have multiple iterations in the Michaelmas and Lent Term.

Face-to-face interviews are used to collect a wide range of information in the social sciences. They are appropriate for the gathering of information on individual and institutional patterns of behaviour; complex histories or processes; identities and cultural meanings; routines that are not written down; and life-history events. Face-to-face interviews thus comprise an appropriate method to generate information on individual behaviour, the reasons for certain patterns of acting and talking, and the type of connection people have with each other.

The first session provides an overview of interviewing as a social research method, then focuses on the processes of organising and conducting qualitative interviews. The second session explores the ethics and practical constraints of interviews as a research method, particularly relevant when attempting to engage with marginalised or stigmatised communities. The third session focuses on organisation and analysis after interviews, including interpretation through coding and close reading.

Topics covered

1. Conducting qualitative interviews

2. Ethics and practical constraints

3. Practical session: interpretation and analysis

Format

The time commitment for this module is significantly greater than just attending the 3 x 30 min sessions listed.

The teaching for this course is split over three weeks. While the online teaching materials are all available to be viewed immediately, students need to allocate specific study time (2.5 – 3.5 hours per week) to work through the material in advance of each Q&A session.

Readings

• Blaikie, N. 2000 Designing Social Research. Cambridge: Polity Press
• Bryman, A. 2004. Social Science Research Methods. 2nd edition. Oxford UP.
• Cloke P., Cook I. et al. 2004 Practising Human Geography. Sage, London.
• Davies, C.L. 1999 Reflexive ethnography. Routledge, London.
• Dey, I. 1993 Qualitative data analysis: a user-friendly guide for social scientists. Routledge.
• Ely, M. 1991 Doing qualitative research: circles within circles. Taylor & Francis.
• Flick, U. 2002 An introduction to qualitative research. 2nd edition. Sage.
• Foddy, W. 1994 Constructing Questions for Interviews and Questionnaires: Theory and Practice in Social Research New ed. Cambridge: CUP
• Flowerdew, R. & Martin, D. (eds) 1997 Methods in human geography. Longman, London.
• Gilbert, N. (ed.) 2001 Researching social life. Sage, London.
• Gillham, W. E. C. 2000 The research interview. Continuum.
• Gubriam, J.F. & Holstein, J.A. (eds) 2002 Handbook of interview research: context & methods. Sage.
• Guillemin, M. & Gillam, L. (2004) “Ethics, Reflexivity and ‘Ethically Important Moments’ in Research” in Qualitative Inquiry. Vol. 10, No.2 pp. 261-280
• Hammersley, M. & Atkinson, P. 1983 Ethnography: principles in practice. Routledge.
• Hay, I. (ed.) 2000 Qualitative research methods in human geography. Oxford University Press.
• Hoggart, K. et al. 2002 Researching human geography. Arnold, London.
• Hollway, W. & Jefferson, T. 2000. Doing qualitative research differently: free association, narrative and the interview method. SAGE.
• Holstein, J. A. & Gubrium, J. F. (1995) The Active Interview. London: Sage
• Kitchen, R. & Tate, N.J 2000 Conducting research into Human Geography: theory, methodology, and practice. Prentice Hall, London.
• Limb, M. & Dwyer, C. (eds.) 2001 Qualitative methodologies for geographers. Arnold.
• Lincoln, Y.S. (eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Research, pp. 83–97. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
• May, T. 1993 Social research: issues, methods and process. Open University Press.
• Mullings, B. 1999 Insider or outsider, both or neither: some dilemmas of interviewing in a cross-cultural setting. Geoforum 337-50.
• Punch, K.F. 2005 Introduction to social science research: quantitative and qualitative approaches. Sage, London.
• Sayer, A. 1992 [1984] Method in social science: a realist approach. 2nd edition. Routledge.
• Sidaway, J. 1992 In other worlds: on the politics of research by ‘First world’ geographers in the 'Third World Area 24: 403-8.
• Silverman, D. (ed) 1997 Qualitative research: theory, method and practice. Sage.
• Spradley, J.P. 1979 The ethnographic interview. London: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
• Valentine, G. 1997 ‘Tell me about….: using interviews as a research methodology’, IN Flowerdew & Martin (eds) Methods in human geography. Longman.
• Taylor, S. (ed) 2001 Ethnographic Research. Sage, London.
• Spradley, J.P. 1980 Participant observation. Holt, Rinehart & Winston. New York

Assessment

This module is not assessed.

Sessions

Lent Term module

Easter Term module

How to Book

Bookings can be made via the Modules List where you will also find the module dates. Click on the module you want and you will be taken to a booking screen. As soon as you book, you will receive an automated email confirming your place. Please note, some modules (though not all) have multiple iterations in the Michaelmas and Lent Term.

This course will introduce students to the general philosophical debates concerning scientific methodology, assessing their ramifications for the conduct of qualitative social research. It will enable students to critically evaluate major programmes in the philosophy of sciences, considering whether there are important analytic differences between the social and natural sciences; and whether qualitative methods themselves comprise a unified approach to the study of social reality.

Topics covered

• Session 1: Epistemological Foundations of Qualitative Social Research Part I
• Session 2: Epistemological Foundations of Qualitative Social Research Part II

Suggested Reading

• Chalmers, A.F. (1982). What is this Thing Called Science?: an Assessment of the Nature and Status of Science and its Methods. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
• Bourdieu, P. & Wacquant, L.J.D. (1992). An invitation to Reflexive Sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• Weinberg, D. (ed). (2002). Qualitative Research Methods. Malden:Blackwell

Assessment

This module is not assessed.

How to Book

Bookings can be made via the Modules List where you will also find the module dates. Click on the module you want and you will be taken to a booking screen. As soon as you book, you will receive an automated email confirming your place. Please note, some modules (though not all) have multiple iterations in the Michaelmas and Lent Term.

Historically, qualitative research has been criticised for being less rigorous than quantitative research through not fulfilling quality standards such as objectivity, validity, and reliability. This leads to questions whether qualitative research can fulfil these specific markers of rigour, how it can come as close as possible to fulfilling them, and whether qualitative research should at all attempt to live up to these understandings of research quality. Responding to this debate, many methodologists have argued for the need of translating objectivity, validity, and reliability within qualitative research designs.

The discussion of rigour is a loaded one, among methodologists of all three research approaches (qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods) as well as mong qualitative researchers themselves. This course introduces different quality strategies for qualitative research to help students make informed decisions for improving their own empirical work and to better judge the rigour of empirical qualitative research done by others.

Aims

• To introduce different qualitative research rigour approaches

• To provide food for thought for students’ quality strategies within their own empirical work

• To assist students in assessing the rigour of a qualitative research paper (module task)

Assessment

An optional assessment consisting of open-ended questions will be available at the end of the module. The assessment is not mandatory and only for those students whose department or faculty requires a grade. Students should get in touch with their department or faculty and let the lecturer know as soon as possible if an assessment is needed.

Session dates

To limit the number of participants in each workshop, participants are divided among three Groups. You only need to book on ONE group EITHER Group 1, Group 2, OR Group 3.

How to Book

Bookings can be made via the Modules List where you will also find the module dates. Click on the module you want and you will be taken to a booking screen. As soon as you book, you will receive an automated email confirming your place. Please note, some modules (though not all) have multiple iterations in the Michaelmas and Lent Term.

This series of workshops are aimed at students interested in interdisciplinary and feminist research practice. The course revolves around a simple query: what makes research feminist? It is the starting point to engage with classic and more contemporary writings on feminist knowledge production to answer some of the following questions: what are the ‘proper’ objects of feminist research? Who can do feminist research? Why do we do feminist research, and what is its relevance? Who do we cite in our research? We will have in-class discussions and hands-on assignments that will allow students to practice some of the main debates we will read about.

Topics covered

• Session 1: Research as a Feminist Practice

• Session 2: Research ‘Objects’

• Session 3: Researcher’s Positionality

• Session 4: Writing and Vulnerability

Objectives

• Students become familiar with the principles of interdisciplinary feminist research.
• Students evaluate the benefits of various feminist research methods applicable to their research projects.
• Students apply knowledge of feminist research methods through weekly course assignments. 
• Students engage with each other’s work and learn to provide constructive feedback to their peers.

Session dates

How to Book

Bookings can be made via the Modules List where you will also find the module dates. Click on the module you want and you will be taken to a booking screen. As soon as you book, you will receive an automated email confirming your place. Please note, some modules (though not all) have multiple iterations in the Michaelmas and Lent Term.

This module introduces drawing as a research method, with a particular focus on the key elements and methodological considerations for using drawing as a visual research method, and the pairing of drawing with qualitative interviews. This module explores examples of using drawing as a research method across disciplines, and students are offered hands-on experience to practice using drawing as a research method through a practical workshop.

Objectives

• To introduce drawing as a research method
• To introduce students to how drawing can be used in research
• To explore how drawing can be paired with qualitative interviews for research
• To highlight methodological considerations concerning drawing as a research method
• To provide hands-on experience for students to use drawing as a research method during the practical workshop

Learning Outcomes

• Students will develop a foundational understanding of drawing as a visual research method
• Students will be able to describe advantages and considerations in using drawing as a visual research method
• Students will be able to describe how drawings can be paired with qualitative interviews for data collection
• Students will reflect on their performance of conducting drawing as a research method in the workshop
• Students will be able to reflect on their experience of the practical workshop, and consider how they might use drawing in their own research

Assessment

This module is not assessed.

Format

The module consists of one lecture and one workshop. You only need to book on ONE group, EITHER Group 1, Group 2, OR Group 3.

Session dates

So that the workshop consists of only small numbers, participants will be divided between three group workshops, Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3. You only need to book on ONE group workshop.

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

How to Book

Bookings can be made via the Modules List where you will also find the module dates. Click on the module you want and you will be taken to a booking screen. As soon as you book, you will receive an automated email confirming your place. Please note, some modules (though not all) have multiple iterations in the Michaelmas and Lent Term.

This short course introduces Embodied Inquiry as a research method interested in knowledge generated through the body, not just knowledge of the body. Embodied Inquiry has gained traction as a creative research method capable of challenging the mind-body split and exploring the possible role of the body in research, both for the researcher and for participants. The course will provide a broad overview of the theoretical grounding for embodied inquiry, what embodied inquiry can look like within the social sciences as well as the benefits and pitfalls of embodied inquiry as a method. In addition, the course will provide opportunities to consider how embodied inquiry might relate to individual’s research projects and identifying where to find out more about embodied inquiry.

Pre-requisites:

Attendees should read Thanem, T., & Knights, D. (2019). ‘Introduction’ in Embodied research methods. SAGE Publications, Ltd, https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529716672

Topics covered:

- Varying understandings of the word embodiment

- What is meant by embodied inquiry

- The philosophical foundations informing embodied inquiry

- The positionality of the researcher as embodied

- Practical methods used within embodied inquiry

- Connections between embodied inquiry and other methodological perspectives

Learning outcomes:

There is no formal assessment associated with this course. It is hoped that by the end of this course attendees will:

- Have constructed a working definition of embodied inquiry;

- Understand the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of embodied inquiry;

- Be able to reflect upon the possibilities and pitfalls of embodied inquiry;

- Understand if and how their research design relates to Embodied Inquiry.

Sessions

How to Book

Bookings can be made via the Modules List where you will also find the module dates. Click on the module you want and you will be taken to a booking screen. As soon as you book, you will receive an automated email confirming your place. Please note, some modules (though not all) have multiple iterations in the Michaelmas and Lent Term.