Introduction/Overview
What can qualitative research tell
us? This more advanced course covers the transition from interpretive
analysis to writing up qualitative findings, showing how key themes can
be extrapolated to form the structure of a written piece. It reviews
different styles of writing, for different audiences, and includes
examples from both academic and applied research. It is
essential that participants are already familiar with the principles and
practice of thematic analysis, including data management and
categorisation, or have attended the SRA qualitative analysis course.
Without this foundation, participants will not get the full benefit of
the day.
Focusing on developing explanations, drawing conclusions and writing up qualitative research findings, the course includes:
- explanation in qualitative research
- distillation of key themes and conclusions
- the challenge of qualitative reporting
- displaying qualitative evidence
- reviewing examples of qualitative writing.
Objectives
- to build on participants existing experience of analyzing qualitative data
- to show how main themes can be identified and conclusions drawn
- to demonstrate different ways of making and illustrating qualitative arguments
- to examine and review different styles and conventions in the presentation of qualitative findings
Please note: this course is for
general learning about writing up findings; it does not cover
specialised techniques (eg. those needed to make submissions to
peer-reviewed journals).
Course tutor
Karen O'Reilly is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Loughborough University, and an
affiliate of the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography,
University of Oxford. She has taught ethnographic and qualitative
methods for over 20 years, including the Essex Summer School in Social
Science Data Collection and Analysis, the Swiss Summer School in Social
Science Methods, in Lugano; at the Universities of Aberdeen, Essex,
Loughborough and Oxford; and at universities in Germany, Norway and Hong
Kong. Her experience also includes being a Member of the Advisory Board
of the NCRM biannual Research Methods Festival 2011-2012; and a member
of the ESRC Peer Review College 2012 – 2016.
Karen is a highly experienced ethnographer whose many publications
include two widely cited books on ethnography: Ethnographic
Methods(Routledge, 2nd ed. 2012) and Key Concepts in Ethnography(Sage,
2009). She has also been instrumental in the design and evaluation of
Masters level Research Methods courses and programmes in a number of
universities. Karen provides short courses for the SRA on a regular
basis.
This course contributes 6 hours to the MRS CPD programme