Topic outline

  • Welcome to the course Qualitative Methods! Note: the course will be fully online

    Below you can find the course syllabus and the materials folder. Please download/print the syllabus and read it carefully before the course and make sure you can meet the course requirements and timetables. In case you decide to withdraw from the course please let me know.

    Whenever you have questions concerning the course, please ask your questions via the General discussion area (not by email) so that other students with similar concerns can make use of the information delivered.

    The Course book is Eriksson, P. & Kovalainen, A. (2008 or 2015) Qualitative Methods in Business Research. London: Sage. You can find several copies in the librarary. It is also available as an electronic copy. 

    All slides and additional material can be located in the Materials folder. The folder will be updated as the course progresses. For some of the lectures there are additinoal links and materials you can find by clicking the section relating to the topic.

    Looking forward meeting you soon!

    Saija Katila

  • Zoom links to lectures and tutoring meetings

  • Assignments

  • Introduction

    Not available unless: You are a(n) Student

    New Study Looks At Idaho's Education System | Boise State Public Radio

    The Introduction section of the course will be divided between two recordings below. The first part discusses the key philosophical concepts and approaches in doing research (26 min). The second pre-recording discusses the nature of qualitative research in general and qualitative research questions in particular (32 min).




  • Qualitative research materials

    Not available unless: You are a(n) Student

    Below you can find the lecture recordings regarding designing qualitative research and qualitative research materials. The first video deals with defining and designing your research (13 minutes 36 seconds). The second video deals with ethical issues during the research process (18 minutes 44 seconds) and the third video gives a brief description of different qualitative research materials (11 minutes 30 seconds).



  • Interviewing

    Not available unless: You are a(n) Student

    Please find below the recordings linked to interviewing. The first video (19 min 29 s) deals with different types of interview methods and their differences. The second video (32 min 24 s) discusses the art of formulating good qualitative interview questions. It will further discuss practical issues linked to interviewing. Please make use also of the additional links in this section.




  • Ethnography and Action Research

    Not available unless: You are a(n) Student

    Please find below the recordings linked to ethnography and action research. The first video (21 min 56 s) discusses what is ethnography and what sets it apart from other qualitative research methodologies. The second section deals with organizational ethnography (24 min) whereas the third focuses on the actual practice of making observational notes (16 min 60 s) in the field (in the organization, unit, community, society) you are studying. The last recording (16 min 64 s) focuses on the special nature of action research where the researcher in invited to the organization with the intent of changing it.

    Please also make use of the additional materials in this section.






  • Discourse and Narrative Analysis

    Not available unless: You are a(n) Student

    Please find below the recordings linked to discourse analysis and narrative analysis. The first video elaborates what is discourse and discourse analysis. It further discusses the power of discourses in our lives (24 min 40 s). The second video deals with organizational discourse analysis and key forms of discourse analysis (Foucauldian DA, Social Psychological DA and Critiacal DA) used in organization and management studies (24 min 12 s). The last video highlights the nature of narratives and the importance of narrative knowing in our daily lives. It further discusses the different forms of narrative analysis and their differences (25 min 08 s). Please make use of the additional materials in this section as well.



  • Case study research

    Not available unless: You are a(n) Student

    Please find below the recordings linked to case study research. The first video (23 min 26 s) deals with case design focusing on what a case is and the different types of case study design (single or multiple cases study) you can choose from. The second video (15 min 49 s) discusses the differences between positivist and interpretivist (constructivist) case studies and the designs that are more typically linked to each. It further highlights the nature of interpretivist case study by describing how the AmWay corporation attempts to manage the identity of their distributors through the interplay of sensebreaking and sensemaking.



  • Analyzing qualitative data

    Please find below the recording (34 min 26 s) concerning how to analyze qualitative data. The video discusses how to do coding and to get from a large list of codes to categories, themes/concepts and theories.



  • Writing and evaluating qualitative research

    Not available unless: You are a(n) Student

    Please find below a recording on writing in qualitative research (25min 22 s) and a recording on the evaluation criteria for qualitative research (12 min 22 s). The video on writing emphasizes the importance of engaging title and opening as well as engaging writing in general; what it is and what it can do. The video on evaluation criteria for qualitative research highlights the problems of using traditional research evaluation criteria (designed quantitative research) for qualitative research and introduces an alternative evaluation criteria that takes into consideration the nature of qualitative research.