INF5220 – Qualitative research methods

Course content

This course teaches basic qualitative research methodologies and methods that are used within Information Systems research. The course will provide an understanding of research issues and teach skills in qualitative research methods that can be used in master and doctoral thesis work and in system development projects.

The course will take you through different philosophical assumptions about research, and you will learn about what characterizes qualitative versus quantitative research.  You will learn about the research methodologies action research, case study, ethnographic research, and grounded theory, and methods for gathering qualitative data. You will gain introductory experience in analysis, interpretation, and writing based on field data, and learn about legal and ethical frameworks for conducting qualitative research. The assignments will give you practical experience in qualitative research methods in use by carrying out interviews and observations in projects relevant to domains of students' interests. The final assignment is to write a research proposal based on experiences in the earlier assignments. 
 

Learning outcome

After you have completed this course, you
?    know about different qualitative methodologies and methods that are used within the Information Systems field when generating empirical material
?    know the differences between these methodologies and can argue for your methodological choices
?    have practical experiences with interviews and observations
?    have an understanding about the relationship between research questions, methodologies and paradigms
?    have learned what a research design proposal should contain and have practical experience with formulating one
?    know about the legal and ethical framework for the conduct of research in Norway
 

Admission

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

The course number is limited to 40 (INF5220 and INF9220 together).

If the number of enrolled students is higher than 40, they will be ranked as follwed:
1) Phd students who has the course as mandatory
2) Master students at the Department of Informatics who has the course approved in their study plan
3) Master students at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences who has the course approved in their study plan
4) Master students at the Department of Informatics
5) Others

Prerequisites

Recommended previous knowledge

Bachelor degree in computer science, information systems or similar. No other prerequisites.

Overlapping courses