Overview
In this unit you will develop a toolbox of practical skills for undertaking qualitative research. This unit covers how to design qualitative research, conduct interviews, thematically analyse qualitative data and evaluate the quality of qualitative research. It explores challenges and builds skills for first time researchers such as developing a research question, how to build rapport and trust with participants, ethical issues in gathering data and reporting qualitative research and what it means to be reflexive in research. You will develop self-awareness and reflexive skills, exploring your social, economic and political positions and how these shape your views on the world. By designing and developing a qualitative research proposal, you will learn how to practically apply your knowledge. Qualitative skills are highly sought after in many career paths. Ultimately this unit will equip you with skills that are of benefit to careers in research, business, government, community development and education.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} Pre-requisite: Minimum of 48 credit points (8 units).
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2019
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Residential Schools
This unit has a Compulsory Residential School for distance mode students and the details are:
Click here to see your Residential School Timetable.
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Have Your Say survey
The compulsory residential school experience was positive for the majority of students, but required students to engage with the tutorials prior to the residential school in order to get the most out of the experience.
Continue to use the compulsory residential school as part of the course and highlight in the Welcome section of the Moodle page and in the News Forum the importance of undertaking the readings and exercises offered in the first four weeks of the course.
Feedback from Have Your Say survey
The unit assessments originally included an option for students to use a topic of their choice for the interview, article review and research report. However, using their own topic for the interview to be conducted at the residential school was problematic for students who had a) not engaged with the tutorials for choosing a topic and b) who chose topics that could not be used when interviewing fellow students.
Provide a set interview topic for Assessment 1 that all students use to develop and conduct their interview.
- Critically reflect on the philosophies and principles behind qualitative research
- Critique qualitative research in existing literature
- Exemplify qualitative skills in data collection.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | |||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 30% | |||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||
| 5 - Team Work | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide for Beginners
(2013)
Authors: Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke
Sage
London London , United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781847875822
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
The textbook is available in hard copy and electronic formats. The textbook also has a companion website: https://studysites.uk.sagepub.com/braunandclarke/main.htm which we will access as a supplementary resource throughout the unit.
Paper texts can be purchased from the CQUni Bookshop here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au (search on the Unit code)
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
p.duckett@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction to qualitative research Part 1
Chapter
Chapters 1 and 2
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Introduction to qualitative research Part 2
Chapter
No chapter reading this week. I will provide a qualitative research paper to read in preparation for this week's online tutorial on the key elements of a qualitative paradigm.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Zoom online tutorial (1hr duration): Two session options 10am (AEST) or 5pm (AEST) on Wednesday 20th March 2019
Module/Topic
Planning and designing qualitative research Introduction
Chapter
Chapter 3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Planning and designing qualitative research Practical applications
Chapter
No chapter reading this week. We will be getting together to talk about your research topic. A set of discussion questions is provided on Moodle
Events and Submissions/Topic
Zoom online tutorial (1hr duration): Two session options 10am (AEST) or 5pm (AEST) on Wednesday 3rd April 2019
Module/Topic
Interviews
Chapter
Chapter 4
Events and Submissions/Topic
Residential School in Brisbane Wed 10th, Thu 11th, and Fri 12th of April 2019. Attendance on Wednesday and Thursday are compulsory, Attendance on Friday is optional.
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
I have provided 2 readings for this week. These are research papers reporting on research with Aboriginal Australian communities undertaken by a non-Aboriginal person, and one undertaken by an Aboriginal Australian.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 1: Interviews and self-reflection, DUE Monday before 9am
Assessment 1: Interviews and self-reflection Due: Week 6 Monday (22 Apr 2019) 9:00 am AEST
Module/Topic
Data analysis Theory
Chapter
Chapter 8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Data analysis Familiarisation and coding
Chapter
Chapter 10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Data analysis identifying patterns
Chapter
Chapter 10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 2: Summarising Qualitative Research and developing a research question DUE MONDAY before 9am
Assessment 2: Summarising qualitative research papers and developing a research question Due: Week 9 Monday (13 May 2019) 9:00 am AEST
Module/Topic
Data analysis Analysing and interpreting patterns
Chapter
Chapter 11
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Data analysis Practical application
Chapter
No chapter reading. I will provide a data set of qualitative interviews to read which we will analyze together in a practical exercise.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Zoom online tutorial (1hr duration): Two session options 10am (AEST) or 5pm (AEST) on Wednesday 29 May 2019
Module/Topic
Quality in qualitative research
Chapter
Chapter 12
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 3: Qualitative Research Proposal, DUE MONDAY before 9am
Assessment 3: Qualitative Research Proposal Due: Review/Exam Week Monday (10 June 2019) 9:00 am AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
Week 6 Monday (22 Apr 2019) 9:00 am AEST
Week 8 Monday (6 May 2019)
Grade and feedback will be posted in your Grade Book on the unit's Moodle website.
- Critically reflect on the philosophies and principles behind qualitative research
- Critique qualitative research in existing literature
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
2 Practical Assessment
For this assessment, you first need to decide on a research topic (this can be anything of your own choosing and should not be the topic given to you for assessment one). Once you have done this, you have three tasks to complete:
1. Find three (3) academic journal papers reporting on qualitative research on your chosen research topic. You can use any 3 papers that use qualitative methods on the topic.
2. Complete the summary table (provided) for each of these three research papers.
3. Develop a research question based on your chosen topic and the existing research. Write a short (300 word maximum) rationale for this question using these summarised papers.
WORD LIMITS: Your rationale for part 3 should be no more than 300 words. Any words over that limit will not be read or assessed by your marker. See the Psychology Word Count Information document for a rationale for this type of word limit restriction. There is NO WORD LIMIT for the summary table, but it is recommended this be no more than 2 pages per research paper.
Week 9 Monday (13 May 2019) 9:00 am AEST
Week 11 Monday (27 May 2019)
Grade and feedback will be posted in your Grade Book on the unit's Moodle website.
The rationale part of this assessment brings together the research topic with the research you have summarised as part of the process of formulating a research question (which you will use again in your third assessment to develop interview questions and a research proposal). Your reflection will include the following:
1. A proposed research question that you have developed on your chosen topic.
2. Use of the research literature that you have summarised to develop a clear rationale for your research question.
The rationale should address the following questions (these questions are also covered in your textbook and in the pre-recorded lecture for Teaching Week 3):
- How will this research question make an original contribution to our knowledge about this issue? In relation to the research you have summarised in your table, does your proposed question explore a new area, will it take a different approach, will it be applied in a new context or with a new sample?
- Why is this research question important? You should address this question in reference to what your research question will contribute to the community you are interested in i.e. how will it assist in solving an important problem?
- Critically reflect on the philosophies and principles behind qualitative research
- Exemplify qualitative skills in data collection.
- Communication
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
3 Written Assessment
This assessment brings together what you have learned in the first two assessments. You are to take the research topic and research question you have already been working with for Assessment Two, and flesh this out into a proposal for a piece of qualitative research. (The papers you summarized for your second assessment will also be useful in writing your research proposal, as will the residential school work on interviewing.)
We will use the Qualitative Research Proposal Proforma which I have adapted from the companion website to your textbook. A copy of this is available on the unit's Moodle site.
WORD LIMIT: The research proposal is a maximum of 2,100 words. This word limit includes in-text citations but excludes any reference section. Do not include any appendices, footnotes or endnotes. Referencing is APA format. Any words over the word limit will not be read or assessed by your marker. See the Psychology Word Count Information document for a rationale for using this type of word limit restriction.
Review/Exam Week Monday (10 June 2019) 9:00 am AEST
Exam Week Monday (17 June 2019)
Grade and feedback will be posted in your Grade Book on the unit's Moodle website within 2 weeks of submission.
For the Research Proposal you will provide:
- a social and research rationale for your research questions using a short review of the key findings and gaps in knowledge about your topic;
- an outline of how you will collect your data (sample, sample size, recruitment) and how you will analyse your data;
- a discussion of the ethical risks of your study and how you will manage these; and,
- a discussion of cultural safety issues regarding the participation in your proposed project of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people .
The marking criteria are a modified version of Independent Assessor Overview which has been used in the past for honours project proposals. A copy of the full marking criteria is available from the unit's Moodle site.
To help guide you through the assessment, there are also two examples of qualitative research proposals available on the unit's Moodle site, as well as three examples on the prescribed textbook companion website.
- Critique qualitative research in existing literature
- Exemplify qualitative skills in data collection.
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Ethical practice
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
