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Tbilisi State University Center for Social Sciences

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

Course syllabus

Prof. Tamar Khuntsaria


Tel. (8-95) 98 99 16; e-mail: tamar_khuntsaria@yahoo.com

Course description: The course is focused on development of the basics of social research design
and overview of major methods used in social research, as well as the ways of presentation of
research findings. It may serve as a good basis for further, more comprehensive courses devoted
to specific research methods. In respect to each topic, relevant reading(s) and/or research tools
will be provided, and students will be required to present their own work. The course requires
active participation of students.

Course objectives: The course will provide students with necessary knowledge to understand and
critically assess results of empirical social research; to be able to design qualitative research
using basic research methods; and to present research findings in accordance with the academic
writing standards.

Requirements: Students are required to read respective texts for each class and do weekly home
assignments. The latter should represent their individual work, and should be submitted by e-
mail by specified deadline. In case if a student missed the class, s/he should ask about the home
assignment and send it by deadline. It’s important to meet deadlines; in case if this is not
possible because of objective reasons, please, let me know about this. Students, who did not
send at least 75% of the home assignments on time, will not be evaluated.
Plagiarism is unacceptable.

Assessment of students’ knowledge will be based on the following components:


• Class attendance and participation 10%
• Assignments 20%
• Mid-term 35%
• Final exam 35%

Basic textbooks:
o Norman Blaikie. 2004. Designing Social Research. 4th Edition. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
o Earl Babbie. 2004. The Practice of Social Research. 10th Edition. Thomson-Wadsworth.
o W.Lawrence Neuman. 2003. Social Research Methods. Qualitative and Quantitative
Approaches. Fifth Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
In addition, Course Readers and CD with readings are also available.

Office Hours: The class meets once a week, total of 15 classes. You can e-mail me if you need
extra time to discuss issues related to the course or your tentative research. However, it is
expected that you will not raise during the office hours exactly same issues that had been
discussed during the class, unless there was a serious reason to do so – it is completely your
responsibility if you miss the class.

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Schedule of topics and readings:

Class 1:
Introduction: The nature of science in the social sciences, foundation concepts, social problems,
types of social research, social research questions
Readings:
Norman Blaikie. 2004. Designing Social Research. 4th Edition. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.,
Introduction Chapter
W.Lawrence Neuman. 2003. Social Research Methods. Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches.
Fifth Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Pp. 1-19.

Class 2:
Preparing research proposals and research designs: logic of research, operationalization and
conceptualization, developing research proposal
Readings:
Norman Blaikie. 2004. Designing Social Research. 4th Edition. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Chapter 1
W.Lawrence Neuman. 2003. Social Research Methods. Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches.
Fifth Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Pp. 137-168.

Class 3:
Designing social research: research topic and problem, roles of researchers
Research questions and objectives: types and purpose of research questions, hypotheses,
research questions and the literature review, research objectives and questions
Readings:
Norman Blaikie. 2004. Designing Social Research. 4th Edition. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Chapter 2
and Chapter 3

Class 4:
Strategies for answering research question: inductive, deductive, retroductive, abductive
strategies; Ontological and epistemological comparisons
Readings:
Norman Blaikie. 2004. Designing Social Research. 4th edition. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Chapter 4

Class 5:
Role of concepts, theories, hypothesis and models in qualitative social research
Readings:
Norman Blaikie. 2004. Designing Social Research. 4th Edition. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Chapter 5

Class 6:
Sources and selection of data: Types and forms of data, sources of data, selection of data, case
studies
Methods of answering research questions: qualitative and quantitative techniques for data
collection and analysis
Readings:
Norman Blaikie. 2004. Designing Social Research. 4th Edition. Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Chapter 6
and Chapter 7

Class 7:
Mid-term exam

Class 8:
Types of surveys, survey questionnaire, survey sampling
Readings:
W.Lawrence Neuman. 2003. Social Research Methods. Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches.
Fifth Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Pp. 289-304. Pp. 268-289.

CSS | Social Research Methods / Autumn 2010 2


Earl Babbie. 2004. The Practice of Social Research. 10th Edition. Thomson-Wadsworth. Pp. 178-
217.
Class 9:
In-depth interviewing
Reading:
Robert S.Weiss. 1994. Learning from Strangers: The Art and Method of Qualitative Interview
Studies. The Free Press. Pp. 1-14, 61-99.

Classes 10:
Focus groups
Readings:
David L. Morgan. 1997. Focus Groups as Qualitative Research. Second Edition. Thousand Oaks,
Calif.: Sage Publications. Pp. 31-65.
Richard A. Krueger. 2000. Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research. Third edition.
Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications. Pp. 39-67.

Class 11:
Observation
Readings:
James P. Spradley. 1997. Participant Observation. New York: Holt, Rhinehart and Winston. Pp.
53-62.
William Foote White. 1993. Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum. Forth
edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pp. 279-309.

Class 12:
Case study
Readings:
Marie Jahoda, Paul F. Lazarsfeld and Hans Zeisel. 2002. Marienthal: The Sociography of an
Unemployed
Community. New Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers. Pp. 1-24.
Mitchel Dunier. 2001. Sidewalk. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux. Pp. 17-42.
James P. Spradley. 1979. The Ethnographic Interview. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Pp.
25-39.

Class 13:
Major Approaches in Qualitative data analysis
Readings:
W.Lawrence Neuman. 2003. Social Research Methods. Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches.
Fifth Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Pp. 438-467.
William Foote White. 1993. Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum. Forth
edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pp. 94-108.

Class 14:
Summary, Q&A
Readings:
Isadore Newman and Carolyn R. Benz. 1998. Qualitative-Quantitative Research Methodology:
Exploring the Interactive Continuum. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University
Press. Pp. 13-26.
Sheldon R. Gawiser and G. Evans Witt. “Twenty Questions a Journalist Should Ask about Poll
Results,” in: Earl Babbie. 2004. The Practice of Social Research. 10th Edition. Thomson-
Wadsworth. Pp. A25-A30

Class 15:
Final exam

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