SOC421 Qualitative data analysis and interpretation

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2009
Extent and Intensity
1/3/0. 20 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. PaedDr. Zdeněk Konopásek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Ing. Radim Marada, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Soňa Enenkelová
Timetable
Tue 12:00–15:40 PC26
Prerequisites (in Czech)
Předmět je určen především pro studentky a studenty magisterského studia sociologie na FSS. Není určen pro studenty bakalářského studia, ať už jakéhokoli oboru. Předpokládá se schopnost samostatně studovat manuál programu, který je v angličtině; výhodou je teoretická obeznámenost s nějakou podobou kvalitativního výzkumu.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 19 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/19, only registered: 0/19, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/19
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The main objectives are
1) to master - both in technical and methodological terms - the work with Atlas.ti;
2) to theoretically discuss and practice basic analytic procedures with qualitative data;
3) to prepare students for their individual work on qualitative research projects.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. What is data? / Hermeneutic unit and primary documents
  • 3. How to construct a research problem? / Segmentation and coding of data
  • 4. The research problem for our work - discussion
  • 5. Writing research report / Advanced coding techniques and memos
  • 6. Basics of building a textual laboratory / Networks and network views
  • 7. What is relevant? / Querry tool
  • 8. What constitutes objectivity? / Supercodes, code hierarchies, code families
  • 9. Cumulating knowledge / System closure
  • 10. How to be reflexive? / Co-occurence tool
  • 11. The relationship between theories and analytic practices / Related software tools
  • 12. Summary
Literature
  • MUHR, Thomas & FRIESE, Susanne (2004): Atlas.ti, the knowledge workbench, v. 5.0: User’s guide and reference. Berlin: Scientific Software
  • SILVERMAN, David. Doing qualitative research : a practical handbook. 1st pub. London: Sage Publications, 2000, xv, 316. ISBN 0761958231. info
Teaching methods
The following teaching methods are used:
1) lectures,
2) discussions of practical analytic and methodological issues,
3) individual study and analytic work on real empirical data and with the program Atlas.ti
The course is a set of lectures, discussions and practical workshops aimed at analytical work with qualitative data. The emphasis will neither be on presentation of different approaches nor on following the epistemic logic of a particular methodological tradition. Rather, we will focus, in an eclectic mode, on various practices of analytic reading and writing. Students will use, for their work, the software package for qualitative analysis Atlas.ti. Participation in the course is time-demanding, based on continuous school and home work.
Assessment methods
The focus is on continuious analytic work on real data (both during school sessions and at home). At the end, students are required to deliver all their analytic work as a single file of the Atlas.ti programme (HPR file) and a short explanatory commentary. They will have to pass also through a final oral examination, by means of which their ability use the software tool for a meaningful analysis will be assessed. After a short preparation, students will be asked to critically assess the work of one of their colleagues.
The overall classification will be based on a total score:
1) analytic file and related commentary (35 points max.),
2) oral exam (35 points max.),
3) continuous preparation for individual sessions during the semester (30 points max).
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2009, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2009/SOC421