Qualitative Research Techniques (2024/2025: Semester 2 – Spring)

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Course aim

After completing this course, students will be able to:
  1. Understand and explain the principles of qualitative research methods;
  2. Understand and apply the key elements of quality assessment in qualitative social research methods;
  3. Employ appropriate forms of analysis to qualitative interview data;
  4. Design and conduct a small-scale qualitative research project;
  5. Report research findings in a formal format.
Relationship between assessment and learning goals:
In this course, students are assessed 3 times:
  1. Final project: this assignment tests the ability to apply the theory to a real-life situation and write about qualitative research (course goals 2, 3, 4, and 5).
  2. Take home questions: this tests the ability to explain qualitative research theory in day-to-day language (course goal 1).
  3. Reflection assignment: this tests the understanding and ability to apply quality assessment elements to qualitative research (course goal 2).

Course content

A qualitative research design is often used when the research focus is on exploration, description, and understanding of a social phenomenon from the perspectives of those being studied. In using qualitative research, we are able to answer the question `Why do certain phenomena happen?’ instead of the question ''Does or doesn’t it happen?'. Qualitative research originated in cultural anthropology is now used in very different areas, such as health care, psychology, criminology, sociology, political sciences, nursing, and educational sciences.
This course is an introduction to qualitative research with a ‘how-to’, practical focus. The structure of the course reflects the research process starting with the generation of a research question, the design, data collection, data-analysis and the writing of a report. In this course you will have the opportunity to dive into the experiences and perspectives of people in a scientific fashion.

Schedule:
This course is taught during the last five weeks of the semester. It uses the same timeslot as the UCACCMET23 group did during the first ten weeks.

Registration:
During the UCACCMET23 course, students will be asked for their preferences in follow-up module and registered in the week before it starts.
Any student who still needs/wants a module without being registered for UCACCMET23 (or UCACCMET25) at that moment, can sign up through ucu.curriculum@uu.nl (cc tutor) at least one week before the start of the module. These other students will be lotteried into any remaining places, so also need to list a backup module.

Instructional formats

UCU module

Examination

Final research project

Required | Weight 40% | ECTS 1

Individual Analysis

Required | Weight 15% | ECTS 0.38

Group Presentations

Required | Weight 30% | ECTS 0.75

Research Plan

Required | Weight 15% | ECTS 0.38

Entry requirements and preknowledge

Entry Requirements

No data about mandatory entry requirements is available.

Preknowledge

No prior knowledge of statistics is required.

Languages

  • English

Competences

  • Academic writing
  • Critical reading
  • Research skills

Course Iterations

Related studies

Exams

There is no timetable available of the exams

Required Materials

  • BOEK
    Boeije, H.R. (2010). Analysis in Qualitative Research SAGE , London. ISBN 978-1-84787-007-0

Recommended Materials

No information available on the recommended literature

Remarks

This module follows directly after UCACCMET23, but can also be taken separately.

Coördinator

dr. R. Dittgen r.dittgen@uu.nl

Lecturers

dr. C.A. Bonner-Thompson C.A.Bonner-Thompson@uu.nl

Enrolment

Attention: this course is not open to students from other faculties, so subsidiary students can't enroll for this course.

Enrolments not in OSIRIS
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