The workshop would be suitable for researchers new to qualitative methods, including quantitative researchers who want to bridge their disciplinary expertise to incorporate new ways of designing research. It is pitched at an introductory level. The workshop will incorporate short presentations of content, group activities and individual writing tasks. Participants will complete draft research problem statements and research questions and will receive feedback on the drafts from peers and the workshop facilitator.

Pre-workshop preparation

Participants are expected to have selected a research topic and considered using qualitative research methods.

By the end of the workshop, participants will:

1. Understand the value and purpose of qualitative research and when to use it.
2. Generate a qualitative research problem statement, research purpose and develop draft qualitative research questions.
3. Relate possible data generation methods to the articulated problem statement and research questions.
4. Recognise the concepts of researcher positionality, values and assumptions and how they influence research

Presented by Dr Sandy Worden

Sandy is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining where she undertakes qualitative research in governance and social aspects of industrial development. She has a passion for sharing social science perspectives and qualitative research methods with non-social scientists, including in her HDR supervision and coursework teaching.

You must attend at least 75% of the session otherwise you may be marked absent.

About Research design

Your research degree requires the ability to apply "analytical and critical thinking skills to generate new knowledge, investigate problems and develop inventive solutions" (UQ HDR Graduate Attributes, 2017). This starts with determining the design of the research study through understanding and justifying the chosen methodologies and analytical methods. Building these skills during your research degree will equip you with the knowledge to apply them in a wide variety of contexts during your career.

The Graduate School has a range of sessions covering research methodolgy and methods delivered by esteemed providers such as ISSR.

Useful links

  1. University of Edinburgh Introduction to Social Research Methods
  2. TUDelfts Multidisciplinary Research Methods for Engineers
  3. UQ's Introduction to Psychological Research Methods