Qualitative Data Analysis

online course

Gain a solid foundation and applied skills in the basic NVivo features for planning, conducting and reporting qualitative data analysis in your research.

Need to know

A basic understanding of qualitative research is required, however, previous knowledge of qualitative data analysis or NVivo is not required.

This course covers NVivo's basic features. For a comprehensive NVivo course, take our Introduction to NVivo course.

You must run the latest version of NVivo R1 to attend the course as earlier versions (10 or 12) have different interfaces. If your institution does not provide you with an NVivo license, you can download the NVivo R1 14-day free trial. The trial is fully operational, but can't be reinstalled on the same computer once expired.

In depth

Are you planning to conduct interviews or focus groups for your data collection, or perhaps collect policy papers or social media data from blogs, Facebook or Twitter? After you complete your data collection, you will sooner or later have to confront the mass of data you gathered and analyse your material.

But will you know how?

This course provides strategic understanding of, and applied skills in, planning, conducting and reporting qualitative data analysis in one’s research. You will learn the key concepts that underlie the process of qualitative analysis, which often go missing in qualitative research seminars, and are rarely discussed in mainstream qualitative methods textbooks, such as:

• What influence does my ontological stance and epistemological position have on the method of qualitative analysis I will use in my study?
• Can induction, deduction and abduction be combined when analysing qualitative data, or are they mutually exclusive?
• What steps are involved in qualitative analysis?
• After coding my data and sorting them into themes, how should I seek patterns and identify relationships in the data?
• Should I use quotes or visualisations to present my findings?
• What techniques should I use to establish the trustworthiness of my findings, so that they are seen as valid, reliable and objective?

You will explore these topics and more and get to put them into practice during hands-on sessions using NVivo.

You'll be able to work on your own data, discuss your research design and, with help from the Teaching Assistant, troubleshoot problems with your analysis. You can also present your analysis plan at the Masterclass.

How the course will work online

The course combines asynchronous pre-class assignments, such as readings and pre-recorded videos, as well as daily two-hour live sessions with Zoom. To prevent Zoom fatigue, the course pedagogy includes small-group work, short, focused tasks and troubleshooting exercises using a range of online apps that support collective work and engagement with the content.

Course leader

Marie-Hélène Paré teaches qualitative research methods at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC). Her interests range from advances in qualitative data analysis, qualitative evidence synthesis, decolonising epistemology and participatory methodologies.

Target group

Researchers, analysts, and advanced students

Course aim

This course will give you a solid foundation and applied skills in qualitative data analysis. You will learn:

• the conceptual basis of a strong qualitative research design;
• different approaches to coding qualitative data;
• techniques to seek patterns across themes and cases;
• strategies to present qualitative findings convincingly;
• tips to create a transparent audit trail of your analysis process.

Blending theory and practice, you will use NVivo software for the hands-on exercises. This course is the perfect preparation for Advanced Qualitative Data Analysis.

Credits info

4 EC
You can earn up to four credits for attending this course.
3 ECTS credits – Attend 100% of live sessions and engage fully with class activities.
4 ECTS credits – Attend 100% of live sessions, engage fully with class activities and complete a post-class assignment.

Fee info

GBP 478: ECPR Member
GBP 956: ECPR Non-Member

Scholarships

Funding applications for the 2023 ECPR Summer School in Research Methods and Techniques are now closed.
For more details on funding opportunities for ECPR's other events, please visit our website.