COMM 6830 - Qualitative Research Methods in Communication

Spring. 3 credits. Student option grading.

Forbidden Overlap: due to an overlap in content, students will not receive credit for both GDEV 3740/GDEV 5740 and COMM 6830.
Prerequisite: COMM 6820. Enrollment limited to: graduate students.

M. Cornejo, L. Humphreys.

Reviews qualitative methods used in communication research, including interviews, focus groups, fieldwork (ethnography), and case studies. Students practice the various methods so they can learn to apply them to their own research. Students also discuss how researchers analyze qualitative data and build theories from their observations.

Outcome 1: Students will be able to describe strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research.

Outcome 2: Students will be able to distinguish between different epistemological approaches within qualitative research.

Outcome 3: Students will be able to analyze the key steps in conducting qualitative research including access, sampling, data collecting, data analysis, and writing.

Outcome 4: Students will be able to apply the knowledge and skills learned in the class to an independent qualitative research project.