In the Laboratory of Qualitative Research Methodology, we set ourselves the following goals:

1.     That the student deepens the paradigms at the origin of social research, with particular reference to the fundamental epistemological and methodological approaches underlying the main techniques that can be employed in qualitative social research, acquiring the conceptual categories and terminology specific to the subject.

2.     That the student deepens the specifics of qualitative techniques, in theoretical, methodological and empirical terms.

3.     That the student acquires the skills essential to design and carry out a survey using qualitative social research techniques, in all its stages: writing a project, defining the research design, sampling, developing data collection tools, collecting information, processing and interpreting results, and writing outputs.

4.     That the student acquire through the implementation of empirical research the ability to work in teams, through small group activities.

The aim of the course is to provide the basic skills and abilities necessary for the design and implementation of research carried out with non-standardized instruments: interviews - individual and collective - focus groups and observation.

The program will cover the following main topics:

1. Qualitative research.
Family similarities/Islands in the archipelago: a map of qualitative research/Strengths and weaknesses
2. The design of qualitative research.
The relevance of the research question/The eloquence of the cases under study/Appropriateness of the method 
3. Participatory observation and ethnographic research
The specifics of the research design/The fieldwork
4. The discursive interview
The specifics of the research design/The interview campaign: the construction of data 1
5. The focus group
The specifics of the research design/Conducting the focus group: the construction of the data
6. Autoethnography
A periodization/Three forms of autoethnography/The specifics of the research design/Collaborative autoethnography
7. Shadowing
The origins/The specifics of the research design/The conduct of the study
8. Visual methods.
A periodization/The specifics of research design
9. Hybrid methods
A periodization/The specifics of research design/Hybrid research practices/Some useful tools in the hybrid field
10. The logic of qualitative analysis

Having attended or currently attending the course Methodology and Techniques of Social Research

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to carry out, in all its stages (research design, construction of the survey instrument, sampling, field survey, analysis and interpretation of the information collected), sociological research with a qualitative approach through various survey techniques. He/she will also be able to communicate the main findings through both a written report and a public presentation.

Students must achieve:

1. Knowledge and understanding.

Students must possess.
- basic technical knowledge for understanding information construction processes.
- Basic technical tools for information analysis and interpretation.  

Students acquire this knowledge through attendance at lectures, participation in classroom discussion of topics covered in lectures, activities-which include simulations led by the lecturer-and through practical group activities.

2. Applied knowledge and understanding skills 

Knowledge acquired during the course will be applied to the analysis of concrete research situations. 

Students acquire this knowledge through attendance at lectures, participation in classroom discussion of topics covered in class, activities involving qualitative data analysis guided by the lecturer, and through hands-on group activities.

3. Judgment skills

Students should be able to make informed and autonomous judgments on various concrete situations of reading and constructing information based on the knowledge acquired during the course.

Students acquire these skills through discussion in the classroom with the lecturer and colleagues, during tutorials and lectures, and through individual and group study and practice.

4. Communication skills.

Students are expected to possess expressive skills, communication skills in written and oral Italian, and basic skills in the specialized language of the discipline and information representation skills.

Students acquire these skills by interacting in the classroom through questions to the lecturer, responses to the lecturer's prompts on the topics covered in class, exchanges with fellow students, making short public presentations in returning to colleagues and the lecturer the result of the exercises and simulations carried out in the classroom, writing short texts (research reports) during classroom exercises.

5. Learning skills.

Students are expected to achieve learning skills for further study and research.

Students acquire these skills through classroom discussion, argumentation of answers to the lecturer's questions, discussion with classmates during lectures and classroom exercises, and individual and group study and practice.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

No teaching support activities are provided.

Teaching

Classroom lessons, guided practical group work.

Small group work

Innovative teaching methods

Problem Based Learning

Attendance

Production of an empirical research study using a qualitative approach, and research report (This must be agreed upon in advance with the lecturer at least 2 months prior to the examination).

Course books

Mario Cardano e Luigi Gariglio (2022) Metodi qualitativi. Pratiche di ricerca in presenza, a distanza e ibride, Carocci

-Additional material proposed by the teacher on the platform

Alternatively, students who wish to do so could use the following English-language publication:

-Silverman, D. (2020). Qualitative research, FIFTH EDITION, Sage

Assessment

The assessment will be based on the grade for the research report, produced as a group, which accounts for 80% of the final grade, and on the group presentation of the research results (20% of the final grade). The mark obtained in this way may be raised by a maximum of two points (positive or negative) during an individual interview, to be held during the official calls, focusing on the research carried out during the workshop, which will be followed by the recording of the mark itself.

The research report will be assessed on the basis of the formal correctness and conceptual relevance of the research process set up and the tools used; the formal correctness and conceptual relevance of the analyses carried out; the correctness and clarity of the exposition; the quality of the editing and graphic design of the report itself, as well as the formal quality of the bibliography constructed. The classroom presentation will be assessed on the basis of its communicative effectiveness.

The individual interview will be assessed on the basis of the relevance and correctness of the answers given with respect to the questions, on the appropriate use of the specific terminology of reference and on the ability to argue and defend the choices made in the construction and conduction of the investigation and in the drafting of the research report.

Oral discussion, presentation of the material produced during the research, ppt slides and discussion of the research report (This must be agreed in advance with the lecturer at least 2 months before the examination).

The assessment criteria are: the level of mastery of knowledge, the degree of articulation of the answer, the level of mastery in the application of knowledge to concrete cases.
The test grade is expressed in thirtieths.

Positive evaluations will be given for: the student's possession of good critical and in-depth skills; the ability to link together the main themes addressed in the course; the use of appropriate language with respect to the specific nature of the discipline.

The following will result in negative assessments: difficulty in the student's orientation in relation to the topics addressed in the examination texts; educational gaps; the use of inappropriate language.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Preparation of reference materials.

Attendance

Production of an empirical research study using a qualitative approach, and research report (This must be agreed upon in advance with the lecturer at least 2 months prior to the examination).

Course books

To provide the opportunity for non-attending students to balance out their individual study with the content of the lessons and gain a full understanding of the course, the programme includes following supplementary materials:

Mario Cardano e Luigi Gariglio (2022) Metodi qualitativi. Pratiche di ricerca in presenza, a distanza e ibride, Carocci

Francesco Sacchetti (2014) Processi di categorizzazione in etnografia, Bonanno

-Additional material proposed by the teacher on the platform

Assessment

The assessment will be based on the grade for the research report, produced as a group, which accounts for 80% of the final grade, and on the group presentation of the research results (20% of the final grade). The mark obtained in this way may be raised by a maximum of two points (positive or negative) during an individual interview, to be held during the official calls, focusing on the research carried out during the workshop, which will be followed by the recording of the mark itself.

The research report will be assessed on the basis of the formal correctness and conceptual relevance of the research process set up and the tools used; the formal correctness and conceptual relevance of the analyses carried out; the correctness and clarity of the exposition; the quality of the editing and graphic design of the report itself, as well as the formal quality of the bibliography constructed. The classroom presentation will be assessed on the basis of its communicative effectiveness.

The individual interview will be assessed on the basis of the relevance and correctness of the answers given with respect to the questions, on the appropriate use of the specific terminology of reference and on the ability to argue and defend the choices made in the construction and conduction of the investigation and in the drafting of the research report.

Oral discussion, presentation of the material produced during the research, ppt slides and discussion of the research report (This must be agreed in advance with the lecturer at least 2 months before the examination).

The assessment criteria are: the level of mastery of knowledge, the degree of articulation of the answer, the level of mastery in the application of knowledge to concrete cases.
The test grade is expressed in thirtieths.

Positive evaluations will be given for: the student's possession of good critical and in-depth skills; the ability to link together the main themes addressed in the course; the use of appropriate language with respect to the specific nature of the discipline.

The following will result in negative assessments: difficulty in the student's orientation in relation to the topics addressed in the examination texts; educational gaps; the use of inappropriate language.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.