Qualitative research methods in Management

Postgraduate course 2023/2024

Type: Elective course

Area of studies: Postgraduate Studies

Delivered by: Department of Management

When: 2 year, 1 semester

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Galina Shirokova

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Contact hours: 20

Full Syllabus

Abstract

Qualitative methods are a popular research strategy used in business and management disciplines. Yet the researcher is faced with a complex set of choices when planning and undertaking a case study. In this advanced course, Doctoral students will be introduced to current debates on qualitative study methodology, key considerations for researchers during the research process and contrasting perspectives on how the quality of research should be evaluated. Doctoral students will also be given the opportunity to reflect on and enhance their own research practice. The purpose of this course is to introduce doctoral students to the diversity of ways of conducting qualitative research and to improve their own research practice. As an advanced course on qualitative research, it is assumed that students have already completed an introduction to research methods. The course has a strong focus on the process of conducting qualitative studies which necessitates interaction with fellow students and instructor over course duration. After this course, the doctoral student will be able to evaluate research with increased confidence and enhance his/her own study design.

Learning Objectives

to introduce students to the diversity of ways of conducting qualitative research and to improve their own research practice. As an advanced course on qualitative research, it is assumed that students have already completed an introduction to research methods.

Expected Learning Outcomes

Be familiar with the key literature and debates on the qualitative study methodology, and their philosophical underpinnings;
Understand the main choices that a researcher faces at each stage of the study, from design to reporting;
Have applied methodological insights gained from the readings and seminar discussion to their own research;
Have demonstrated the ability to evaluate the quality of qualitative research;
Learn how to identify research questions or other rationale for doing a qualitative study;
Learn how to develop theory, propositions, and issues underlying the anticipated study;
Learn how to use multiple sources of evidence;
Learn how to analyse study evidence and how to display data apart from interpretation;
Learn how to compose textual and visual materials in reporting study

Course Contents

Topic 1: What are qualitative methods and what is a case study?
Topic 2: Positivist and alternative approaches to qualitative studies and the quality of research
Topic 3: Research design: selecting cases and casing
Topic 4: Data sources and analysis for case research
Topic 5: Theorising with cases. Reporting and publishing case studies

Assessment Elements

Participation in and contribution to class discussion
Students’ participation and contribution to class discussion will be assessed during the course.
Paper presentation (in pairs)
Students will be required to present in pairs of two students an analysis of a case-study based article published in a top-tier journal. The purpose of this assignment is to reflect upon the seminar’s theme and apply your understanding of key methodological issues to the case study article. Formation of teams and the schedule for presentations will be decided upon during the first seminar. Each team will be assigned an article to analyze.
Pre-assignment
Please find and bring to the first seminar a case study-based article you admire from an academic journal in your field. The case study can be on any topic in your field, but it must have used some empirical method and presented some empirical data. Be prepared to discuss a) on what basis you decided this was a case study, b) what, if anything, is distinctive about the findings that could not be learned by using some other social science method focusing on the same topic, and c) why you think this is a quality piece of research.
Examination in the form of an individual written essay: Article analysis
For this task, you will be required to submit a written report (of 8-10 pages double-spaced) by e-mail that analyses the course themes in the context of one case-based article in student’s research area.

Interim Assessment

2023/2024 1st semester
0.5 * Examination in the form of an individual written essay: Article analysis + 0.2 * Paper presentation (in pairs) + 0.3 * Participation in and contribution to class discussion

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Yin, R. K. . (DE-588)136005616, (DE-576)163641544. (2014). Case study research : design and methods / Robert K. Yin. Los Angeles, Calif. [u.a.]: Sage. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.380931494

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Aguinis, H., & Solarino, A. M. (2019). Transparency and replicability in qualitative research: The case of interviews with elite informants. Strategic Management Journal (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), 40(8), 1291–1315. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3015
Catherine Welch, Rebecca Piekkari, Emmanuella Plakoyiannaki, & Eriikka. (2011). Theorising from case studies: Towards a pluralist future for international business research.
Dorothy Leonard-Barton. (1990). A Dual Methodology for Case Studies: Synergistic Use of a Longitudinal Single Site with Replicated Multiple Sites. Organization Science, 3, 248. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1.3.248
Dubois, A. 1962, & Gadde, L.-E. 1945. (2017). Systematic Combining: An approach to case research. JOURNAL OF GLOBAL SCHOLARS OF MARKETING SCIENCE, 27(4), 258–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/21639159.2017.1360145
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building Theories from Case Study Research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1989.4308385
Piekkari, R., Welch, C., & Paavilainen, E. (2009). The Case Study as Disciplinary Convention: Evidence From International Business Journals. Organizational Research Methods, 12(3), 567–589. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428108319905
Plakoyiannaki, E., Wei, T., & Prashantham, S. (2019). Rethinking Qualitative Scholarship in Emerging Markets: Researching, Theorizing, and Reporting. https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2019.27

Course Syllabus