It's Sunday morning, I slept well and I am just having my first cup of coffee after sleeping in until about 8am, so I am going to share with you a few insights I learned from designing (from scratch) a qualitative methods course.
Buckle up.
Buckle up.
Disclosure: I was the Editor for the Americas of the International Journal of Qualitative Methods (@IJQMonline). I apply qualitative methods in my research. I teach qualitative methods. I write and publish methods pieces.
I'm not a newbie to the field/to the methods.
I'm not a newbie to the field/to the methods.
In order for me to properly design a "Qualitative Data Analysis and Interpretation" Masters/PhD level course, I:
- went and read (and in some cases, re-read) 31 books.
- emailed two professor friends who shared their syllabi with me.
- downloaded and read 15 different syllabi.
- went and read (and in some cases, re-read) 31 books.
- emailed two professor friends who shared their syllabi with me.
- downloaded and read 15 different syllabi.
I invested more than 60 hours of my life JUST thinking through which readings and in which order, and which activities I was going to implement. Obviously, it also took me a few hours (4-6) to write the actual syllabus.
What did I learn, after all this?
What did I learn, after all this?
Well, this will be no news to qualitative researchers, but IT'S FREAKING HARD TO DESIGN A QUALITATIVE METHODS SYLLABUS.
There are so many different ways in which I could slice and dice this course. I could craft a 3 semesters sequence (basic, intermediate, advanced)
There are so many different ways in which I could slice and dice this course. I could craft a 3 semesters sequence (basic, intermediate, advanced)
For my "ethnography in comparative policy analysis" chapter, I read 20 books. 20 ethnographies. is.gd/Tf4dkn
Teaching a semester-long seminar on ethnography (just the mere basics) would require me to eschew some of these incredible works, pick-and-choose.
Teaching a semester-long seminar on ethnography (just the mere basics) would require me to eschew some of these incredible works, pick-and-choose.
I could teach a 3-semesters-long sequence on ethnography alone. And that would *just* scratch the surface.
I've read 32 books JUST on fieldwork, JUST to think through the mere idea of how to teach students how to enter the field, how to collect data, how to protect themselves.
I've read 32 books JUST on fieldwork, JUST to think through the mere idea of how to teach students how to enter the field, how to collect data, how to protect themselves.
My point: ANY course on qualitative methods is bound to miss stuff. You can teach "the mere basics", a survey, that then gives students the opportunity to develop a specific analytic technique, epistemological and ontological approach. But no course is going to cover EVERYTHING.
In my view, it's a good idea to teach AT LEAST ONE course in qualitative methods, but we need to be keenly aware and cognizant that there will be gaps that we haven't filled and that there are new developments that won't show up in our syllabi on time.
That's ok too.
That's ok too.
Obviously, I still believe we need to be rigorous in what we teach and how we teach in qualitative methods raulpacheco.org/2019/12/on-the…
This is perhaps the most important insight I've gained after teaching several sequences of Research Design, Comparative Methods, Mixed Methods.
This is perhaps the most important insight I've gained after teaching several sequences of Research Design, Comparative Methods, Mixed Methods.
Whatever you teach, make sure you include rigorous and well-crafted exemplars that your students and you can deconstruct in class and learn from.
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I always transcribe my draft notes and scribbles on to my Everything Notebook (these are from when I designed my QDA&I course syllabi’s) 
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