Topics Qual. Research Methods

1.5 Credits · Level: Graduate

Qualitative data pervades the human development landscape in numerous forms. Be it in rapids needs assessments or longitudinal, mixed-method studies, the purpose of a study alongside time and budget considerations often lead scholastic, governmental, and humanitarian agencies to rely on qualitative data for emergency response provision, long-term programming, and monitoring and evaluation. Like its quantitative counterpart, qualitative data is often used to identify urgent problems and barriers to services; inform evidence-based policies; and demonstrate both accountability and impact to donors and beneficiaries. To such ends, this course is designed to equip students with selected tools to design, generate, and analyze qualitative data. Accordingly, the class is divided into two parts: Part I: Research Design, Questions, Concepts, and Measurement Part II: Conducting and Analyzing Data from Interviews and Focus Groups While Part I provides students with the foundational components to consider when designing a qualitative study, Part II provides instruction on two types of data collection methods. In the context of interviews and focus groups, students will learn about case selection, qualitative sampling and recruitment techniques, questionnaire design, field note taking, and translation and transcription considerations. Finally, students will learn how to synthesize and detect patterns in qualitative data.