Practical Course of Qualitative Research

Code:

P603

Acronym:

TPIQ

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Scientific Research Methodology

Instance: 2019/2020 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Psychology
Course/CS Responsible:	Integrated Master Psychology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIPSI	143	Official Curricular Structure	3	-	6	54	162

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

• To know the epistemological traditions, the central characteristics and the different phases of qualitative research;

• To develop skills for planning qualitative research in social sciences;

• To know and be able to apply qualitative research methods and techniques at different levels: data collection, data analysis and interpretation of results;

• To be able to implement the different phases of a qualitative research project: definition of a research problem, elaboration of research design, writing research questions, selection of data collection method(s), data collection, analysis and interpretation of results;

• To acquire competences to write a scientific paper on qualitative research;

• To be proficient in procedures to guarantee quality and validity of data and interpretations in qualitative research designs.

Learning outcomes and competences

At the end of the course, students should be able to create conditions for the construction of scientific knowledge and authonomous work, which may enable them to become competent professionals and to be able of developing qualitative research.

Thus, the skills acquired during this course should, above all, be regarded as  educational resources. Training should thus provide an adequate learning of qualitative approaches and of specific methods of data collection and data analysis.

Working method

Presencial

Program

Introduction to qualitative research

Epistemological traditions and fundamental characteristics of qualitative research;
Types of Qualitative Studies;
The qualitative approach and the quantitative approach.

The different elements of the qualitative research process:

Definition and formulation of the problem;
Research issues;
Research design;
Sampling in qualitative research; 

Data collection techniques

Observation
The interview
Focus Groups

Strategies in qualitative research

Grounded Theory
Action research
The case study methodology

Data analysis techniques

Deductive and inductive analysis
Content analysis
Discourse Analysis
Ways of reporting and presenting qualitative data.

The quality of inferences

Questions of fidelity and validity.

Mandatory literature

Hernández Sampieri Roberto; Metodologia de pesquisa. ISBN: 85-8680493-2
Creswell John W.; Qualitative inquiry and research design. ISBN: 0-7619-0144-2
Creswell John W.; Research design. ISBN: 0-7619-2442-6
Denzin Norman K. 340; The^landscape of qualitative research. ISBN: 0-7619-1433-1
Flick Uwe; Métodos qualitativos na investigação científica
Denzin Norman K.; O^planejamento da pesquisa qualitativa. ISBN: 85-363-0663-7
Catarina Brandão, Jaime Ribeiro, António Pedro Costa; Qualitative research: where do we stand now?, Ciencia e Saude Coletiva Vol. 23(1). ISBN: DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232018231.27992017
Catarina Brandão, Jaime Emanuel Moreira Ribeiro; A importância do contexto na investigação qualitativa, Revista psicologia, diversidade e saúde, Vol. 7(1), p. 169-173, 2018. ISBN: DOI: 10.17267/2317-3394.v7i1.1897

Complementary Bibliography

Tashakkori Abbas; Mixed methodology. ISBN: 0-7619-0071-3
Breakwell Glynis M. 340; Research methods in psychology. ISBN: 978-0-85702-264-6

Teaching methods and learning activities

1. Expository 2. Tutorial 3. Experiential 4. Field work

Software

Moodle
Turnitin

keywords

Social sciences > Educational sciences > Research methodology

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	20,00
Trabalho de campo	30,00
Trabalho escrito	50,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	4,00
Elaboração de projeto	20,00
Estudo autónomo	38,00
Frequência das aulas	56,00
Trabalho de campo	20,00
Trabalho escrito	24,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Formative evaluation without final exam.

Students must attend at least 75 % of the planned classes.

1.  Final oral presentation in practical classes - group work (4 students): description of the qualitative research study implemented by the students in the scope of the practical classes. 

2. Project elaboration: Elaboration of a portfolio that includes all the assignments developed in the scope of the practical classes: observation (grid and written records) and interviews (scripts, an interview transcription and data analyses). 

3. Written Assignement: Final written group  work (4 students) -  This written work (acoording to APA citation norms), must include a theoretical introduction and a study design based on a qualitative methodology based on a paper describing a quantitative research.

Calculation formula of final grade

Final grade:

1. Oral Final presentation in practical classes - group work (4 students): description of the qualitative research study developed by students in the scope of the classes (50%).

2. Project development: Elaboration of a portfolio that included all the work carried out in the context of practical classes: observation (grid and data recording); Interviews (unstructured and semi structured scripts, semi structured interview transcription and data analysis) (30%)

3. Final written work (4 students) - according to APA citation norms - includes a theoretical introduction and the design of a qualitative study based on a paper presenting a quantitative research (40%).

Formula of calculation of the final classification:
The final classification will be the result, on a scale of 0 to 20 points, of the weighted average of the grade in the different assessment components.
Students will have to obtain a minimum of 8 values in each component. The student will perform the CU if he / she obtains the minimum grade of 10 values.

The final classification in the portfolio and in the scientific article will take into acount the self-assessment performed by each group of students regarding their contribution to the work.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable

Internship work/project

Not applicable

 

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Students with the worker student statute (WS, AAC ...), have the right not to participate in the classes. However, all students will have to complete the assignements for evaluation.

Classification improvement

It is possible to improve the final grade by reformulating the written work, equivalent to 50% of the total evaluation.