GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: USE THE MENU ON THE LEFT TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THE COURSE COMMUNITY SITE. USE THE MENU AT THE TOP RIGHT OF YOUR SCREEN TO NAVIGATE THROUGH YOUR PERSONAL SPACE.


Instructor: Thomas A. Horan, Ph.D.
Time: 7:00-9:50pm Wednesdays
Location: ACB 211

Telephone: (909) 607-9302
Fax: (909) 621-8564
Office: Room 213 West
Academic Computing Building
Claremont Graduate University
Claremont, CA 91711
E-Mail: Tom.Horan@cgu.edu

Teaching Assistant: Ben Schooley
E-Mail: Ben.Schooley@cgu.edu

Course Description

Keen observation can be the source of insight, knowledge, and perspective. This transdisciplinary course examines inductive research approaches for use in a variety of substantive domains, including but not limited to technology, organizational, social and educational settings. Moreover, it will consider the influences of related interpretive approaches, such as non-fiction works, on insight to contemporary issues and problems. The course will also include coverage of qualitative research design approaches and analysis tools. Each student will be asked to design a transdisciplinary research project that relates to their home field of study.

Course Goals

This trans-disciplinary course takes a unique approach to learning about qualitative research. The goal of the course is to explore how researchers (and people in general) arrive at new insight into a research problem as well as broader societal issues. A major premise of the course is that the way a researcher thinks about a problem is an important and integral aspect to arriving at scientific understanding. The readings address inductive inquiry by exploring the process of using intuition, detailed observation, creative thinking, and multi-disciplinary design.

The first half of this course focuses on the conceptual and creative aspects of qualitative research design. The second half of the course focuses on research design and methods and includes a review of the theoretical underpinnings, research methods, analytical tools and reporting styles. At the end of the course, you should be able to:

•Understand concepts related to inductive inquiry, observation, and qualitative research problem development,
•understand the key theoretical concepts that underpin the use of qualitative methods in social science,
•identify strengths and weaknesses of alternative qualitative research methods,
•use research tools to execute a research project that draws upon the qualitative approach.