Qualitative Research Methods, 7.5 credits
Please note that the literature can be changed/revised until:
• June 1 for a course that starts in the autumn semester
• November 15 for a course that starts in the spring semester
• April 1 for a course that starts in the summer
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Syllabus:
Kvalitativa forskningsmetoder, 7.5 hp
Qualitative Research Methods, 7.5 credits
General data
- Code: OVR006F
- Subject/Main field: No subject
- Cycle: Third cycle
- Credits: 7.5
- Answerable department: Humanities and Social Sciences
- Approved: 2024-12-09
- Version valid from: 2025-07-01
Aim
The course aims to advance the understanding and application of qualitative research methods.
Course objectives
After completing the course, the participant should be able to:
- Problematize different qualitative research methods, particularly interviews, observations, and text analysis;
- Identify and discuss ethical dilemmas in relation to the opportunities and limitations of the various research methods;
- Argue for the choice of methods in relation to a research problem;
- Apply and evaluate different analytical tools to process qualitative data.
Content
The course includes:
- In-depth studies of various qualitative methods with a particular focus on interviews, observations, and text analysis;
- Different perspectives on how the choice of methods interacts with the overall research process;
- Critical approaches to ethical dilemmas in the production and collection of qualitative research data;
- Analytical tools for processing qualitative research data.
Entry requirements
A person meets the entry requirements for the course if he or she has been admitted to a third-cycle study programme and will be given credit for the course in that study programme.
Teaching form
Lectures, exercises, and seminars.
Examination form
The examination is conducted through exercises, active participation in seminar discussions, and a written final exam.
Grading system
Two-grade scale
Other information
The course overlaps entirely or partially with SOA028F.
Course reading
Author: Atkinson, Paul, Cataldi, Silvia & Wästerfors, David
Article title: For an ethics of generosity: Values for ethnography in a time of regulatory ethics.
Journal: Qualitative Research
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2024/0/0/1–17
Author: Bacchi, Carol
Title: Introducing the ‘What’s the Problem Represented to be?’ approach. In Bletsas, A. and Beasley C. (ed.) Engaging with Carol Bacchi: Strategic Interventions and Exchanges. Open access.
Year/Pages: 2012/21–24
Author: Bacchi, Carol
Article title: Problematizations in health policy: Questioning how ‘problems’ are constituted in policies.
Journal: SAGE Open
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2016/6/2/1–16
Author: Braun, Virginia & Clarke, Victoria
Article title: Using thematic analysis in psychology
Journal: Qualitative Research in Psychology
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2006/3/2/77–101
Author: Brayda, Winsome Chunnu & Boyce, Travis. D.
Article title: So you really want to interview me?: Navigating “sensitive” qualitative research interviewing.
Journal: International Journal of Qualitative Methods
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2014/1/1/318–334
Author: Charmaz, Kathy
Article title: The Power of Constructivist Grounded Theory for Critical Inquiry.
Journal: Qualitative Inquiry
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2017/23/1/34–45
Author: Cyr, Jennifer
Title: Focus groups for the social science researcher
Edition: Senaste upplagan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Author: Denzin, Norman. K
Article title: The reflexive interview and a performative social science.
Journal: Qualitative Research
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2001/1/1/23–46
Author: Egeberg Holmgren, Linn
Article title: Cofielding in qualitative interviews: Gender, knowledge, and interaction in a study of (pro)feminist men.
Journal: Qualitative Inquiry
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2011/17/4/364–378
Author: Eldén, Sara
Title: Forskningsetik. Vägval i samhällsvetenskapliga studier.
Edition: Senaste upplagan
Publisher: Studentlitteratur
Comment: kap 1–2, 4–7.
Author: Göransson, Kristina
Title: Etnografi – Sjösätt, navigera och ro i land ditt projekt.
Edition: Senaste upplagan
Publisher: Studentlitteratur
Comment: Valda delar
Author: Hine, Christine
Title: Ethnography for the Internet. Embedded, embodied and everyday
Edition: Senaste upplagan
Publisher: Routledge
Comment: Valda delar
Author: Hoel, Nina
Article title: Embodying the Field: A researcher’s reflections on power dynamics, positionality and the nature of research relationships.
Journal: Fieldwork in Religion
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2013/8/1/27–49
Author: Israel, Mark & Hay, Iain
Title: Research Ethics for Social Scientists
Edition: Senaste upplagan
Publisher: Sage
Comment: Kap. 1, 5, 6, 7 & 8. For English speaking students, these chapters replace Sara Eldén’s book Forskningsetik. Vägval i samhällsvetenskapliga studier.
Author: Järvinen, Margaretha
Article title: The biographical illusion: Constructing meaning in qualitative interviews.
Journal: Qualitative Inquiry
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2000/6/3/370–391
Author: Katainen, Anu & Heikkilä, Riie
Article title: Analysing the ways of participating in interview settings: Young people’s identity performances and social class in focus groups.
Journal: Qualitative Research
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2020/20/5/649–666
Author: Kostet, Imane
Article title: Shifting power dynamics in interviews with children: A minority ethnic, working-class researcher’s reflections.
Journal: Qualitative Research
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2023/23/2/451–466
Author: Krueger, Richard & Casey, Mary Anne
Title: Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research
Edition: Senaste upplagan
Publisher: Sage
Comment: Valda delar/Selected parts
Author: Kvale, Steinar
Article title: Dominance through interviews and dialogues
Journal: Qualitative Inquiry
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2006/12/2/480–500
Author: Linton, Magnus
Title: Text och stil.
Edition: Senaste upplagan
Publisher: Natur & Kultur
Comment: Läses översiktligt/To be read for an overview
Author: Millar, Kathlene
Article title: The Precarious present: Wageless Labor and Disrupted Life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Journal: Cultural Anthropology
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2014/29/1/32–53
Comment: For English speaking students, this article replaces Kristina Göransson’s book Etnografi – Sjösätt, navigera och ro i land ditt projekt. För svenskspråkiga studenter, läs denna artikel som exempel på etnografiska ansatser och dilemman.
Author: Olofsson, Jennie
Article title: Gender, space and sound: Listening techniques, mobile and stationary bodies.
Journal: Ethnography
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2021/24/2/240–259
Comment: For English speaking students, this article replaces Kristina Göransson’s book Etnografi – Sjösätt, navigera och ro i land ditt projekt. För svenskspråkiga studenter, läs denna artikel som exempel på etnografiska ansatser och dilemman.
Author: Pacheco-Vega, Raul & Parizeau, Kate
Article title: Doubly Engaged Ethnography: Opportunities and Challenges When Working With Vulnerable Communities
Journal: International Journal of Qualitative Methods
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2018/17/1–13
Comment: For English speaking students, this article replaces Kristina Göransson’s book Etnografi – Sjösätt, navigera och ro i land ditt projekt. För svenskspråkiga studenter, läs denna artikel som exempel på etnografiska ansatser och dilemman.
Author: Pawson, Ray
Article title: Theorizing the interview
Journal: The British Journal of Sociology
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 1996/47/2/295–314
Author: Qureshi, H., & Ünlü, Z.
Article title: Beyond the Paradigm Conflicts: A Four-Step Coding Instrument for Grounded Theory.
Journal: International Journal of Qualitative Methods
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2020/19/ /1–10
Author: Ross, Karen
Article title: Political elites and the pragmatic paradigm: Notes from a feminist researcher - in the field and out to lunch.
Journal: International Journal of Social Research Methodology
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2001/4/2/155–166
Author: Skeggs, Beverly, Thumim, Nancy & Wood, Helen
Article title: "Oh goodness, I am watching reality TV": How methods make class in audience research.
Journal: European Journal of Cultural Studies
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2008/11/15–24
Author: Swales, John
Article title: Create a research space (CARS) model of research introductions.
Journal: Writing about writing: A college reader
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2014/12–15
Author: Sword, Helen
Title: Stylish academic writing
Edition: Senaste upplagan
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Comment: Läses översiktligt/To be read for an overview
Author: Tavory, Iddo
Article title: Interviews and Inference: Making Sense of Interview Data in Qualitative Research
Journal: Qualitative Sociology
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2020/43/449–465
Author: Taylor, Yvette
Article title: Hidden in the small ads: researching working-class lesbians.
Journal: Graduate Journal of Social Science
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2004/1/2/253–277
Author: Wodak, Ruth Emily, Meyer, Michael (eds)
Title: Methods of critical discourse studies. Open access. Selected parts.
Edition: 2015
Publisher: Sage
Author: Zhao, Yan
Article title: Exploring the interactive space of the ‘outsider within’: Practising feminist situated knowledge in studying transnational adoption.
Journal: European Journal of Women’s Studies
Year/Volume/Nr/Pages: 2016/23/2/140–154