This summer course will introduce you to qualitative research methods. We will discuss and practice with several methods of data collection in qualitative research, like doing interviews and field observations, and analyzing data.
During this course we will discuss the mindset you need for doing qualitative research and focus on the quality of qualitative research.
Qualitative research is a powerful type of research for a researcher aiming at understanding the richness of human life and social interaction. It allows for a deep exploration of participants' thoughts, feelings, and experiences, providing rich insights. Qualitative research emphasizes the context in which social phenomena occur, helping to uncover how social, cultural, and historical factors shape human behavior. The methods (like interviews, focus groups, and observations) can adapt as the research progresses, allowing for a deeper exploration of unexpected findings.
In this course you will discuss the entire qualitative research process, including data selection, data collection, and data analysis. Bearing in mind the flexibility of qualitative research, with different stages, steps, and decision points for various formulations and types, we will discuss the core principles of this process.
The course will cover the main methods of data collection in qualitative research: interviews, focus groups, observation and documents as data. You will practice with doing semi-structured interviews and field observations, which you will use to. write a vignette. The course also covers the quality of qualitative research, such as rigor and trustworthiness, ethics, positionality, and different frequently used quality criteria. Also, different methods for data analysis will be discussed, with a focus on inductive coding, fitting the goals of the grounded theory approach. You will practice with the different stages in inductive coding of interview data.
The course is organized in a way that allows students to learn by doing. Therefore, the students will perform various practical exercises which will give them a hands-on experience on how to do qualitative research. Examples are an interview training, doing field observations, writing a vignette, and doing coding.
Participants are requested to bring their own laptop. Software will be available online.
Dr. Gijs Cremers and drs. Marieke den Otter
This course introduces participants to qualitative research methods. A preliminary understanding of general research is preferable (although not mandatory).
For an overview of all our summer courses offered by the Department of Methodology and Statistics please click here.
The course aims to provide students with the fundamentals of qualitative research methods. By the end of the course the students will be familiar with the following aspects:
Five full days with breaks for coffee & tea, lunch, and sodas.
On an average day of the course, the students will be in class for 8 hours. These 8 hours will include lectures and practical exercises. After the class, the students have to spend an average 2 hours per day for self-study.
You will receive a certificate upon course completion. Please be aware that this course does not include graded activities, and therefore we cannot provide a transcript of grades.
PhD students from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Utrecht University have the opportunity to attend three Winter/Summer School courses funded by the Graduate School of Social and Behavioural Sciences. Additionally, they may choose to take as many courses as they wish at their own expense from their personal budget.
There are no scholarships available for this course.
We also offer tailor-made M&S courses and in-house M&S training. If you want to check out the possibilities, please contact us at ms.summerschool@uu.nl
The housing costs do not include a Utrecht Summer School sleeping bag. This is a separate product on the invoice. If you wish to bring your own bedding, please deselect or remove the sleeping bag from your order.
For this course you are required to upload the following documents when applying: