Postgraduate Course: Qualitative Research Skills (Online) (EFIE11561)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh Futures Institute |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | *EFI Skills and Methods Suite*
Please Note:
This course is only available to students enrolled on one of Edinburgh Futures Institute's postgraduate programmes.
This course introduces students to the principles and practice of qualitative research methods. It focuses on qualitative research design, data collection and analysis techniques, and critical issues such as ethics and reflexivity. The course supports students in developing the skills required to design and justify qualitative research projects across a range of academic and professional contexts. |
| Course description |
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to qualitative research methods for postgraduate students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. It emphasises qualitative research as an iterative and interpretive process, covering key aspects of research design, data collection, data analysis, and methodological decision-making.
Through interactive lectures and applied learning activities, students engage with core qualitative approaches and critically examine issues of ethics, reflexivity, feasibility, and rigour. The course combines collaborative learning through a group-based methods comparison task with an individual qualitative research proposal, enabling students to both experience qualitative methods in practice and develop independent research design skills.
The course is designed to support students in applying qualitative research methods to their own academic interests and professional contexts, and to prepare them for future research projects within and beyond EFI programmes.
Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) - Online Hybrid Course Delivery Information:
The Edinburgh Futures Institute will teach this course in a way that enables online and on-campus students to study together. To enable this, the course will use technologies to record and live-stream student and staff participation during their teaching and learning activities. Students should note that their interactions may be recorded and live-streamed (see the Lecture Recording and Virtual Classroom policies for more details). There will, however, be options to control whether or not your video and audio are enabled.
You will need access to a personal computing device for this course. Most activities will take place in a web browser, unless otherwise stated. We recommend using a device with a screen, a physical keyboard, and internet access.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
The course will be assessed by means of the following components:
1) Group Presentation (30%)
Learning Outcomes Assessed by Component: 3, 4
2) 2,000 Word Individual Assignment (70%)
Learning Outcomes Assessed by Component: 1, 2, 5 |
| Feedback |
Feedback on any formative assessment may be provided in various formats, for example, to include written, oral, video, face-to-face, whole class, or individual. The Course Organiser will decide which format is most appropriate in relation to the nature of the assessment.
Feedback on both formative and summative in-course assessed work will be provided in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course.
Feedback on the summative assessment(s) will be provided in written form via Learn, the University of Edinburgh's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Formative Feedback Opportunity:
Formative feedback is ongoing feedback which monitors learning and is intended to improve performance in the same course, in future courses, and also beyond study.
Written feedback on formative assignment will be given to students.
Feedback on summative assignment will enable students to develop skills in doing qualitative research for future study and professional career. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Design a coherent qualitative research study, including the formulation of research questions and the selection and justification of appropriate qualitative methods.
- Understand and critically evaluate the role of literature review in shaping qualitative research questions and research design.
- Plan and apply qualitative methods of data collection, taking into account research context, feasibility, and ethical considerations.
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of key approaches to analysing diverse forms of qualitative data, including issues of interpretation, rigour, reflexivity, and researcher positionality.
- Reflect critically on their own methodological choices and articulate how qualitative methods can be applied in future academic and/or professional research contexts.
|
Reading List
Main Course Book: Qualitative Research in Business & Management, Michael D. Myers.
Additional Course Book: Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, John W. Creswell.
Further Optional Reading: Business Research Methods, Alan Bryman and Emma Bell. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
¿ Critical Thinking: Students develop critical thinking by evaluating qualitative research designs, comparing methodological approaches, and critically assessing the strengths, limitations, and ethical implications of different methods.
¿ Curiosity: The course encourages curiosity through the exploration of diverse research questions and qualitative approaches, prompting students to interrogate assumptions and consider alternative perspectives in research design.
¿ Problem Solving: Students engage in problem solving by designing feasible qualitative research questions and addressing them by relevant data collection, analysis, ethics, and methodological decision-making.
¿ Collaboration: Collaboration is developed through group-based comparative method analysis, where students work together to evaluate and communicate methodological choices.
¿ Reflection: Reflection is fostered through critical engagement with reflexivity, researcher positionality, and the implications of methodological decisions within both group and individual assessments.
¿ Communication: Students strengthen communication skills through the structured presentation of methodological arguments in a group presentation and through clear academic writing in the individual research proposal.
¿ Data and Digital Literacy: Data and digital literacy are developed through engagement with qualitative data practices, ethical handling of research materials, and the use of digital tools to support qualitative analysis and presentation. |
| Keywords | Qualitative research,research design,qualitative methods,data collection,reflexivity |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Mina Rezaeian Abrishami
Tel:
Email: mrezaeia@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Abby Gleave
Tel: (0131 6)51 1337
Email: abby.gleave@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage