Qualitative Research Methods

In this course you will be introduced to the basic ideas behind the qualitative research in social science. You will learn about data collection, description, analysis and interpretation in qualitative research. Qualitative research often involves an iterative process. We will focus on the ingredients required for this process: data collection and analysis. You won't learn how to use qualitative methods by just watching video's, so we put much stress on collecting data through observation and interviewing and on analysing and interpreting the collected data in other assignments. Obviously, the most important concepts in qualitative research will be discussed, just as we will discuss quality criteria, good practices, ethics, writing some methods of analysis, and mixing methods. We hope to take away some prejudice, and enthuse many students for qualitative research

• Learn data collection, description, and analysis
• Interpret qualitative data systematically
• Apply observation and interviewing techniques
• Analyze and interpret collected data in practice

• Basic familiarity with research terminology
• Willingness to engage in applied exercises or case studies