PHD645 Qualitative methodology (Autumn 2025)
- ECTS Credits:
- 5
- Responsible department:
- Norges idrettshøgskole
- Course Leader:
- Fiona Jane Dowling
- Lecture Semester:
- Autumn
- Teaching language:
- English
- Duration:
- ½ year
Table of contents
Introduction
Registration information
Registration deadline 25 July 2025.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
On completing the course students will:
- Have a sound understanding of the range of ontological and epistemological foundations for qualitative research in sport
- Have knowledge about how different paradigmatic foundations for qualitative inquiry influence the entire research process from project design (including the development of research questions) to the representation of findings
- Have knowledge about how different paradigmatic assumptions affect how methods (e.g. interview) are conceptualised, utilised in data generation, analysed and represented in research findings
- Have knowledge about criteria for judging the quality of qualitative research
- Have knowledge about ethical reflexivity in qualitative inquiry
Skills
On completing the course students will:
- Be able to identify and critically analyse the strengths and weaknesses of a range of ontological approaches to qualitative inquiry
- Be able to present orally and write about their own research in ways that reflect a chosen paradigmatic foundation
- Be able to make judgement calls about good qualitative research
General competence
On completing the course students will:
- Be able to participate in national/international fora and discuss qualitative research findings
- Be able to identify new relevant research questions and design robust qualitative research projects
Learning methods and activities
The course is an intensive course that runs over 4 days (24 hours comprising seminars/lectures, student discussions). Students will be expected to play an active role in the sessions (present aspects of their research project; reflect upon their own research project as well as fellow students; discuss assigned literature).
In addition, students are expected to pursue 126 hours of self-study.
Work requirements
There are a two pre-course assignments:
Students are expected to have read assigned texts prior to the course. On the basis of their understanding of these texts, they should prepare a 3-5 minute presentation in which they present an issue they wish to debate and discuss further within the group.
Students must submit a short description (c. 2 pages of A4) about their existing PhD project a week prior to the commencement of the course. This ought to include: research questions; proposed project design; subject discipline(s); paradigmatic foundations; an indication of the stage reached in the research process; a list of literature that has methodologically informed the project (max 10 texts). (Please note, however, that there will be understandably variations in the degree to which you can position your project).
Students are expected to actively contribute to the seminar (minimum 80% attendance).