Kvalitativ forskning: teori och metod 7,5 hp FOR051F

Teoretiska och filosofiska utgångspunkter, datainsamling och dataanalys, baserat på kvalitativa forskningsmetoder kommer diskuteras, tillämpas och problematiseras

COURSE SYLLABUS, third-cycle courses

Course name:

Qualitative Research: Theory and Method

Kvalitativ forskning: teori och metod

ECTS/HP: 7,5

Course code: FOR051F

Educational level: third-cycle course.

Eligibility requirements:

The course is open for students admitted to third-cycle studies at LTU.

The examiner, in consultation with the Head of Subject, decides whether the course should be open to doctoral students enrolled at universities other than LTU. Furthermore, an LTU employee with a professional development plan can be given the opportunity to follow the course, subject to availability, after application and decision by the examiner. The professional development plan signed by immediate manager must be attached to the application. In such cases, the examiner issues a special course certificate after completing the course.

Entry requirements: The student must be admitted to and actively enrolled in a doctoral (third-cycle) programme under the supervision of an appointed principal supervisor.

Course content:

The course will introduce some basic theoretical and philosophical theories in qualitative research. The basic theoretical assumptions, data collection and data analysis, of qualitative research methods will be discussed and problematized. Various qualitative methods will be examined and discussed in relation to various fields of research.

Learning outcomes:

After completing the course, the doctoral student should be able to:

· critically analyse and explain the interplay between theoretical frameworks and methodological choices, and independently identify, evaluate and justify different

qualitative methodological approaches for the generation of empirical data within their own research domain,

· apply, critically assess and reflect upon relevant methods for the analysis and presentation of qualitative data, and evaluate and compare various forms of quality criteria in qualitative research,

· identify, discuss and assess ethical dimensions in the design and conduct of qualitative research, demonstrating autonomy and responsibility in addressing complex ethical considerations,

· recognise, interpret and critically evaluate intersectional aspects both in the empirical material and in the methods of data collection, and assess the implications of alternative methodological choices.

Relation to the Higher Education Ordinance, Annex 2 (Third Cycle Studies, SeQF Level 8)

The course primarily contributes to the following learning outcomes described in the Higher Education Ordinance, Annex 2, for the degree of Doctor:

Knowledge and understanding The course develops the ability to demonstrate “specialised and systematic understanding of the field of research and familiarity with current research frontiers”, by engaging students in the theoretical and methodological foundations of qualitative inquiry.

Competence and skills The course enhances the ability to “identify and formulate research questions with scholarly precision, critically, independently and creatively plan and conduct research using appropriate methods”, and to “present and discuss research with authority in [an international setting].”

Judgement and approach (Responsibility and autonomy) Through reflexive engagement with methodological, ethical and intersectional issues, the course supports the capacity to “make assessments of research ethics and demonstrate insight into the possibilities and limitations of science, its role in society and the responsibility of the individual researcher.”

Course methods: The course consists of literature studies, lectures, workshops/seminars, web-based interaction and student peer-review, as well as other forms of collaborative and critical interaction. During the course introduction some basic theoretical and philosophical theories in qualitative research will be presented, whose relevance and implications for data collection and analysis in qualitative the students jointly discuss and independently elaborate further. To a great extent the course relies on the student’s own continuous literature studies and recurring collaborative reflections and critical interactions as well as peer-review tasks, for which the Learning Management System will be used. A couple of joint seminar days situated at campus Luleå will serve as the core of the course, but the Campus seminar activities and the individual literature studies will be supported by various online seminars/workshops as well as pre-recorded lectures, available in the course LMS. By

bringing own qualitative data samples, to be processed during the seminars and workshops, the PhD students will also contribute to the design – and content – of the course.

Examination form: Describe which examination forms the course uses to ensure that goals/knowledge about gender mainstreaming are achieved.

The course will be examined by both an individual oral and written assignment. The oral assignment, in form of a collaborative workshop, should be based on the participants own authentic, or fictive, empirical data. The written assignment, in the form of a paper, should take the course literature and lectures as its basis and should connect to the student’s own, or fictive, research area.

Grading scale: Pass/Fail.

Course literature: Flick, U. (n.d.). An introduction to qualitative research / Uwe Flick (Latest edition.). SAGE.

Additional literature (articles, book chapters etc.) will be provided in the learning management system/the course room.

Education cycle: 27-09-13 – 27-12-10

Course is given periodically: Yes

Send application to: foutbhlt@ltu.se Doctoral student enter name, civic registration number, e-mail, Division and Department in the application.

Deadline for application: Date 27-08-13

Course open for application by doctoral students admitted to other universities than LTU:

Is decided by the course examiner, in consultation with the Head of Subject.

Limited number of students: Yes, number of participants 25

Tuition: The course is free of charge for doctoral students admitted at LTU.

For doctoral students admitted to other universities than LTU, the course examiner, in consultation with the Head of Subject, decides if course fees may be required.

Contact person: Dr Niclas Ekberg (niclas.ekberg@ltu.se)

Examiner: Professor, Eva Alerby Head of Department appoints the examiner. The examiner must have docent/professor qualifications and be employed at LTU (LTU-3684-2023).

Course syllabus decided by: Maria Johansson

Date of decision: 2025-11-10