Qualitative Research and Programme Evaluation Strategies

Description

Qualitative research is a form of inquiry that seeks to understand how individuals make sense of their experiences and their ‘worlds’.  This requires an interpretive, flexible and fluid approach because the focus is on meaning and interpretation. Qualitative enquiry can allow the researcher to be able to hear the voices and view the worlds of those who are silenced, ‘othered’ and marginalised.  This approach to research has been adopted extensively in the social sciences and social work. There is a growing interest within social work and human services in terms of the role that qualitative research strategies can play in practice and policy development.  Largely in response to demands by funding agencies for accountability, human services have begun to examine more closely their performance, efficacy, and cost effectiveness drawing on qualitative research strategies.  

This course will begin by introducing students to the philosophical underpinnings of qualitative research, including methodological frameworks, theories, and controversies. Next, students will learn about practical issues encountered in community research and when undertaking programme or service evaluation. Those practical issues include ethics of the research process; navigating cultures and insider/outsider perspectives; data gathering via documents, interviews, and focus groups; and analysing data. Students are encouraged to think critically in terms of applicability for developing ethical community and evaluation research models within diverse contexts/settings.

COURSE AIMS:
•  To introduce students to a range of qualitative methodological frameworks and
   research methods
•  To introduce students to the art and practice of programme evaluation and
   community research.
•  To critically engage with current research trends and their application in human service
   settings
•  To promote an action-based process of learning whereby students can directly experience
   qualitative research practice, and the process of planning and developing a research proposal
   for community and evaluation research.