GLOBE4100 – Research Methods and Project Design

This course aims to provide students with a thorough understanding of the interdisciplinary research process.

How might we best interview people to elicit the richest information? What are the benefits of participating in and observing people’s actual activities? What can we learn from documents? How do the questions we ask in our research align with the methods we use to answer them?

When we employ all these different methodologies, what sorts of assumptions do we have about how the social world is made up and how to know about it? What responsibilities do we have to ensure that our research is not causing harm to people or non-human animals? These are some of the questions which will be addressed in this course.

The course uses SUM’s core research interests as a point of departure for students to practically immerse themselves in the process of doing research. Each week, students will learn about a different aspect of research or a different methodology. Students will learn from experts from SUM, will work in groups in practical assignments, and will have many chances to present and discuss their reflections on the research process.

Active participation in all course activities is expected of students.

After completing the course, the students will:

Knowledge

• Have acquired insight into different research traditions and epistemologies
• Have gained a deeper understanding of how qualitative research is conducted
• Be able to apply and evaluate qualitative methodological concepts and techniques at an advanced level
• Be able to identify and discuss the challenges and dilemmas involved in applying qualitative methods in concrete, practical contexts

Skills

• Have command of a broad spectrum of perspectives within various qualitative research traditions
• Be able to apply a critical perspective to how methods are used in research
• Be able to summarise, present, and independently reflect on methods and research
• Be able to collaborate with other students in class
• Be able to criticise and comment on the work of fellow students in a respectful, reflective, and constructive manner

General skills

• Be skilled in gathering and interpreting rich, non-numerical data to uncover the meanings behind observable patterns in society
• Gained an understanding of one’s own position, assumptions, and potential biases, and how these influence interpretations
• Have the ability to translate complex ideas into clear, accessible language for non-specialists
• Experience in working effectively in diverse teams, including negotiating different perspectives and resolving disagreements

A portfolio, graded pass/fail, consisting of:

• 6 reflection pieces (each 1-2 pages). These will be submitted each week, and cover the week’s topic, including: 1. Literature review; 2. Documents; 3. Interviewing; 4. Multi-sited fieldwork; 5. Participant-observation; and,6. Participatory Action Research
• An overview of your proposed thesis topic (2-3 pages). This will be submitted at the end of the course. Your proposed thesis topic must be relevant to the ongoing research at GLOBE.

• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Resitting an examination