Qualitative Research in Education

Offerings:
Course GEDU 712 | Every fall semester.

Prerequisites:
Course GEDU 708 | Research Methods in Education

Catalog Description:

General Education course descriptions in the USF General Catalog online.

Objectives or Outcomes:

  1. Understand the basic concepts necessary for performing and interpreting advanced statistical methods
  2. Understand the principles and appropriate uses of qualitative research
  3. Critique examples of qualitative research studies
  4. Develop skills in observation, interviewing, and writing fieldnotes
  5. Design, conduct, and report on a small-scale qualitative study

Course Topics:

  1. Foundations of qualitative research in education
  2. Research design: questions, cases, and samples
  3. Access to sites and participants
  4. Field relations and ethical issues
  5. Collecting qualitative data: observation, interviewing, and writing fieldnotes
  6. The process of analysis and interpretation
  7. Writing and reporting on research

Criteria of Course Completion:

Students are evaluated on participation in class, written assignments, oral presentation of research, and a written research paper.

Possible Course Textbooks:

Bogdan, R.C. and Biklen, S.K. (1992). Qualitative research in education: An introduction to theory and methods (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Metz, M.H. (1978). Classrooms and corridors: The crisis of authority in two desegregated secondary schools. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Patton, M.Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Note: A course reader will include journal articles that represent exemplary models of qualitative research studies.