Qualitative Innovation Analytics

Course goals

This course is designed to equip students with advanced knowledge and skills in qualitative research methodologies used in Innovation Studies through hands-on experience and active learning. Students will become familiar with the foundations of qualitative inquiry and develop proficiency in designing, conducting, and evaluating qualitative research projects. This approach ensures that students develop practical research skills crucial for academic research and professional practice in innovation-related fields, preparing them for their master thesis and consultancy projects.

More specifically, after completing the course, students will be able to:

1. Identify and compare the epistemological foundations of qualitative research;
2. Formulate and justify relevant, novel and feasible research questions for qualitative research;
3. Design and implement qualitative research processes, including data collection and analysis strategies;
4. Critically evaluate and defend the suitability of specific methods, the quality of qualitative research, and their ethical implications;
5. Analyse and interpret qualitative empirical results in light of existing literature;
6. Synthesise and compose methods descriptions and qualitative research results;
7. Create and deliver presentations of qualitative research findings in academic or professional contexts.

Content

The course introduces different approaches to conducting qualitative research on innovation. 
To this end, the course provides an overview of different qualitative research strategies and deeper insights into commonly used qualitative methods such as case studies and interviews. Students are introduced to the differences and similarities between these methods, their practical (dis)advantages, ethical considerations, and the forms of generalization they allow.

The course pays particular attention to the epistemological differences between inductive and deductive approaches and to finding a theory-method fit. It draws from recent publications from the fields of innovation studies and innovation management and introduces cutting-edge debates—such as the question of how to combine different data types to study innovation as a process or the debate over induction, deduction, and abduction—to help students understand the more advanced elements of qualitative research in the field of innovation.

Students gain hands-on experience by applying the course content to their own projects. They will become familiar with formulating research questions, designing research strategies, and collecting and interpreting qualitative data. Students will learn to set up an interview guide, organize textual data, and analyze data. The course introduces different coding techniques; students will learn how to use analysis software. Special attention is paid to interpreting results and building theory from qualitative data. Students will learn how to write qualitative research and communicate results effectively.

Consequently, the course also provides a foundation for students’ master's theses or larger written assignments that involve developing a research question that can be solved using qualitative methods. Completing this course should enable students to tailor qualitative methods to their projects and build a convincing argumentation and justification for choosing a qualitative research design.