Administrative Information
| Title | Qualitative methods in data gathering |
| Duration | 60 |
| Module | D |
| Lesson Type | Interactive Session |
| Focus | Ethical research in practice |
| Topic | Qualitative research |
Keywords
Qualitative research,grounded theory,thematic analysis,
Learning Goals
- Student is familiar with a number of qualitative research methods
- Student has in depth knowledge of at least on qualitative research method
- Student is aware of the design choices in the application of qualitative research methods and their impact on the validity and reliability of the results
- Student can perform a thematic analysis or grounded theory approach to qualitatively analyse result data.
Expected Preparation
Learning Events to be Completed Before
None.
Obligatory for Students
- Prepare a brief presentation on one of the following topics (based on the book) individually or in a small group (chosen/assigned by lecturer). Focus on the details of each technique; what is it, how is it performed, what choices are there in the application, etc.
- Interview
- Case study
- Focus group
- Observation
- Read the background material on Grounded Theory and Thematic Analysis.
Optional for Students
- Read about the other qualitative research methods in the supplied material (see Background).
References and background for students
- Verhoeven, N. (2011). Wat is onderzoek. Praktijkboek voor methoden en technieken, chapter 8 (qualitative research) and 15 (qualitative analysis) (in Dutch)
- Hennink, M., Hutter, I., & Bailey, A. (2020). Qualitative research methods. Sage, chapters 6, 7, 8 (qualitative research) and 9 (qualitative analysis), or something similar
- Overview of qualitative research methods
- Grounded theory
- Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (2017). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Routledge.
- Clarke, V., Braun, V., & Hayfield, N. (2015). Thematic analysis. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods, 222(2015), 248.
Recommended for Teachers
- Prepare a sample (interview) text for analysis; for example, (a section of) the transcript of the interview with Aaron Sloham
Lesson materials
Instructions for Teachers
The core goal for the teachers is to provide general insights into the fundamental principles of qualitative data collection, identify various qualitative methods, and recognize their applications. The teacher should share a story or personal experience without using numbers.
Discuss how it conveyed information differently than quantitative (numerical) data.
Briefly exemplify the difference between qualitative and quantitative data.
Outline
| Duration (min) | Description | Concepts | Activity | Material |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 / topic | Short presentation (by students) on qualitative research methods:
|
What are qualitative research methods? How are they performed? What design choices are there in performance? What are common pitfalls? |
Student presentations | See background |
| 5 | Discuss the pitfalls of subjectivity and precision when performing qualitative research | Role of the researcher, personal involvement, everyone is a human | Class discussion | |
| 10 | Discuss the principles of Grounded Theory and Thematic Analysis | Grounded Research, Thematic Analysis | Presentation | Slides (will follow) |
| 20 | Individually perform a thematic analysis on provided example | Apply thematic analysis | Exercise | Example text |
| Discuss in pairs the concepts found, analyse differences in results | ||||
| 5 | Wrap-up discussion | Discuss findings from groups, conclude on validity and subjectivity | Discussion |
Acknowledgements
The Human-Centered AI Masters programme was Co-Financed by the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union Under Grant №CEF-TC-2020-1 Digital Skills 2020-EU-IA-0068.