Academic Programs - Qualitative Research
If students anticipate engaging in qualitative research for dissertations or pursuing the Interdisciplinary Qualitative Studies Certificate, they should start early to plan for these courses. Unfortunately the demand for these courses often exceeds the number of faculty available to teach the courses. The qualitative faculty will check to ensure that students take the appropriate prerequisites for each of the courses.
QUAL 8400: Qualitative Research Traditions. (Formerly ERSH 8400 and ERSH 7400) The prerequisite is an undergraduate or graduate research course of some kind; only special sections require a POD (students who are on a tuition remission program and are unable to register until late should contact the Qualitative Program Coordinator for arrangements to save spaces for them). These classes fill quickly so we advise early registration. We typically offer 5-6 sections of this course each year so students rarely wait more than a semester to take it. This course is not designed for Ed.S. or master’s level students. Those students would be better advised to take an action research course or ERSH 6200 or ERSH 6300.
The Qualitative Research Core Courses. The sequence of QUAL 8400, 8410, and 8420 are designed to help students prepare for a qualitative research thesis or dissertation, and they comprise the core courses for the Interdisciplinary Qualitative Studies Certificate. Students engage in a variety of qualitative methods to better select and develop approaches for their own research. QUAL 8400 concentrates on qualitative research, philosophy, and theory, examples of qualitative studies, and some practice in qualitative methods. Students not yet acclimated to the academic environment are advised to not take this course in their first semester.
Courses such as Interviewing Research, Participant Observation, and other advanced qualitative courses are best taken following QUAL 8410 (formerly ERSH 8410), but students should have had QUAL 8400 or its equivalent. QUAL 8400 (formerly ERSH 8400 and ERSH 7400) or its equivalent is the prerequisite for all other qualitative courses.
The qualitative faculty prefers that students take QUAL 8420 later in their programs when they have plenty of data to work with in class. Some students find it helpful to take this course while they are working on dissertations.
Human Subjects Review. Any data used in a QUAL course must have some kind of IRB clearance unless it is publicly available information or otherwise designated by IRB as material not requiring review. Consult with the IRB director or the QUAL coordinator with any questions about this. Students who already have their own IRB clearances for qualitative research projects may, at the instructor’s discretion, use that material for class assignments. Otherwise instructors will use IRB instructor exemptions for class projects (see http://www.ovpr.uga.edu/docs/index?toggle=hso), assign students to work on authentic research projects for which IRB approval has already been arranged, use publicly available information, or use research role plays where the information involved does not constitute data as defined by IRB. For QUAL 8420 and other qualitative research courses IRB has permitted us to use data collected for class projects for practice analysis. If students want to use data they collect in QUAL 8410 for their theses and dissertations, they must work with their advisors to arrange IRB approval for their projects prior to taking QUAL 8410. If any students are planning to use data collected during joint projects for QUAL courses, the student needs to have the principal investigator’s permission to use the data for the purpose of the course. The student should provide evidence of that permission to the QUAL instructor. This may be just an email message from the students’ major professors.
The Capstone Course QUAL 9400. The final required course for the Interdisciplinary Qualitative Studies Certificate is QUAL 9400, a professional socialization course focusing on teaching qualitative research, planning a career that includes qualitative scholarship, and presenting and publishing qualitative research material. This course is offered annually in the fall, and students are advised to take it the last fall before they plan to graduate. Students must have submitted their applications to the certificate program prior to the first meeting of the course.
Please contact Melissa Freeman, Program Chair, Qualitative Research Program (freeman9@uga.edu) with any questions.
