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The course will operate on two interrelated dimensions, one focused on the methodological approaches to various types of interpretive research, the other focused on the practical techniques of data collection, coding strategies and interpretive strategies of analysis, writing, and presenting findings.
Methodological, the course considers questions such as the following:
- What is ‘interpretive’ research?
- What questions is it best suited for?
- By what criteria does it meet or fail to meet the standards of scientific evidence?
- What are the roles of concepts in interpretive research?
- Can interpretive methods verify hypotheses, or only generate them?
- Can interpretive research explain social phenomena, or only describe them?
- Do interpretive analyses have a small-N problem?
- In what ways is interpretive research “grounded”?
Practically, the course considers questions such as the following:
- How do you ask the ‘right’ question to the ‘right’ material?
- What collecting techniques can be used to enhance the quality of the material?
- What interpretive position should ground the research? What is the unit of analysis?
- How do you organize the material and how do you ‘read’ it?
- And how can you draw conclusions from your interpretive analyses?
The course introduces a broad spectrum of interpretive approaches; however, the methodological focus will be on narrative method and discourse analysis. The explicit focus is chosen strengthen your general knowledge on interpretive methods as well as to give you a solid basis to choose the ‘right’ strategy of interpretation of your material. There will be daily lectures, group exercises and presentations.
