Postgraduate Course: Qualitative Methods and Ethnographic Fieldwork (PGSP11188)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This introduction to the collection of qualitative data using ethnographic methods will involve a substantial exercise in participant observation designed and carried out by each student during the semester. This will be the basis for discussion in seminar of the conceptual, practical and ethical issues of fieldwork, and for brief written reports by which the course will be assessed. |
| Course description |
After a general introduction the course will discuss exemplars of writing based on ethnographic fieldwork. In this initial period students will establish sites where they can conduct regular periods of research by participant observation during the semester. The weekly sessions will discuss topics arising from this practical experience, including problems of access, the ethics of fieldwork, the writing of fieldnotes, and issues of reflexivity in research.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 35 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Assessment will be made of a portfolio of work produced from the students' practical projects, including samples of fieldnotes, a reflexive assessment of their strengths and weaknesses, etc. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate proficiency in specialised ethnographic research methods, especially participant-observation and field note-taking; demonstrate familiarity and experience with other methods, including coding, interviewing, visual methods, and textual analysis
- Have effectively planned and carried out a field-based project. In this project students will demonstrate methodological flexibility and creativity, adapting ethnographic methods to dynamic fieldwork contexts and developing research tools specific to that context
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the key ethical issues surrounding ethnographic research
- Draw on original ethnographic material to make an argument and be able to evaluate other arguments made on these terms
- Develop their capacity for working within a research community, providing feedback on and suggestion for others' research and engage and learn from the feedback of others
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Reading List
Key Reading
Paul Atkinson, et al. 2001 Handbook of Ethnography, London: Sage.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
This course does not accept auditing students |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Naomi Haynes
Tel: (0131 6)50 4052
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Andrew Macaulay
Tel: (0131 6)51 5067
Email: |
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