Fall 2022 - 60965 - PA 390C - Advanced Research Methods

This course is a doctoral seminar in research design and qualitative methods. It is designed to complement other methods coursework in the LBJ School. Participants will finish the course with:  

• A clear understanding of topics including research ethics, concept formation, case study selection, and operationalization/measurement.   
• The ability to determine when particular approaches or methods, qualitative and quantitative, are appropriate and/or useful in answering a research question.    
• Knowledge of how to use a range of qualitative methods, including archival research, interviews, and ethnography, and initial practice in actually using these methods.  
• An understanding of how to integrate qualitative research into a multi-method research design (where appropriate).     

Both research design and qualitative research are largely matters of craft, learned by doing. Accordingly, the course requires participants to engage in regular, practical exercises that develop a research topic of their own choosing, culminating in a final research design paper.