Two sections offered (Monday Section)

This course trains students to understand and to use a variety of
qualitative research tools.  The readings include general
explanations of qualitative methods, pieces of research that
illustrate the use of these methods, and several exercises in which
students will practice using the methods themselves (e.g.,
conducting interviews or acting as participant observers).  Among
the topics to be covered are these:

The Philosophical Underpinnings of Qualitative Research
	--the ontological and epistemological assumptions underlying
scientific inquiry and methodological choice
	--history of the discipline’s concept of science
	--theory and context: how different methods strike the
balance
	
Issues in Qualitative Research
	--the position of the qualitative observer
	--research design for qualitative case studies and small-n
research
	--methods of theory testing in qualitative research
	--how to write up qualitative research in field notes and
for publication
	--the ethics of field work and the bureaucratic hurdles of
working with “human subjects”

Survey of Qualitative Methodologies
	--interviews
	--participant observation
	--focus groups
	--archival research
	--comparative historical analysis and process tracing
	--interpretive approaches
	--art and literature as sources of political knowledge