Qualitative Research MethodsStandardized Course DescriptionStandardized Course ObjectivesIII. Teaching MethodsIV. Required and Recommended Texts, and MaterialsCourse RequirementsVI. Class PoliciesCourse ScheduleDue: Literature reviewDue: Research logDue: Observation notesDue: First transcriptDue: Research logDue: Final paper, including transcripts, analysis, and reseTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK Course Number: SW 388R3 Instructor’s Name: Holly Bell, Ph.D., LMSW-ACP Unique Number: 61445 Office Number: SWB 3.122A Semester: Spring, 2004 Office Phone: (home) 443-9212 Meeting Time/Place: Tuesdays, 11:30 – 2:30, SWB 2.132 Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:30 – 3:30 or by appointment email: [email protected] QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS I. STANDARDIZED COURSE DESCRIPTION The purpose of this course is to introduce doctoral students to the philosophical and methodological issues of qualitative research. It will be a “hands-on” class, with a focus on practicing various methods with the goal of producing a small qualitative study. II. STANDARDIZED COURSE OBJECTIVES By the end of the semester, the student will complete a small qualitative study and should be able to • Identify the strengths and appropriate uses of qualitative research • Have a beginning understanding of the philosophical issues and debates in the field • Compare and contrast five major qualitative traditions • Identify and use the basic methods of data collection and analysis • Appreciate the ethical issues • Identify issues of academic rigor and assess the quality of qualitative studies - 1 -III. TEACHING METHODS The activities of this course will include lecture, class participation, in-class group exercises and guest lectures by qualitative researchers. Class time will be an opportunity to synthesize reading and lecture material, to share experiences in the field, ask questions and seek guidance, offer critique and suggestions, and practice various methods. IV. REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED TEXTS, AND MATERIALS Required: Padgett, D.K. (1998). Qualitative methods in social work research: Challenges and rewards. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. A course packet of readings is available from Speedway Printing. The course packet contains all required and recommended readings, other than the Padgett text, listed on the syllabus. It may be purchased in hard copy from Speedway Printing in Dobie Mall (phone 478-3334) or downloaded from Netpacks.com. Other readings may be assigned. Recommended: Schwandt, T.A. (2001). Dictionary of qualitative inquiry, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. V. COURSE REQUIREMENTS The course will require each student to undertake a series of written assignments leading up to the final paper, which will be a small qualitative project on a topic of your choice. These assignments include parts of the fully developed paper and will help you stay on track in order to finish the paper by the end of the semester. The individual pieces will not be graded, but you will receive extensive feedback, and addressing the feedback should assure you a satisfactory grade on the final paper. The final paper will constitute 90% of the final grade. The remaining 10% of your grade will include an assessment of the timeliness and thoroughness of your completion of the individual assignments, as well as class preparation and participation. A grade of A (90 – 100) will be given for work that represents outstanding grasp of the course content, expression in written assignments, preparation, and class participation. A grade of B (80-89) will be given for satisfactory completion of assignments, preparation, and participation. A grade of C will be given for unsatisfactory work. - 2 -The due dates for these assignments are included on the course schedule. More specific details of these assignments will be presented before they are due. The assignments include: 1. A statement of your general research question 2. A brief literature review (3-5 articles, including when possible, an article using qualitative methods) on the topic of your choice. If working in a group, each group member must contribute 3 –5 articles, which must then be synthesized as a whole. 3. IRB Class Projects Review form, available at http://www.utexas.edu/research/rsc/humanresearch/forms/ 4. Your proposed methodology, including setting, and participants or other sources of data, such as observations and archival data. 5. At least one verbatim transcribed interview and one selectively transcribed interview. Each student must complete these interviews, whether working individually or as a team. 6. Notes from one one-hour observation. This must be turned in individually. 7. Sample analysis. This may be turned in as a team or individually. 8. Research log. This must be turned in individually. 9. Final presentation of no more than 20 minutes presenting the major themes of your project. This is an informal presentation, but you may use PowerPoint or transparencies as visual aids. Those working in teams will present as a team. 10. Final paper, written either individually or as a team. The Final Paper You may do this individually or in teams of two or more. The advantages of doing an individual project include: more control over the topic, increased ability to tailor the project your needs and interests, and less time spent coordinating with team members. The advantages of working in a team are: the ability to do a more substantial project, the benefits of a “team” experience (two or more heads might be better than one) for collecting and analyzing data, and the potential for more checks on researcher bias. It is your decision whether to work individually or in a team. - 3 -Whether or not you work in a team, each person must conduct and transcribe at least two one-hour interviews and do at least one one-hour observation. You may also consider using other types of data such as archival data. Each person will also be responsible for contributing a review of between three and five articles for the literature review and assisting with the synthesis of that review. They will also turn in sample analyses as a team. Teams will turn in one final paper and do their final presentation as a team. As is common in qualitative research, beyond these minimum requirements for the course, it is not possible at the outset of a research project to determine exactly how