Undergraduate Course: Qualitative Methods in Psychology (PSYL10174)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | This course provides a conceptual and practical introduction to some core qualitative methodologies used in Psychology, with a particular focus on discursive psychology, Foucauldian discourse analysis, and thematic analysis with NVivo software. We will also discuss a variety of mixed methods approaches. |
| Course description |
The course will provide a conceptual and practical introduction to the use of qualitative methodologies in psychological research, with a particular focus on discursive psychological analysis. It will present the rationale for the various qualitative approaches and their underlying epistemologies, and engage students in current debates regarding ethics, epistemology, and evaluation of qualitative research within Psychology. It will introduce different ways of collecting qualitative data, such as interviews, social media data and recording naturally occurring data. It will demonstrate and compare several ways of analysing qualitative data, including discursive psychological (DP) analysis, Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA), and thematic analysis using NVivo, and provide extended practical experience in conducting and reporting a DP analysis. It will also discuss the combination of quantitative and qualitative data and analysis in mixed methods research.
The course will be taught through a series of lectures, in class and online exercises, and labs, all of which are designed to give students practical experience in qualitative research design, data collection and analysis.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | This course assumes some knowledge of Psychology and Psychological Research. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
68 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Completion of five quizzes (30%)
Research report of Discursive Psychology study (70%) |
| Feedback |
Formative verbal feedback will be given during weekly practical classes.
Formative feedback will be given on the research project at all stages in the labs.
Feedback is given on the coursework quizzes by providing answers and explanations where relevant.
Feedback will be given on summative assessment at the end of the course. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- show an understanding of and apply the rationale underlying qualitative methodologies
- demonstrate knowledge of different means of collecting qualitative data, and related conceptual, ethical and practical issues
- learn how to design, conduct, analyse and report own discursive psychological research project
- acquire a basic practical understanding of how to do discursive psychology analysis
- gain an understanding of the underlying rationale and process of approaches such as Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA), thematic analysis using NVIVO, and mixed methods research
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Reading List
Wiggins, S. (2017). Discursive psychology: Theory, method and applications. Los Angeles: Sage.
Willig, C. (2021). Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology (4th edition). Berkshire: McGraw Hill-Education.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The course teaches students qualitative research methods and, for the first time, introduces practical components. Students will need to be adaptable and resilient to adjust to the new way of researching, and be able to apply it to their assessments. The labs require students to work well as groups to discuss and evaluate different types of qualitative research methods and to develop a research project - being a good collaborator/team player is key to ensure the work is completed. For the final assessment, students will continue developing their written communication skills, learning how to adapt their writing style to the assessment type, analyse the qualitative data they've collected in groups to come up with a final individual research report.
Core skills gained on this course:
Critical thinking, critical analysis, considering all perspectives, knowledge of qualitative methodologies, independence, research skills, teamwork (delegation, leadership, collaboration, conflict management), clear written communication, matching writing style to audience, resilience, adaptation, data collection, data analysis, using data software, transcribing data. |
| Keywords | qualitative methods,data collection,ethics |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sue Widdicombe
Tel: (0131 6)50 3411
Email: suewidd@annrev.com |
Course secretary | Miss Anna Jarvis
Tel:
Email: |
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