Unit I: Foundations of Qualitative Research

● Defining qualitative research

● Historical development of qualitative research
● Key philosophical and methodological issues in qualitative research
● Different traditions of qualitative research
● Grounded theory
● Narrative approach
● Ethnography
● Action research
● Discourse analysis

Unit II: Qualitative Research Design

● Conceptualizing research questions

● issues of paradigm
● Positivist
● Interpretive
● Critical
● Positivist
● Designing samples
● Theoretical sampling
● Contrasting qualitative with quantitative approaches in the research process
● Issues of Credibility and trustworthiness

Unit III: Methods of Collecting Qualitative Data

● What is qualitative data? Various methods of collecting qualitative data

● participant observation
● interviewing
● focus groups
● life history
● Oral history
● Documents
● Diaries
● Photographs
● Films and videos, conversations, texts
● Case studies
● Primary data sources
● Secondary data sources
 Unit IV: Analyzing Qualitative Data

● Different traditions of qualitative data analysis

● thematic analysis
● Narrative analysis
● Discourse analysis
● Content analysis