Applied Qualitative Research: Foundations

Instructors: Greg Guest & Emily Namey
Lectures: 2 hours
Lifetime Access: Materials never expire
Evergreen Content: Continually updated

Class Overview Video

Free Tuition

Savings Opportunity: Get more content and save up to $200 with our Applied Qualitative Research Bundle

Category: Asynchronous, Workshops

This is the first workshop in the Applied Qualitative Research (AQR) pathway and is a suggested (but not required) pre-requisite for the other workshops in the series. Importantly, this workshop is completely free of charge. The workshop begins with an overview of epistemological perspectives associated with qualitative research and situates the AQR workshops (In-Depth Interviews, Focus Groups, Thematic Analysis) within a pragmatist framework. The workshop then describes various definitions of qualitative research, the many contexts in which it is employed, and discusses strengths and weaknesses of qualitative methods generally and in terms of addressing specific types of research questions.

Next, the workshop covers the essential elements of designing a qualitative research study, specifically those involving in-depth interviews and focus groups. Topics covered include choosing a study population and units of observation. The workshop concludes by addressing one of the fundamental aspects of research design – crafting an effective research question(s). Participants will learn how to develop a thoughtful research question that is engaging, timely, and builds on an existing knowledge base. As part of this process, participants are introduced to the Nine Elements of a good research question. The workshop is composed of lectures and a self-paced hands-on exercise.

Note: This free workshop is part of our Applied Qualitative Research Pathway that includes Foundations, In-Depth Interviews, Focus Groups, and Thematic Analysis. Lifetime access to all four workshops, consisting of 17 hours of lectures and extensive support materials, can be obtained at a significant savings ($200 for professionals, $150 for students) through our Applied Qualitative Research Bundle.

1:38 Workshop Overview / 2:26 Class Content

Instructors

Greg Guest, Ph.D.

Greg Guest is a researcher and educator with more than 20 years of experience across government, non-profit, corporate, and academic settings. Greg has devoted much of his career to teaching, writing, and building institutional capacity in research methodology. In addition to teaching research methods, Dr. Guest provides consultation throughout all stages of applied mixed methods and qualitative research projects ([email protected]). Read More

Emily Namey, M.A.

Emily Namey is a qualitative research methodologist with 20 years’ experience designing and implementing mixed methods research and evaluations. Her work has largely focused on health and development. She has a specific interest in improving the evidence base for qualitative research methodology. Read More

Workshop Details

Goals of the Workshop

Our overarching goal in this free workshop is to provide an engaging experience as we provide an overview to the world of applied qualitative research. This workshop is designed to orient participants to key considerations in designing and implementing a research study that employs qualitative interviews or focus groups, and to apply what they’ve learned to their own projects.

At the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Explain the fundamental epistemological perspectives associated with qualitative research
Describe applied qualitative research, and situate it within a pragmatist perspective
Explain the rationale for choosing qualitative methods for a research study
Describe the various contexts in which qualitative research is conducted
Outline the basic elements of applied qualitative research study
Craft an engaging and useful research question

The completion of this workshop will also help participants maximally benefit from other classes in the Applied Qualitative Research pathway including in-depth interviews, focus groups, and qualitative data analysis.

Who Should Attend

This workshop is intended for researchers at all levels who wish to become well-versed in designing a qualitative research study in applied contexts, and/or who desire guidance in the art and science of crafting an effective and timely research question. This workshop also serves as a foundation for other workshops in the Applied Qualitative Research pathway. There are no pre-requisites for this workshop.

Syllabus

Chapter 1: What is Qualitative Research
1.1 Workshop Overview
1.2 Epistemological Perspectives in Qualitative Inquiry
1.3 Defining “Qualitative Research”

Chapter 2: Characteristics of Applied Qualitative Research (AQR)
2.1 AQR Design and Process
2.2 Contexts of Applied Qualitative Research

Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Qualitative Research Design
3.1 Choosing Units of Observation
3.2 Crafting an Effective Qualitative Research Question
3.3 What's Next?

What is Provided

Participants receive lifetime access to all course materials, including complete course notes and lecture recordings. You can revisit these materials any time you like, without worrying about expiration dates. Pretty awesome, huh?

Content for this class is evergreen, meaning participants will always have access to the most current version of the course materials. Thus, if we revise materials or update recordings, you will have immediate access to the most current content without needing to re-enroll in the class. Even more awesome.

Availability of Recordings

Certificate of Completion

After enrollment, you will have the option to generate a certificate of completion which will display your first and last name (as indicated in your user account), the name of the workshop, and the date upon which the certificate was generated. It can be printed to a PDF and will also be stored in the your user account for future access (after logging in to your account, select My Certificates from the user menu). Heck, you can even print out a hard copy and frame it to impress your friends.

Sample Content

Reviews

Emily and Greg were engaging and provided concrete applied examples, activities, and content. I feel like I came away with concrete skills and methods that I can apply to my own work. I really enjoyed the workshop and am happy that CenterStat is offering this as an option.

I really liked all of the applied components, demos, working in groups, practicing, etc. It made me feel much more connected to the material and to everyone else in the workshop, which I feel like is often missing from online workshops.

This was a great overview for people who have no previous experience with qualitative data. It was a soft approach that showed a wide variety of possibilities. Very positive, respectful and inspiring. Everything was very clear and organized.

This is the most interactive online workshop I have ever attended. It kept me very engaged, motivated to learn, and excited to apply techniques and discuss with the group. Greg and Emily are very knowledgeable, passionate, and eager to share their knowledge with attendees. They are fantastic at answering questions promptly, and they made the entire experience conversational, interactive, and exciting.

Emily and Greg did a fabulous job! They took a lot of time to answer attendee questions throughout, and it was helpful that they adapted the material (and time spent on the material) as they went depending on what people were most confused about or wanted the most information about.