• Description

The goal of the course is to support students practice key qualitative methods while gaining exposure to how diverse theoretical lenses make use of these methods in their doctoral theses. Specifically, students are encouraged to apply the feedback and recommendations provided by the course instructor and the learning resources to their own research projects, in order to improve the basic aspects of their methodology. The course is structured in study modules - according to the different aspects of qualitative research methods that will be dealt upon during the semester. First, the course starts with an all-encompassing methodological approach to doing research in social and human sciences (module 1). Furthermore, qualitative research designs are examined. Students will expand their understanding of a research framework in the context of qualitative research by analyzing and evaluating research questions in qualitative studies (module 2). They will also analyze the interrelated elements of a research study making the connection among theory, problem, purpose and, now, qualitative research questions and design. Next, the key qualitative data collection techniques are studied (module 3), which involves in-depth analysis and research. Qualitative data collection methods are mainly focused on gaining insights, reasoning, and motivations; hence they go deeper in terms of research. Module 4 focuses on the procedures of analysis of qualitative data. Data analysis in qualitative research is defined as the process of systematically searching and arranging the interview transcripts, observation notes, or other non-textual materials that the qualitative researcher accumulates in order to increase the understanding of the phenomenon under investigation.

During the semester, students will have the opportunity to read and discuss different learning resources related to qualitative methods, from articles published in peer-reviewed journal to research methods handbooks and book chapters. The course offers students the possibility to work on their research proposal and the data they may have collected for their doctoral thesis. Feedback will be given on the methodological approach section, too, including research paradigm, design, ontological and epistemological assumptions (module 5).

In a nutshell, the course covers the following main aspects:

• Fundamentals of conducting qualitative research
• Qualitative research designs
• Data collection in qualitative research
• Data analysis in qualitative research
• Evaluating validity, quality and reliability of data
• The methodology section of a doctoral thesis

• The subject within the syllabus as a whole

This is an optional course which is recommended to all doctoral students who need some additional support with reflecting upon the methodological framework of their thesis. The course is designed to help doctoral students improve their methodological skills for doing qualitative research - especially regarding the development of their own research projects

• Professional fields to which it applies

In this course we will reflect on the methodological decisions that need to be taken within the broader field of social sciences.

• Prior knowledge

This course assumes that students have some basic notions on qualitative methods, thus the emphasis (beyond going over each single technique discussing whichever aspects are thought to be necessary in dialogue with the students) will be set upon the development of a general methodological approach to qualitative research in the social sciences; only understanding what we do, what we can do, and we seek to do in our researches, we can use techniques of data gathering and analyzing without losing a certain creative perspective that makes us masters of our own research.

• Information prior to enrolment

Before starting this course, it is important that you:

- Consult the course syllabus and contact the course instructor if you have any questions.

- Check the evaluation tasks and mark the submission deadlines.

- Use your preferred communication channels to share your questions and comments with the course instructor and your peers.

- This is not a course, which will determine your methodological decisions of your doctoral thesis. Those decision will be taken by you in collaboration with your thesis supervisor(s). This is a course which can be used to challenge or confirm the decisions you have made, combining both theory and practice.

• Learning objectives and results

The course will contribute to the development of students' :

• Knowledge of the most relevant qualitative methods
• Ability to apply research methods from traditional social sciences qualitative research to their disciplines
• Ability to use new ICT-based methods to study different phenomena and for overall empirical research
• Ability to ponder the feasibility and reliability, the strengths and weaknesses of different qualitative methods
• Knowledge of the ethical considerations of qualitative research
• Ability to analyze qualitative data and draw conclusions

• Content

• View the UOC learning resources used in the subject

• Additional information on support tools and learning resources

The course includes 4 individual tasks. For more effective communication and collaboration the following channels are activated by the course instructor:

- Announcements dashboard. This is where the course instructor publishes additional information about the tasks, group (generic) feedback after the assessment of each task, as well as useful reminders.

- Discussion forum. This is where students can post comments and questions about the course. Those comments and questions are also shared with the other students. For each learning task there will be a specific discussion forum.

- Critical friend activity. In the last part of the course, students will have the opportunity to share their research topics and receive feedback from their peers and the course instructor.

- e-mail exchange. This is the recommended communication channel for those questions and comments that students don't want to share with their peers. 

The instructor will be responding to all comments and questions within 24h. 

• Additional information on bibliography and information sources

Please check the learning resources for this course below:

Textbook for the course

• Billups, F. (2021). Qualitative data collection tools: Design, development, and applications. SAGE. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781071878699
  https://methods.sagepub.com/book/qualitative-data-collection-tools

Additional learning resources

• Barbour, R. (2014). Introducing qualitative research (Second Edition ed.). SAGE. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526485045
  https://methods.sagepub.com/book/introducing-qualitative-research-2e
• Kuckartz, U. (2014). Qualitative Text Analysis: A Guide to Methods, Practice & Using Software. SAGE. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446288719
  https://methods.sagepub.com/book/qualitative-text-analysis
• Wolcott, H. F. (2009). Writing up qualitative research (3rd ed.) SAGE. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781452234878
  https://methods.sagepub.com/book/writing-up-qualitative-research
• Flick, U. (2014). The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis. SAGE. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446282243
  https://methods.sagepub.com/book/the-sage-handbook-of-qualitative-data-analysis
• Flick, U. (2018). The sage handbook of qualitative data collection. SAGE. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526416070
  https://methods.sagepub.com/book/the-sage-handbook-of-qualitative-data-collection
• Flick, U. (2007). Designing qualitative research. SAGE. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781849208826
  https://methods.sagepub.com/book/designing-qualitative-research

• Methodology

This course aims explore in depth to the world of qualitative research. For this reason, and within the framework of the university's own educational model, the proposed four tasks have both theoretical and practical nature.

Specifically, students, will determine their research problem and define their objectives and/or research questions. Once introduced to the different qualitative research designs, they will reflect on how to select the most suitable methodological approach for their study and to justify their selection in relation to the nature of their objectives and/or their research questions. Then, they will evaluate the strengths and limitations of sampling and data collection methods, and they will consider their ethical implications. As a practical implementation of what they studied, students will be asked to collect qualitative data, following specific principles and guidelines. Once the data is collected, students will study data analysis tools and methods with a focus on NVivo, which is a widely used computer assisted qualitative data analysis software package. NVivo will provide a potentially useful tool for the management and analysis of the qualitative research data of their doctoral thesis. As a practical implementation, they will analyze the data they collected earlier. Finally, they will reflect on how to write a research report, from the methodological perspective (structure and transition among sections, academic writing mechanics) to the content perspective (what kind of information they need to introduce in each section of the report). As a practical implementation, they will present all the work done in previous tasks in a report, following the corresponding guidelines.

Students will do all of this following the guidelines provided by the course instructor through the Announcements Dashboard, participating in discussions that arise, and reading the learning resources, which are linked to the different tasks. While the tasks are individual, the interaction and collaboration with the course instructor is fundamental, as well as the exchange of comments, questions and good practices with their peers.

• Guidelines on assessment at the UOC

The assessment process is based on the student's personal work and presupposes authenticity of authorship and originality of the exercises completed.

Lack of authenticity of authorship or originality of assessment tests, copying or plagiarism, the fraudulent attempt to obtain a better academic result, collusion to copy or concealing or abetting copying, use of unauthorized material or devices during assessment, inter alia, are offences that may lead to serious academic or other sanctions.

Firstly, you will fail the course (D/0) if you commit any of these offences when completing activities defined as assessable in the course plan, including the final tests. Offences considered to be misconduct include, among others, the use of unauthorized material or devices during the tests, such as social media or internet search engines, or the copying of text from external sources (internet, class notes, books, articles, other students' essays or tests, etc.) without including the corresponding reference.

And secondly, the UOC's academic regulations state that any misconduct during assessment, in addition to leading to the student failing the course, may also lead to disciplinary procedures and sanctions.

The UOC reserves the right to request that students identify themselves and/or provide evidence of the authorship of their work, throughout the assessment process, and by the means the UOC specifies (synchronous or asynchronous). For this purpose, the UOC may require students to use a microphone, webcam or other devices during the assessment process, and to make sure that they are working correctly.

The checking of students' knowledge to verify authorship of their work will under no circumstances constitute a second assessment.

• View assessment model

• Continuous assessment

The evaluation of the course will be carried out through the delivery of the four, previously described, tasks.

The course instructor will make more detailed comments and give the appropriate guidelines for the development of each of the tasks through the Announcements Dashboard. Every task will have a brief, which will indicate the duration, the form of presentation and how the task should be delivered and named. There will also be procedural information and organizational guidelines.

In the aforementioned tasks, the student will have to demonstrate their ability to synthesize, to relate knowledge and information, to argue the decisions and different ideas presented, as well as the competence to apply the acquired knowledge, the ability to analyze and reflect on it.

In order to follow the continuous assessment model proposed in the subject, it is essential to respect the delivery deadlines of the activities. In case of failure to do so, any activity delivered outside the deadline will be evaluated, depending on the achievement of the proposed objectives, only as "pass" or "fail", with a C+ or C-/D, respectively.

In order to pass the subject, students must submit at least 3 of the 4 tasks. In all cases, students are obliged to submit the 4th task (mandatory for all). Successful completion of the course will be achieved with a minimum global average grade of C+ (pass).

• Final assessment

The table below present the weighting of each task towards the final grade in this course.

Task	Weighting (%) towards the final grade
1.  Presentation and justification of the methodological approach	25%
2.  Qualitative data collection	20%
3.  Qualitative data analysis	20%
4.  Final report	35%
TOTAL	100%

Correctness in expression and oral or written communication skills will be taken into account during the evaluation of the tasks of this course. If any of the tasks has several spelling mistakes or other grammatical or syntactical errors, this will lead to a penalty in the grade of the task.

As far as the communication and interaction within our virtual classroom, it should always be respectful and must comply with the rules of etiquette. It should never be discriminatory in any way.

Late submissions

Students are expected to submit activities by the established deadlines. Late submissions will only be allowed in mitigating circumstances. Students are expected to notify the instructor if they are not able to meet the deadlines.

Student responsibilities  

Students should feel responsible for their own learning process. Reading is essential to assimilate the most important and necessary content and skills of this course. They are also encouraged to share all their doubts and questions with their peers and the course instructor so that a fascinating learning process is achieved. 

Ethics

It is acceptable and legitimate to read, assimilate and use other people's ideas in your work, but students should always cite the source that has inspired them. All sources should be properly redeveloped. At doctoral-level assignments we expect and encourage oritial writing. It is also understandable that you may use some text from your doctoral thesis proposal, such as research objectives and/or research questions. However, it is not allowed to simply copy and paste text for which you have received credit previously.

• Feedback

The course instructor will be available for the students and will guide their knowledge building process by answering any doubts or concerns that may arise throughout the course. The discussion boards of the virtual classroom will be used for exchange of good practices, challenges and ideas. The course instructor will provide personalized individual feedback to every submitted task. Feedback will be sent to students at the latest within two weeks from the submission deadline. Finally, students will have the opportunity to receive feedback on their doctoral thesis, with a focus on their methodology chapter, with the course instructor playing the role of the "critical friend".