Omslag, Birgitta Mattson - Södertörns högskola

Bilaga I
4. Course contents, modules and examinations
On an epistemological level, in this course students study and
critically review arguments about the status of qualitative research
methods. Interpretive and other approaches that stress the individual
and the unique will be contrasted with approaches that stress the
uniform and fundamental commensurability of social science
approaches. On a more concrete level, this course critically assesses
qualitative methods for the collection, interpretation and analysis of
empirical data. The students address the strengths, weaknesses, and
applicability of different methods.
This course does not only deepen the students understanding of the
advantages and limits of qualitative methods, but also prepares them
for such important parts of the research process as case selection and
different understandings of explanation. Ethical and gender
considerations for various methods are thoroughly discussed. Above
all, however, the seminars critically evaluate examples of how
established researches argue that students of society should go about
finding the information that they need to answer their research
questions.
5. Course design
Lectures, mandatory seminars, and practical applications.
6. Course assessment
Written assignments.
The grading criteria are distributed prior to the start of a course or
module.
7. Course literature
Suggested readings (final version to be finalised at a later stage and adopted
among the disciplines and by the teachers responsible for the course):
Becker, Howard S. (1998) Tricks of the Trade: How to think about your research
while you’re doing it. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Brady, Henry E. and David Collier (2004) Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse
Tools, Shared Standards. Lanham, MD: Roman and Littlefield.
Geddes, Barbara (2003) Paradigms and Sand Castles: Theory Building and
Research Design in Comparative Politics. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
Press.
George, Alexander L. and Andrew Bennett (2005) Case Studies and Theory
Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
King, Gary, Robert O. Keohane and Sidney Verba (1994) Designing Social
Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton: Princeton
University Press.
Politik, ekonomi och samhällets organisering
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