TM5524 - Qualitative Research Methods

[Offered in even-numbered years]

Credit points:	03
Year:	2010
Student Contribution Band:	Band 2
Administered by:	Sch Public Health,Trop Medicine&Rehabilitation Sc

The subject will introduce students to the uses and conduct of qualitative research, with an emphasis on health-related research in tropical communities. Main topics covered will include the sociological and anthropological orientations towards the nature and purposes of qualitative research; planning and designing qualitative research; ethical issues in qualitative research; qualitative sampling; methods of qualitative data collection, including in-depth interviews, focus groups, observation; analysing qualitative data; the use of computers in qualitative research; writing qualitative research reports; criteria for assessing qualitative research reports.Qualitative research methods are presented both as a set of research methods in their own right and as methods to be combined with quantitative methods. The premise underlying the subject is that research methods adopted should be governed by the nature and demands of the inquiry, rather than by any prior preference for qualitative over quantitative methods or vice versa. Students will be expected to participate in practicing the techniques of data collection and analysis introduced during the subject.

Learning Outcomes

• be able to critically assess qualitative research reports;
• be able to write qualitative research reports;
• have gained introductory experience in some main forms of qualitative data collection;
• understand the contexts and purposes for which qualitative research is particularly well suited, either on its own or as a complement to quantitative research;
• understand the principles of qualitative data analysis;
• understand the principles of qualitative sampling;
• be familiar with the main theoretical approaches to qualitative research design.

Graduate Qualities

• The ability to appraise information critically;
• The ability to use independent judgment to synthesise information to make intellectual and/or creative advances;
• The ability to place their research in a broader (preferably international)theoretical, practical and policy context.;
• The ability to think laterally and be original;
• The ability to conceptualise problems;
• The ability to conceptualise and evaluate a range of potential solutions to relevant problems;
• The ability to encompass and use methods and conceptual advances in areas of knowledge cognate to their central area(s) of expertise;
• The ability to evaluate and extrapolate from the outcomes of their research;
• The ability to plan, conduct and manage research in their discipline;
• The ability to conduct their research in an ethical manner;
• The ability to communicate the methodology, results and implications of their research in a manner appropriate to different purposes and audiences;
• The ability to make constructive contributions to project teams or collegial activities;
• The potential to resolve conflicts.

Availabilities
Townsville, Limited, Study Period 9
Census Date 07-Oct-2010
Non-standard start/end 13-Sep-2010 to 19-Nov-2010
Face to face teaching 13-Sep-2010 to 17-Sep-2010
Coord/Lect:	Ms Julie Parison.
Assessment:	assignments (60%); written assignments due after the block (40%).

Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.