Welcome to the Quirkos Curated Course: Doing Qualitative Research
Click one of the bubbles to get started, or scroll down to read an introduction to the course.
Introduction
The course takes you through the fundamental skills and knowledge that you will need to undertake qualitative research, including:
- Understanding rationales in setting up qualitative research projects
- Understanding the philosophical basis of qualitative research
- Gathering and transcribing qualitative data, including interviews
- Managing qualitative research data (with and without software)
- Coding and analysing qualitative data
- Using writing in the research process (rather than writing for publication)
If you are new to qualitative research we would recommend visiting all 6
modules, starting with ✏️ Design and plan. 💭 Epistemology and Meta issues can be conceived as central to all research activity at every step of
the way, so we suggest you move there before you start 🎙️ Gather data. After that, you may choose to go through 💻 Manage and Handle Data, ❔ Analyse and Transform Data and finally ✒️ Write and Report.
Once in each module there are core activities and links for you to
investigate as well as additional materials you
can optionally cover later.
If you are not new to qualitative research you will probably find it more helpful to choose the modules and activities that you want to focus on for yourself.
Whatever your level of experience with qualitative research, we can choose any particular order of modules or to complete any particular tasks. The model above is available on every page for you to navigate where you want to go in the course.
What kinds of activities are involved?
- Text provides the narrative to guide you in understanding the key concepts, processes and activities of qualitative research
- Models and matrices (just a fancy word for tables, if you ask me) illustrate and summarise points in the text. Some will include clickable links to further related learning material (like the one at the top of this page!).
- Links to specially curated Quirkos Videos ▶ and Blogs 📃 are provided at key points in the text and in models to provide depth to the core text content. Core material is labelled Green. E.g:
- Additional optional resources (in blue) from Quirkos and beyond aim to add breadth to your understanding through in-text links and buttons like this:
- Downloadable files, tools and templates are there to help you think about, plan and undertake your data gathering and analysis. Some of the files are real research examples from our Qualitative Researcher Journeys project to help you see inside the ‘Black Box’ of research. Other files include suggested templates that you can use or adapt for your own purpose in your research. E.g.
How to generate codes and themes
How to generate codes and themes
FAQs
Who is this course for?
This course is particularly helpful for those starting out on a qualitative research project. However if you just want to refresh your knowledge of a particular area, you can choose one module.
Will I get a certificate?
Not at the moment, but we are thinking about adding an optional certificate or badge if there is interest.
How much does it cost?
It’s free. There’s no charge and no registration required to access these materials. Just click on the model to get started.
How long will it take?
That rather depends on why you are taking the course and how much of the material you want, or need, to engage with. We encourage you to focus on what you need rather than clicking on every page and link. Go away and try some things, use some of our activities and resources to help you think and design your own approach. Come back often.
Are other people taking this course?
Yes, but for now this is an independent learning course. Opportunities for discussing your thoughts and findings will have to take place beyond these pages. Feel free to add comments to the blogs you read, in our YouTube materials, and on social media.
Will I learn how to use Quirkos?
There will be some Quirkos content, but the focus is on things that will help you be more effective as a qualitative researcher, including analysis.
What you learn in this course will help you make better decisions in how you use Quirkos, or any other analysis tools you choose to learn. Any material that is specifically focused on how to use Quirkos or other software will be labelled with our logo, like the link above.
Where next?
Remember you can choose where you go on the course using the model, or you can follow our suggested path through the course to✏️ Design and plan. Whichever module you choose, enjoy the course.
Tell us what you think!
We'd love to hear from you so we can make this course as useful as possible. If you'd like to leave feedback, suggestions or comments, please use the button below.
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