Topic outline

  • General

    TU-L0031: Qualitative Research Methods

    3 ECTS offered in Spring 2022
    Details of the syllabus may change. For the latest version of the detailed syllabus please refer to the website (Materials section). 

    Teacher-in-charge

    Associate Professor Robin Gustafsson    •   TUAS 4112   •   +358 50 3160981    •    robin.gustafsson@aalto.fi

    About the Course

    Welcome to Qualitative Research Methods!  The course is designed for both those interested in reading and evaluating research done with qualitative methods, and for those who already use or plan to use qualitative research methods in their own work. The module described in this syllabus is 3 ECTS.

    TU-L0031 provides an overview of qualitative research methods that are commonly used in industrial engineering and management research, specifically focused on the research areas of operation and service management, entrepreneurial leadership, and strategy and venturing. Different approaches include inductive, abductive, case studies, action research, ethnography, and historical. For each of the methods covered we will look at the steps involved in planning and conducting a research project and then digitalizing, cataloging, coding, analyzing, and reporting (i.e. writing up) data in a way that is expected for publication in top management journals.

    TU-L0031 is an interactive class with learning-based predominantly on class discussions and activities and learning from guest speakers who have extensive experience using a particular qualitative research methodology.  Students are expected to properly prepare for each class, attend class, and actively participate in daily activities and discussions.

    Teaching Period:

    This course is offered in a condensed format in Otaniemi in the TUAS building (Maarintie 8, Espoo) in the AS3 Saab Space - 1021-1022, over two weeks. The days and times are:

    Mon 16.5, 9-13

    Introduction to qualitative research

    Wed 18.5, 9-13

    The case study approach

    Fri 20.5, 9-13

    Interviews and interviewing techniques

    Guest lecturer: Assistant Professor Natalia Vuori

    Mon 23.5, 9-13

    Historical, process, and big data analyses

    Guest lecturers: Staff scientist Kunal Bhattacharya & Postdoc Pasi Nevalainen & Postdoc Andrey Indukaev

    Wed 25.5, 9-13

    Qualitative data coding and analysis

    Guest lecturer: Postdoc Joosef Valli

    Mon 30.5, 9-13

    Mixed methods & bringing it all together 

    NOTE: For a more detailed outline of the days see the course syllabus in the Materials section!
    In the case of illness or other constraints preventing participation onsite, you can follow the session through Zoom 
    https://aalto.zoom.us/j/67192054745. If so do inform the course instructor about this as well in advance as possible. Note that online participation can not be facilitated in the same way as the onsite participation (interactions and group assignments).

    Status of the course:

    This is a compulsory course for the students in the field of IEM and an optional course for the Doctoral Program in Science. The course is open to other Aalto University doctoral students (i.e. from Aalto BIZ) and students from other universities as long as the size of class permits.

    Level of the course:

    Doctoral level

    Prerequisite:

    TU-L0000 Research Methods in Industrial Engineering and Management

    Language of instruction:

    English

    Registration:

    The course is offered for doctoral students. To enroll see instructions on the course website. The course will be organized if at least four students have enrolled.

    Grading Scale:

    1-5 for the 3 ECTS module; class participation 30% and pre-class assignments 70%

    Workload:

    Class participation: 6 classes x 4 hours per class = 24 hours

    Pre-class work (2-3 tasks per class): 6 classes x 9.5 hours per class = 57 hours


    Learning outcomes:

    The course is built around core outcomes. Your success in this course is dependent on your ability to:

    • Contribute to discussions in a meaningful and professionally appropriate way (as evidenced by your class participation and discussion leadership of chosen articles)
    • Critically evaluate published papers that utilize different qualitative methods and analyses to understand their strengths and limitations (as evidenced by your class participation and written summary & critiques of selected papers)
    • Gain experience analyzing and interpreting data using various qualitative research techniques (as evidenced by your involvement in-class activities)

    Assignments and Grading

    I use the standard Aalto University 1-5 grading scale. I will strive to provide you with feedback on your initial assignments quickly so you will be able to incorporate that feedback as you move forward.

    Submitting Assignments

    Assignments are to be submitted electronically to the course website by 22.00 on the evening prior to the class in which they will be discussed.

    Summary of assignments and their deadlines

    Participation, In-class participation, grade weight 30%, every class

    Pre-class work (3 tasks per class x 6 classes), grade weight 70%, every class

    1.     Read highlighted article of the day
    2.     Slide summary of your chosen article of day
    3.     Critique of the assigned article of day (all classes except the first class)

    Due 22.00 the evening before the class session in which the material will be discussed.

    Participation

    Participation is a large part of TU-L0031 as much of the value of this seminar derives from collective discussions that involve everyone. As such, you will be asked to read several articles prior to each class and then actively share your insights through class discussion. We will also engage in hands-on activities designed to introduce you to the highlighted methodologies in practice. The overall goal for our short time together is for you to improve your ability to contribute to discussions in a meaningful and professionally appropriate way.[1] 

    Pre-class work

    The first step in fostering a productive discussion environment is to come to class ready to participate. As such, class preparation will involve three activities meant to develop: 1) a shared base level of understanding, 2) a diversity of knowledge among the group, and 3) a deep analysis of the day’s featured methodology in practice.

    Pre-class activity one – read the required reading 

    Each day includes one required reading to provide us with a shared introduction to a particular methodology being discussed that day. As you read this article I encourage you to take notes with a particular focus on:

    1)     what you think are the strengths and weaknesses of the method in general, 

    2)     any aspects of the methodology that you want to delve into more deeply, and

    3)     any questions that come to mind as you are reading.

    These notes are for your benefit only and do not need to be submitted to the course website.

    Pre-class activity two – slide summary of the chosen article 

    Each class will include a handful of articles from which you may choose the reading that is of most interest to you personally. Building off our common base of understanding from the Activity One Required Reading, these articles are meant to foster a diversity of knowledge in our classroom discussion. After reading the article please prepare a 2 slide summary (PowerPoint or PDF).

    Slide 1:    A summary of the article (e.g. main topic, suggestions, recommendations, and/or conclusions)

    Slide 2:    Your opinion (e.g. key learnings, opinions, what you found most interesting, and/or what YOU perceive as strengths and weaknesses) Hint: Be sure to clearly distinguish your thoughts from the those of the author(s).

    Note: Different information will be more or less relevant depending on the article you chose. Please decide what is most valuable for your summary as in one to two slides you will not be able to include all of the examples provided in the brackets. Please be prepared to present your summary slide(s) to the group in class.

    Submit your summary slides to the course dropbox folder by 22.00 the night before class. You will receive an invite to the dropboxfolder to your email address before the course. To help easily identify which slides summarize which article please save your slide in the following format: 1stAuthorLastNameYear (e.g. Aastrup2008.pptx). Thanks.

    Pre-class activity three – critique of methodology in practice (one assigned article)

    Having been introduced to the focal methodology in activities one and two, activity three provides you with the opportunity to read and review an article that uses the focal methodology and has been published in a top journal. After reading the article, please answer the following questions.

    1)     Why (or why not) is the qualitative method used appropriate for answering the authors’ research question(s)? (Hint: If the authors explicitly state their rationale don’t just rely on their thinking – apply what you have learned about the methodology to your own explanation)

    2)     What assumptions (explicitly or implicitly stated) did the authors have going into the analysis?

    3)     What makes the qualitative analysis powerful (i.e. what insights were the authors able to make because of the methodology they used)?

    4)     What are the challenges or limitations of their approach? (Hint: most papers include a boilerplate of limitations, I challenge you to go beyond the authors’ own stated limitations and to tell me what you think are the limitations given the method employed)

    5)     How could this analysis be improved? Be specific and practical (i.e. do not make suggestions that you could not realistically envision yourself implementing).

    Note: Question one is meant to be more abstract and answer the question about general types of studies (e.g. process questions lend themselves to method x because of reason y), whereas the remaining questions are specific to the analysis in the article (e.g. because the authors watched the exchange between the doctor and nurse for the duration of the entire surgery they were able to not only capture the oral conversation, but the body language that undermined the respectful tone of the conversation).

    Submit your one-page memo to the course website by 22.00 the night before class.  Please write your single-spaced response using 12-point Times New Roman or similar font and use 2.5 cm margins. Thanks.

    [1] Group discussion is a skill and like all skills requires practice. In our first class we will spend some time discussing our opinions on what behaviours facilitate good discussions with the goal of developing classroom norms. You may find the following article to be useful in thinking about what you value in discussion and what you would like to improve during our time together: Hollander, J.A. (2002). “Learning to discuss: Strategies for improving the quality of a class discussion.” Teaching Sociology, 30(3), 317-327.