Advanced Qualitative Data Analysis

online course

Gain advanced understanding and applied skills in conducting qualitative content analysis, thematic analysis, cross-case analysis and grounded theory using NVivo.


Need to Know

This is an advanced method and software course. You must possess a solid foundation in qualitative analysis and be an advanced NVivo user – meaning that you can teach a crash NVivo course to colleagues. You should be able to create codes and relationships, work with cases and attributes, create sets, run queries, generate maps and set-up framework matrices independently.

Having experience in other qualitative software does not qualify you for the course.

The Introduction to NVivo course provides an introduction to NVivo. You will have to practice extensively what you will have learned to become an advanced NVivo user and be fit for this course. The course Qualitative Data Analysis will give you sufficient knowledge to engage in this course satisfactorily.

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

Mac users must be warned that NVivo for Mac does not currently have all the functionalities of NVivo for Windows. If you are a Mac user and want to learn all the functionalities on this course, you must attend using a PC.

In depth
This course provides you with advanced understanding and applied skills in qualitative content analysis (Schreier, 2012), thematic analysis (Boyatzis, 1998), cross-case analysis (Miles and Huberman, 1994) and grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin, 1998) using NVivo.

It fills a critical gap in scholarly literature and graduate training by providing step-by-step guidance in how to choose sampling, code data, conduct analysis and present findings of the four methods in a CAQDAS environment.

Day 1 – 4 are dedicated to the four methods, during which you will learn each method’s epistemological foundations and sampling requirements. Moving on to NVivo and implementing each method’s coding procedures, data transformation techniques and visualisation styles.

On Day 5, you will learn to integrate different components of the five methods into a single study, illustrating the promises, but also the potential pitfalls, of method integration.

The course ends with a workshop where you will critically review the criteria published in the literature to assess the quality of qualitative analysis. You will put forward recommendations for reporting this phase of qualitative research in theses or articles.

Outside live sessions, you will be able to discuss the course content, and troubleshoot any problems you might have with the Teaching Assistant.

How the course will work online
The course combines pre-course assignments, such as readings and pre-recorded videos, as well as daily two-hour live lectures in Zoom, during which you will interact with the Instructor and fellow participants in real time.

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 course 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

Advanced students, researchers, and professional analysts.

Course aim

Learn how to use NVivo for conducting four popular methods of qualitative analysis widely used in the social sciences:

• qualitative content analysis
• thematic analysis
• cross-case analysis
• grounded theory

You will look at method integration; integrating components of the four methods into a single study.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:
• describe the aim, objectives, and expected outcomes of the above four methods;
• demonstrate how each method suits a given research question;
• implement each method’s coding and analysis procedures in NVivo;
• generate graphic displays that match each method’s style;
• appraise the quality of qualitative studies that used the four methods; and
• propose situations where methods integration is feasible."

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 492: ECPR member - check whether your institution is a member here: https://ecpr.eu/Membership/CurrentMembers
GBP 985: ECPR non-member

Scholarships

Funding applications for the 2024 ECPR Methods School Winter instalment are now closed. For more details on funding opportunities for ECPR's other events, please visit https://ecpr.eu/Funding/Funding