IN4340 – Engaged qualitative research methods
Course description
Course content
This course offers an introduction to engaged research methods, with a focus on the application of such methods to students’ MSc thesis. The course begins with an introduction to the concept of engaged research, meant as a participatory form of research for studying complex real-world problems from the perspectives of key stakeholders. The course then offers a focus on different methods of engaged qualitative research, equipping students with the epistemological and methodological skills needed to complete MSc work. A substantial part of the course will consist of real-life examples, case studies and field scenaria set in the digital health sector.
The course enables students to gain hands-on experience from the different phases of engaged qualitative research, including the formulation of a research question, data collection and analysis, writing and reporting on research, facing and solving ethical and practical dilemmas. Particular focus is placed on notions of engaged research applied to conducting fieldwork.
Learning outcome
After you have completed this course, you can:
- Understand and distinguish different epistemological paradigms and their implications for research design and execution
- Explain and compare different methodologies for engaged research including case studies, ethnography, action research and grounded theory methods
- Explain and compare different methods used in engaged research on digital health including interview, participant observation, studying situated practices and document analysis
- Use engaged qualitative research methods for your own research on digitalisation in the health sector
- Make qualified and well-motivated choices of research methodology for your own research and assess others’ choices of methodology
- Understanding and applying core concepts and practices of research ethics
- Perform field interviews and observations and analyse the resulting empirical data.
Admission to the course
Students admitted at UiO must apply for courses in Studentweb. Students enrolled in other Master's Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.
The course number is limited to 40 students.
If the number of enrolled students is higher than 40, they will be ranked as followed:
- Master students in Digitalization in the Health Sector (master's two years)
- PhD students who has the course approved in their study plan
- Master students in Informatics: Programming and System Architecture master with supervisor/master thesis in the IS research group and who has the course approved in their study plan
- Master students at the Department of Informatics who has the course approved in their study plan
Overlapping courses
- 5 credits overlap with IN5000 – Kvalitative forskningsmetoder.
Teaching
2 hours of lectures per week. The first lecture is mandatory
4 case-study simulations, with real-life scenaria of fieldwork on digital health, 2 hours each.
Examination
Written home exam.?All mandatory activities must be approved before you can take the exam.
Examination support material
No examination support material is allowed
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about?the grading system.
Resit an examination
Students who can document a valid reason for absence from the regular examination are?offered a postponed examination at the beginning of the next semester.
Re-scheduled examinations are not offered to students who withdraw during, or did not pass the original examination.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.