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Social Sciences

Qualitative Analyses of Interview Data

When:

18 August - 22 August 2025

School:

Summer School in Social Sciences Methods

Institution:

Universitร  della Svizzera italiana

City:

Lugano

Country:

Switzerland

Language:

English

Credits:

0 EC

Fee:

700 CHF

Interested?
Qualitative Analyses of Interview Data

About

Workshop contents and objectives

This workshop focuses on the main types of qualitative analyses of in-depth interviews, including grounded theory, qualitative content analysis, thematic analysis, narrative analysis, discourse critical analysis, and affective-discursive analysis. We will differentiate these analyses in terms of the philosophical worldviews that inform them (e.g., social constructivist, realist, postmodernist, materialist) and discuss their appropriateness for different types of theoretical frameworks and research questions. We will also address the suitability and limits of interview data as well as issues of validity and reliability.

The main part of the workshop will focus on

practical steps for processing the data, iteration and progression
developing depth of interpretation to build insight and aggregating findings
connecting interpretation to theoretical concepts and questions to provide insight and advance theory
presenting findings in a persuasive manner
We will discuss structured approaches that use discourse strategies or coding schemes developed from theory or previous studies, inductive approaches that derive coding from the data, as well as deconstructive approaches that focus on unmasking underlying ideologies and power operations. The participants will read examples of different analyses, do exercises on various data sets, and work with their own data. They will receive individual feedback from other participants and the professor.

The workshop will focus on conceptual understanding of practical steps and decisions that have to be made at various junctures in the processing of qualitative data, whether aided by software or not. We will not be learning any specific software as the focus is on conceptual understanding and processing of data independent of any software.

Workshop design

The workshops will include lectures on the frameworks and approaches, discussion of reading materials, practical examples, and individual and group coding (of oneโ€™s own data or other data).

The participants will need to read assigned materials prior to the workshop.

Detailed lecture plan (daily schedule)

Day 1.
Introduction to qualitative analyses
What are the paradigms
Interview data, useful or not?
Content analysis
Grounded theory

Day 2.
Grounded theory based coding procedures
Analytical imagination
Thematic analysis
Coding (individual and/or in groups)

Day 3.
Narrative analysis
Coding (individual and/or in groups)
Progress presentations/discussion

Day 4.
Critical Analyses
Affective-discursive analysis
Coding (individual and/or in groups)
Progress presentations/discussions

Day 5.
Catch-up and recap
How to write up analyses
Progress presentations
Final questions and answers

Class materials

Readings and other materials will be posted on iCorsi or made available in class.

**The Summer School cannot grant credits. We only deliver a Certificate of Participation, i.e. we certify your attendance.**

If you consider using Summer School workshops to obtain credits (ECTS), you will have to investigate at your home institution (contact the person/institute responsible for your degree) to find out whether they recognise the Summer School, how many credits can be earned from a workshop/course with roughly 35 hours of teaching, no graded work, and no exams.

Make sure to investigate this matter before registering if this is important to you

Course leader

Prof Jolanta Drzewiecka (PhD, Arizona State University, USA), Universitร  della Svizzera italiana

Target group

graduate students, doctoral researchers, early career researchers

Prerequisites: participants should have a basic understanding of qualitative research design. It will be helpful to have your own data to analyze

Fee info

Fee

700 CHF, Reduced fee: 700 CHF per weekly workshop for students (requires proof of student status). To qualify for the reduced fee, you are required to send a copy of an official document that certifies your current student status or a letter from your supervisor stating your actual position as a doctoral or postdoctoral researcher

Fee

1100 CHF, Regular fee: 1100 CHF per weekly workshop for all others

Interested?

When:

18 August - 22 August 2025

School:

Summer School in Social Sciences Methods

Institution:

Universitร  della Svizzera italiana

Language:

English

Credits:

0 EC

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