1 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK Course Number: SW 388R3 Instructor: M. Peterson Armour, Ph.D. Unique Number: 62815 E-mail: [email protected] Semester: Spring 2012 Phone: 471 3197 Meeting Time: Tues. 8:30-11:30 Jan. 17 –May 1 Office Room: 3.212EB Meeting Place: 2.132 Office Hours: Friday 3:30-5:00 By appointment RRESEARCH III: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS 1. 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. COURSE OBJECTIVES By the end of the semester, students will be complete a small qualitative study and should be able to: 1. Identify the strengths and appropriate uses of qualitative research. 2. Have a beginning understanding of the philosophical issues and debates in the field. 3. Compare and contrast five major qualitative approaches. 4. Work competently within one qualitative approach. 5. Identify and use the basic methods of data collection and analysis. 6. Appreciate the ethical issues involved in qualitative research. 7. Identify issues of academic rigor and assess the quality of qualitative studies 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.2 IV. REQUIRED TEXTS Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches ( 2nd Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.. Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Saldana, J. (2009). The coding manual for qualitative researchers London: Sage. Kvale, S. (2009). InterViews: Learning the task of qualitative research interviewing (2nd edition).Thousand Oaks, CA9 Sage. The required readings are available as a bundle for this class. The ISBN number is 9781412997966. In addition, each student will be required to read ONE of the following texts relevant to your selected research approach. Case Study: Stake, R.E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Ethnography: Lofland, J., Snow, D., Anderson, L., & Lofland, L.H. (2006). Analyzing social settings: A guide to qualitative observation and analysis (4th edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson. Grounded Theory: Charmaz, K. (2008). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Narrative Research: Riesmann, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Phenomenology: Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Additional required and recommended readings for each week will be available on the Blackboard site for this class. Additional readings may be assigned throughout the semester. Required Equipment: Students will need an audio recorder and transcribing equipment or software. Reviews of various audio recording and transcriptions options are available at: http://sophia.smith.edu/~jdrisko/recording_audio.htm and http://sophia.smith.edu/~jdrisko/transcription.htm.3 While not required, students may wish to use qualitative research software (QRS) for analyzing their data. A list of QSR programs can be found at http://www.qualitativeresearch.uga.edu/QualPage/multimedia,qda.html information Resources: Dr. James Drisko of Smith College School of Social Work maintains a webpage with links to other qualitative research websites as well as a list of qualitative-friendly journals at: http://sophia.smith.edu/~jdrisko/qualres.html. Additional websites for qualitative methods: - www.nsf.gov/pubs/2004/nsf04219/start.htm (excellent proceedings from workshop on qualitative methods at the National Science Foundation) - http://www.qualitativeresearch.uga.edu/QualPage/ (comprehensive site from Univ. of Georgia. - http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR (on-line journal "The Qualitative Report") - http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/IJQM/index (International Journal of Qualitative Methods) - www.researchtalk.com (training/workshop company on Long Island) V. COURSE REQUIREMENTS The grade for this course will be based on the student’s ability to understand, apply and critique qualitative research methods. The following course requirements will be completed during the semester, with points given for each course requirement. Grading will be based on total points accrued by the end of the semester. All papers should be typed and double-spaced and follow the APA format. Formatting: Papers must be printed on white paper in black ink. Papers must be stapled. Each page must be numbered at the bottom. You must use 1.25” margins all around. Papers should be double spaced in Times New Roman or Times 12-point font. 1. Research Project Each student will conduct a small qualitative research study on a topic of their choice using one of the five main research approaches (ethnography, grounded theory, narrative, case study, or phenomenology). Assignments for the study are due throughout the semester culminating in a final paper. Feedback on each assignment should be incorporated into the final paper to assure a satisfactory grade on the final paper. The assignments include: 1. A statement of your research problem. 2. Completion of IRB Class Projects Review form, available at http://www.utexas.edu/research/rsc/humansubjects/class_project.html. Students must also complete the 4-part HRPP training available at http://www.utexas.edu/research/rsc/humansubjects/training/.4 3. A brief literature review (3-5 articles including an article using qualitative methods). (5 pts) 4. Proposed methodology including setting, participants, other sources of data such as observations and archival data, and information about interview guides, length of interviews and/or observations, informed consent procedures, use of qualitative software, data analysis (to the extent known) and plan for ensuring quality and methodological