S-504
Introduction to Qualitative Research
(Formerly titled Doing and Writing about Qualitative Research)
Vanessa L. Fong
How does one collect, analyze, and write about data collected from a small number of people who were neither randomly sampled nor numerous enough to serve as the basis for statistically significant generalizations about the populations from which they are drawn? This course will teach students to answer this question by providing a survey of various kinds of qualitative research methods; walking them through the process of formulating a research question; selecting the kinds of research participants and qualitative research methods that can answer the research question; collecting qualitative data to answer the question; analyzing the data; finding the proper fit between theories, data, and practice; and writing an academic paper based on the data. Each student will write a paper based on a small research project (on a topic of the student’s own choosing), and develop the skills to evaluate various qualitative research methods through close readings of scholarly work and discussions of student research projects in small workshops. No prerequisites or previous course work is necessary for this course. This course fulfills the qualitative research methods requirement for first-year doctoral students and the research methods and data analysis requirement or the culture and social development requirement for Human Development and Psychology master’s students.
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