Advanced Qualitative Research Method
Compulsory course for PhD students major in psychology.
Every Tuesday 01.15 pm - 03.40 pm, in English
5 lectures, each 3@45 min

Objectives:
Skills building in doing qualitative research with focus on
In-depth Interviewing and Ground Theory Analysis.

Content:
- What is qualitative research?
- Qualitative and quantitative research approaches in psychology.
- Qualitative data collection
- Interviewing Techniques
- Grounded Theory
- Exercises in Qualitative Data Analysis using grounded theory

Methods:
- Short Lecture
- Class Discussion
- Small Groupwork

Lecture Plan:
1. Sep 18 - Introduction to Qualitative Research
2. Oct 08 - Qualitative Data Collection: Interviewing
3. Oct 16 - Introduction to Grounded Theory
4. Oct 23 - Data Analysis using Grounded Theory
5. Closing


References and Resources
Books

Core Books
1. Flick U. An Introduction to Qualitative Research. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications. 2002.
2. Anselm S, Juliet C. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publication, 1998.
3. Peter Banister, Erica Burman, Ian Parker, Maye Taylor, Carol Tindall, Qualitative Methods in Psychology: A Research Guide, Open University Press
This book is an introductory text to the area of qualitative research, intended for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students. Its emphasis is very much on methods within psychology, and it assumes some basic knowledge of the discipline; we thus expect the reader to have a preliminary acquaintance with the approach of psychology and more conventional methods, including some familiarity with the philosophy of psychological research, the research process, research methods and quantitative approaches. Thus the book is not aimed at introductory psychology students, but is a resource for academics and professionals who use psychological methods in their work.
4. 陈向明. 质的研究方法与社会科学研究. 北京：教育科学出版社, 2000.


Secondary Books
5. John W. Creswell, Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, Second edition, SAGE Publications
This book was prepared for graduate students and faculty who seek assistance in preparing a plan or proposal for a scholarly journal article, dissertation, or thesis. At a broader level, the book may be useful as both a reference book and a text for graduate courses. To best advantage of the design features in this book, the reader needs a basic familiarity with qualitative and quantitative research; however, terms will be explained and recommended strategies advanced for those needing for a broad audience in the social and human sciences. Readers’ comments t the first edition of this book indicate that individual users such as marketing, management, criminal justice, psychology, sociology, K-12 education, higher and postsecondary education, nursing, health sciences, urban studies, family research, and other areas will find this edition useful.

6. Norman K. Denzin, Yvonna S. Lincoln, Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials, Second edition, SAGE Publications
This book introduces the researcher to basic methods of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting qualitative empirical materials. Part I moves from interviewing to observing; to the use of artifacts, documents, and records from the past; to visual and auto ethnographic methods. It then takes up analysis methods, including computer-assisted methodologies, as well as strategies for analyzing talk and text. Esther Madriz reads focus groups through critical feminist inquiry and Erve Chambers discusses applied ethnography.

7. Norman K. Denzin, Yvonna S. Lincoln, Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry, Second edition, SAGE Publications
Strategies of qualitative inquiry isolates the major strategies-historically, the research methods-that researchers can use in conducting concrete qualitative studies. The question of methods begins with the design of the research project, which Valerie Janesick in Chapter 2 describes in dance terms. Design issues also involve matters of money and funding, issues discussed by Julianne Cheek in Chapter3. Questions of design always begin with a socially situated observer who moves from a research question to a paradigm or perspective, and then to the empirical world. So located the researcher then addresses a range of methods that can be employed in any study. The history and uses of these strategies are explored extensively in this volume. The chapters move from performance ethnography to case studies, issues of ethnographic representation, grounded theory strategies, testimonies, life histories, participatory action research, and clinical research.


Books for Further Step
8. Robert Philip Weber, Basic Content Analysis, Second edition, SAGE Publications
9. David W. Stewart, Prem N. Shamdasani, Focus Groups: Theory and Practice, Applied Social Research Methods Series, Volume20, SAGE Publications
10. [美] Frederick T. L. Leong, James T. Austin 主编，周晓林，訾非， 黄立， 穆岩 等译《心理学研究手册》The Psychology Research Handbook: A Guide for Graduate Students and Research Assistant，中国轻工业出版社
实验心理学、心理统计、心理测量、普通心理学、发展心理学、教育心理学……当心理系的学生学习了这一门门课程后，需要自己独立设计实施一个心理学研究时，他们会怎么样呢？相信很多学生仍然会茫然无措。Frederick T. L. Leong博士和James T. Austin博士主编的《心理学研究手册》将给茫然的学生极大的帮助。



Articles


Core Articles
Witzel, Andreas. The Problem-centered Interview. Forum: Qualitative Social Research. 2000, 1 (1).
Abstract: The problem-centered interview (PZI) is a theory-generating method that tries to neutralize the alleged contradiction between being directed by theory or being open-minded so that the interplay of inductive and deductive thinking contributes to increasing the user’s knowledge. The appropriate communication strategies aim firstly at the representation of the subjective approach to the problem, secondly the stimulated narratives are enriched by dialogues employing imaginative and semi-structured prompts. Theoretical knowledge develops by using elastic concepts that are further developed during the analysis by employing empirical analysis and which will be refined by "testing" empirically grounded "hypotheses" with the data.

Robert Faux. A Description of the Uses of Content Analyses and Interviews in Educational / Psychological Research. Forum: Qualitative Social Research. 2000, 2 (1).
Abstract: Psychology in general and educational psychology in particular, has traditionally adopted the methods of positivistic science; that is, it employs experimental research methodology and statistical tests of significance. However, more and more psychologists are beginning to use and to appreciate qualitative research methodologies. These methodologies include ethnographies of classrooms, in the case of educational psychology, content analyses of research participants' verbal or written responses to problem solving tasks, in the case of cognitive psychology, and so forth. This paper presents a description of the uses of content analyses and interviews with participants in educational psychology research. The purposes of the research described in this paper were to examine how undergraduate students would apply knowledge to case study problems and to find out how students felt about the use of case studies as an instructional tool. To achieve these aims, content analyses were conducted on students' written responses to cases and individual interviews were conducted with students.

Mayring, Philipp. Combination and Integration qualitativer and quantitativer Analyses. Forum: Qualitative Social Research. 2001, 2 (1).
Zusammenfassung: Möglichkeiten der Kombination qualitativer und quantitativer Analyseschritte werden auf fünf unterschiedlichen Ebenen gezeigt: Auf technischer Ebene bieten die Programme computerunterstützter qualitativer Analyse diverse Kombinationsmöglichkeiten. Auf der Ebene der Daten stellt das Arbeiten mit Kategorien, z.B. mittels qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse, Möglichkeiten qualitativer und quantitativer Verarbeitung zu Verfügung. Auf der Personenebene ermöglichen Typisierungen und induktive Fallverallgemeinerungen den Schritt von Einzelfallmaterial zu quantitativen Generalisierungen. Auf der Ebene des Forschungsdesigns lassen sich verschiedene Modelle differenzieren (Vorstudienmodell, Verallgemeinerungsmodell, Vertiefungsmodell, Triangulationsmodell), die qualitative und quantitative Analyseschritte miteinander kombinieren. Auf der Ebene der Forschungslogik schließlich lässt sich zeigen, dass ein gemeinsames Ablaufmodell des Forschungsprozesses in einer erweiterten Form für qualitative und quantitative Forschung angemessen sein kann und so zu einer Integration der Forschungsansätze führen kann.

Mayring, Philipp. Qualitative Content Analysis. Forum: Qualitative Social Research. 2000, 6(1).
Abstract: The article describes an approach of systematic, rule guided qualitative text analysis, which tries to preserve some methodological strengths of quantitative content analysis and widen them to a concept of qualitative procedure. First the development of content analysis is delineated and the basic principles are explained (units of analysis, step models, working with categories, validity and reliability). Then the central procedures of qualitative content analysis, inductive development of categories and deductive application of categories, are worked out. The possibilities of computer programs in supporting those qualitative steps of analysis are shown and the possibilities and limits of the approach are discussed.

Juliet Corbin in Conversation with Cesar A. Cisneros-Puebla, "To Learn to Think Conceptually", Volume 5, No. 3, Art. 32 – September 2004
Abstract: Some brilliant images are projected from Juliet CORBIN's memories around her first steps into the qualitative research world related to the symbolic interactionism tradition. She focuses on some remarkable issues about learning the processes of Grounded Theory based on her past experiences teaching in seminars or doing workshops worldwide. The differences between writing novels and the narrative perspective and writing social science from Grounded Theory methodology are discussed by her in order to distinguish the role of literature in the production of socially active knowledge. Latin-America and Marxism are especially focused in the discussion around the relevance of activism involved in social transformation.

Secondary Articles
Bruchez, C; Fasseur, F; Santiago-Delefosse, M. Qualitative research in psychology, the question of its visibility on websites: A preliminary study. [French]. [References]. [Journal; Peer Reviewed Journal] Pratiques Psychologiques. Vol 10(3) 2004, 231-241.

Altheide, D.L. (1996). Qualitative media analysis. Qualitative Research Methods Vol. 38. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Mostyn, B. (1985). The content analysis of qualitative research data: A dynamic approach. In M. Brenner, J. Brown & D. Cauter (Eds.), The research interview (pp.115-145). London: Academic Press.

Rennie, D. (1998). Grounded theory methodology. The pressing need for a coherent logic of justification. Theory & Psychology, 8(1), 101-119.




Exchange of Experiences and Sharing of Knowledges


zdname small


Internet Resources