Advanced Qualitative Research Methods

Elective course offered during spring 2012

The course begins with an overview of qualitative data analysis within the field of public health and how to judge the reliability of qualitative information. The focus of the course will be on how the application of grounded theory vs. qualitative content analysis on public health problems works.

Grounded theory is an analytical interpretive method that aims to generate concepts, hypotheses and theories, based on empirical qualitative data. Qualitative content analysis is a method used for describing and analysing both the manifest and latent meaning of statements about the studied phenomenon. These methods will be compared to, for example, narrative, thematic and phenomenological analyses. Social science and social psychology theories will be presented and discussed in the context of the possibility of integrating them in the interpretive process. Specific demands for the publication of qualitative studies will be presented and discussed. During the course, the students will analyse their own data under the supervision of the teachers.

• Syllabus (pdf 252,3 kB)