Central European University. Master s Program in Public Policy 2005/06

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1 Central European University Master s Program in Public Policy 2005/06 Winter 2006 Qualitative research methods Credits: 2 Instructor: Uwe Puetter (Puetteru@ceu.hu), Room 314, CPS, Nador u. 11 Course format: Time: seminars Thursdays, p.m.

2 Aims of the course The course will familiarise students with core qualitative research techniques. Particular attention will be paid to the tasks of developing an appropriate research design, selecting the relevant case studies, collecting data and presenting the results. In addition, students will be able to deepen their knowledge of specific research techniques, which will be of particular relevance to their current and future academic and professional research. Here, the course will focus on the preparation and conduct of elite interviews and the analysis of documents and media reports as core sources of research. Finally, students will have the opportunity to apply and critically assess core methodological approaches in relation to their own research. Here, the course will help students in preparing and finalising their dissertation projects. Requirements and assessment The main purpose of this class is to provide an advanced-level introduction into qualitative methods while at the same time assisting students in practical questions related to their own thesis projects. Therefore, seminar sessions will be of an inter-active nature. Introductions to the main paradigms of qualitative research and research strategies will be related to practical examples and questions related to thesis projects of individual students. Successful completion of the course will depend on your in-class contributions (1/3), a seminar presentation (1/3) and the completion of a final exam (1/3). Active participation in the seminar discussions is a precondition for the success of the course. Students are expected to participate in all seminars, to prepare the required for each session and to participate actively in the discussion. In addition, each student is encouraged to demonstrate a deeper knowledge of the course topics through consulting the additional as well as through independent research activity. Missing more than two classes without presenting a written note to the instructor may result in a failing grade. All students are required to offer one 15 min. seminar presentation. Presentation topics will be allocated during the first session. Readings You will find all the required, which are listed in the outline for each seminar session, in the course reader. The are bound following the order of the seminar sessions (Week 1, 2, 3 ). You may also want to consult the original textbooks from which individual chapters appear in the reader and the texts listed in the further section. These are reserved in the CEU library within the MPP course section. Those books, from which the required come, can only be used within the library in order to give all students the opportunity to consult them whenever they feel it is necessary. You will find many of the additional also on reserve in the course section. Otherwise, these can be borrowed on a short loan basis. Please take this into account if you want to consult them when preparing your seminar presentations. Check the availability of the literature at least two weeks before your presentation or essay outline preparation. 2

3 Week 1 Title, Contents, Readings Introduction to qualitative research Contents This session gives an introduction into how we go about social inquiry. What makes scientific reasoning distinct from everyday reasoning? How can knowledge of particular research methods help scientists? Finally, the core features of qualitative research introduced in comparison with those of quantitative accounts. Babbie, Earl: The practice of social research, 10th edition, Wadsworth Thomson Learning, Belmont, California chapter 1: Human inquiry and science, pp Bryman, Alan: Quantity and quality in social research, Unwin Hyman, London chapter 5: The debate about quantitative and qualitative research, pp Keohane, Robert O./ King, Gary/ Verba, Sidney: Designing social inquiry Scientific inference in qualitative research, Princeton University Press, Princeton chapter 1: The science in social science, pp Competing paradigms in qualitative research Contents Qualitative research designs have become more and more popular in the social sciences over the last decades. However, there is by no means a single method of qualitative. On the contrary, an essential characteristic of the field of qualitative research is its diversity. This session introduces the major paradigms in the area of qualitative research and points to the implications of the various debates for individual research designs. Guba, Egon G./ Lincoln, Yvonna S.: Competing paradigms in qualitative research, in: Denzin, Norman K./ Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.): The landscape of qualitative research. Theories and issue, 2 nd edition, Sage, London 2003, pp chapter 2: The logic of qualitative methodology, pp

4 Kincheloe, Joe L./ McLaren, Peter L.: Rethinking critical theory and qualitative research, in: Denzin, Norman K./ Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.): The landscape of qualitative research. Theories and issue, 2 nd edition, Sage, London 2003, pp Olesen, Virginia: Feminisms and models of qualitative research, in: Denzin, Norman K./ Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.): The landscape of qualitative research. Theories and issue, 2 nd edition, Sage, London 2003, pp Thick descriptions Contents The technique of thick descriptions forms an integral part of many studies in the field of public policy analysis, as well as in comparative politics and international relations in a wider sense. Often the exploration of new developments and so far unknown dynamics in the policy process are an integral part of research. Although at first sight the descriptive part of the researcher may seem to be the easy bit, it is in fact not. This session highlights the pitfalls and the potential benefits of thick descriptions. Keohane, Robert O./ King, Gary/ Verba, Sidney: Designing social inquiry Scientific inference in qualitative research, Princeton University Press, Princeton chapter 2: Descriptive inference, p C Denzin, Norman K.: Interpretive interactionism, 2 nd edition, London: Sage chapter 6: Thick description, pp C 4 Causal inference Contents Causal interference constitutes for many the core technique of scientific research implying that other methods are of an auxiliary or sub-ordinate nature. This session relates this view to the initial discussion on the epistemological and technical implications of different research methods. Most importantly, the focus is on the role of causal inference in qualitative research and how it is related to interpretivist (see next session). Keohane, Robert O./ King, Gary/ Verba, Sidney: Designing social inquiry Scientific inference in qualitative research, Princeton University Press, Princeton chapter 3: Causality and causal interference, pp C Hollis, Martin/ Smith, Steve: Explaining and Understanding International Relations, Clarendon, Oxford chapter 3: Explaining, pp

5 5 Interpreting and understanding Gubrium, Jaber F./ Holstein, James A.: Analyzing interpretive practice, in: Denzin, Norman K./ Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.): Strategies of qualitative inquiry, 2 nd edition, London: Sage 2003, pp Hollis, Martin/ Smith, Steve: Explaining and Understanding International Relations, Clarendon, Oxford chapter 4: Understanding, pp Denzin, Norman K.: Interpretive interactionism, 2 nd edition, London: Sage Schwandt, Thomas A.: Constructivist, interpretivist approaches to human inquiry, in: Denzin, Norman K./ Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.): The landscape of qualitative research. Theories and issue, 2 nd edition, Sage, London 2003, pp Hollis, Martin/ Smith, Steve: Explaining and Understanding International Relations, Clarendon, Oxford chapter 9: Explaining and understanding, pp Wendt, Alexander: On constitution and causation in international relations, in: Review of International Studies, Vol. 24, No. 5, 1998, pp

6 6 Case studies Stake, Robert E.: Case studies, in: Denzin, Norman K./ Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.): Strategies of qualitative inquiry, 2 nd edition, London: Sage 2003, pp Keohane, Robert O./ King, Gary/ Verba, Sidney: Designing social inquiry Scientific inference in qualitative research, Princeton University Press, Princeton chapter 6: Increasing the number of observations, pp chapter 8: Selecting a case, pp Hartley, Jean F.: Case studies in organizational research, in: Cassell, Catherine/ Symon, Gillian (eds.): Qualitative methods in organizational research. A practical guide, London: Sage 1994, pp Comparative methods Dogan, Mattei/ Pelassy, Dominique: How to compare nations. Strategies in comparative politics, Chatham, New Jersey: Chatham House Publishers Part I: The compass of the comparativist, pp Peters, Guy B.: Comparative politics. Theory and methods, Houndsmills, Basingstoke: Macmillian Press chapter 3: The number of cases, pp Hix, Simon: The study of the European Community: the challenge to comparative politics, in: West European Politics, Vol. 17, No. 1, 1994, pp

7 8 Interviews Fontana, Andrea/ Frey, James H.: Interviewing. The art of science, in: Denzin, Norman K./ Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.): Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials, 2 nd edition, Sage, London 2003, pp C Miller, Jody/ Glassner, Barry: The inside and the outside. Finding realities in interviews, in: Silverman, David (ed.): Qualitative research. Theory, method and practice, London: Sage 1997, pp Kvale, Steinar: InterViews. An introduction to qualitative research interviewing, London: Sage Johnson, Graham I./ Briggs, Pamela: Question-asking and verbal protocol techinques, in: Cassell, Catherine/ Symon, Gillian (eds.): Qualitative methods in organizational research. A practical guide, London: Sage 1994, pp Holstein, James A./ Gubrium, Jaber F.: Active interviewing, in: Silverman, David (ed.): Qualitative research. Theory, method and practice, London: Sage 1997, pp Baker, Carolyn: Membership categorization and interview accounts, in: Silverman, David (ed.): Qualitative research. Theory, method and practice, London: Sage 1997, pp chapter 5: Interview data, pp Document analysis Holder, Ian: The interpretation of documents and material culture, in: Denzin, Norman K./ Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.): Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials, 2 nd edition, Sage, London 2003, pp Atkinson, Paul/ Coffey, Amanda: Analysing documentary realities, in: Silverman, David (ed.): Qualitative research. Theory, method and practice, London: Sage 1997, pp Forster, Nick: The analysis of company documentation, in: Cassell, Catherine/ Symon, Gillian (eds.): Qualitative methods in organizational research. A practical guide, London: Sage 1994, pp chapter 4: Texts, pp Huberman, Michael A./ Miles. Matthew B.: Data management and analysis methods, in: Denzin, Norman K./ Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.): Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials, 2 nd edition, Sage, London 2003, pp

8 10 Validation and verification - chapter 7: Validity and reliability, pp C Altheide, David L./ Johnson, John M.: Criteria for assessing interpretive validity in qualitative research, in: Denzin, Norman K./ Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.): Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials, 2 nd edition, Sage, London 2003, pp C Peräkylä, Anssi: Reliability and validity in research based transcripts, in: Silverman, David (ed.): Qualitative research. Theory, method and practice, London: Sage 1997, pp Thesis workshop 12 Qualitative research and the policy process Rist, Ray C.: Influencing the policy process with qualitative research, in: Denzin, Norman K./ Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.): Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials, 2 nd edition, Sage, London 2003, pp chapter 8: The practical relevance of qualitative research, pp TAKE HOME EXAM --- 8