Doing Research (1) Qualitative Methods

Course goals

After this course, the student will:

1. have basic knowledge of qualitative methods in social sciences and historical research 
2. have learned how to execute the different steps of the research process
3. have practiced with a variety of methods of data collection and analysis
4. have designed and presented a feasible research proposal
5. have strengthened their interdisciplinary skills (Common Ground, Perspective Taking, and / or Integrating Perspectives)
 

Content

This is an introductory course to qualitative research methods. As such, it familiarizes students with what qualitative research is, how it is designed and conducted. It also introduces students to key methodological methods and techniques used to collect and analyze qualitative data.

The course content is divided into two parts. First, we focus on defining what is qualitative research and how to design a qualitative research project. We explore the basic structure and process of social and historical scientific inquiry. Second, we focus on the empirics, addressing the crucial phases of collecting and analyzing data for research. In other words, how do we do research in practice? What methods and related techniques can we use in qualitative research analysis? How do we choose and combine appropriate methods, especially when working in an interdisciplinary setting? What should we pay attention to when using them?

The course contains regular hands-on exercises that guide the design of a feasible research proposal and practice of data collection and analysis. it also involves reading and presenting academic papers effectively, peer-reviewing fellow students’ proposals, and giving feedback on each other’s work. Students are allowed to draw inspiration for their research proposal from their parallel thematic courses. They are also allowed to draw upon the knowledge and materials (literature, theoretical and empirical papers studied) from these courses in their assignments.