SOC 254: Intermediate Qualitative Methods in Sociology
subjectCourse Description
This intermediate course offers a foundation in qualitative research methods, including interviewing, ethnography, and comparative-historical analysis. Students explore how qualitative studies are designed, what kinds of questions they can answer, and the practical and ethical challenges researchers face in the field. Special attention is given to how positionality and reflexivity shape the research process. In doing so, we look at a variety of critical perspectives—from feminist approaches to Black feminist thought, and Indigenous methods—to understand how power, history, and standpoint shape knowledge production. Students gain exposure to techniques for analyzing qualitative data and conduct a preliminary research project through scaffolded assignments.
task_altKey Learning Objectives
Formulating a Research Question
apply core principles of qualitative inquiry to create, researchable questions
Qualitiative Research Design
design and carry out a small study
Qualitative Data Analysis:
analyze and present interview data using various analysis techniques
Reflexivity and Ethics
reflect on your positionality and ethical responsibilities as a qualitative researcher
event_noteCourse Schedule & Topics
Qualitative Epistemology
Introduces the epistemological foundations of qualitative research and the kinds of sociological questions qualitative methods are uniquely positioned to address.
Research Design in Qualitative Inquiry
Examines how qualitative research projects are designed, including case selection, theory building, and the logic of grounded and abductive approaches.
Ethics and Power in Qualitative Research
Explores ethical dilemmas in qualitative research, with attention to power, responsibility, and the researcher’s relationship to research participants.
Interviewing and Focus Groups
Introduces interviewing and focus group methods, emphasizing question design, rapport, and the interpretation of narrative data.
Ethnography and the Extended Case Method
Examines ethnography as a methodological approach, focusing on participant observation, institutional ethnography, and the extended case method.
Reflexivity and Positionality in the Field
Explores how researchers’ social locations, identities, and motivations shape data collection, interpretation, and knowledge production.
Fieldnotes and Transcription
Introduces strategies for producing fieldnotes and transcripts as analytic data rather than neutral records of social life.
Coding and Qualitative Analysis
Examines techniques for coding and analyzing qualitative data, including flexible coding and abductive approaches to theory building.
Comparative and Historical Methods
Introduces comparative-historical analysis as a qualitative strategy for studying large-scale social processes across time and place.
Feminist, Intersectional, and Indigenous Methods
Explores critical methodological approaches that foreground standpoint, intersectionality, relationality, and the politics of knowledge production.
The Politics of Qualitative Knowledge Production
Examines debates over validity, interpretation, and methodological pluralism in qualitative research.
Writing Qualitative Research
Focuses on writing qualitative research, including argumentation, narrative strategy, and the presentation of empirical evidence.
format_quoteStudent Testimonials
I really liked Jessica as our course instructor. She made assignment instructions very clear, had everything posted ahead of time, used many examples from either her own work or others to teach us