Required prerequisite knowledge

Admission to the Master of Intercultural Studies program.

Relevance within study programme

Compulsory course in the ICSM-program

Learning outcomes descriptors

Knowledge

The student

• has knowledge of different methodologies, their epistemological and ontological presuppositions, and their implications for qualitative research projects within the field of Intercultural Studies.
• has thorough knowledge of methods within Intercultural Studies, among them different qualitative interviewing techniques and ethnographic research methods.  
• has thorough knowledge of ethical and scientific standards for conducting qualitative research.
• has thorough knowledge of the challenges that cultural interpretation and representation pose at all stages of qualitative research practices.

Skills

The student

• can critically assess the implications of methodological choices for own and others– research practices within Intercultural Studies
• can select and apply qualitative methods adequately depending on the research project at hand
• can demonstrate cultural sensitivity and reflective awareness in own research practice and across contexts
• can assess ethical concerns at every stage of the research process and apply ethical standards in own research, including in academic writing.
• can demonstrate dynamic, effective, and persuasive written and oral communication skills carried out in an appropriate style for the communication objective at hand

General competence

The student

• has knowledge of scientific and ethical standards for qualitative research practices within the field of Intercultural Studies and can make justified methodological and ethical choices and assessments.

Content

IKF302 introduces students to methodology in terms of the justification, explanation and understanding of research methods. The course focuses on the ramifications of methodological choices for the research process at large: The students will learn to identify how different methodologies imply theoretical (epistemological and ontological) presuppositions and judgments, and how ethical challenges present themselves at all stages of the research process.

Furthermore, the students will become able to identify how research objectives, research questions, ethical considerations and theoretical frameworks influence the choice of methods in a variety of qualitative research projects within Intercultural Studies.

The course enables students to make qualified and justified choices of methods, and critically assess ethical concerns/ requirements and research results. The students acquire competence in qualitative research work, including practical training in the application of selected methods and research ethics, which prepare them for future research. There will be many opportunities to train methodological assessment and communicative skills, enhance cultural sensitivity and ethical awareness, and understand the relationship between methodological choices and the challenges of cultural interpretation and representation in Intercultural Studies.

Teaching and learning methods

IKF 302 combines lectures, compulsory seminars, and other course requirements with the aim of assisting the students' understanding of, acquisition of, and assessment of methodological knowledge and competence in qualitative research work.

Four compulsory seminars help students gain competence in methods and research ethics. The seminars include opportunities for engaging concretely with case studies and practical training in the application of methods, critical assessment of methodological choices, and the process of establishing and analysing data.

The course requirements include a multiple-choice test in research ethics, exercises in peer-review work-methods and research collaboration during seminars. During the course, the students complete an individual, academic log on issues related to the seminars. In sum, this systematically enhances written and oral communicative skills and trains the students in making qualified methodological choices in own research work and assess those of others.

Scope

300 hours

Coursework requirements

Participate in four compulsory seminars: 

• Seminar 1 and 2: Interviews and ethnographic fieldwork methods followed by group work (2 days). All students are obliged to write a reflection assignment (1000 words) from one of the two seminars, where they reflect on what they have learned/experienced and what they think might be useful for their potential research. 
• Seminar 3:  Course in research ethics focusing on how ethical questions permeate all stages of the research process and clarification of juridical requirements, followed by self-directed group work (1 day), 
• Seminar 4: Presentation of own research interest and related methodological and ethical issues. Students also act as prepared discussants on at least one co-student's methodological presentation (in groups - over 1 or 2 days). 

Multiple choice-test in research ethics: All students are obliged to carry out online multiple choice-test on research ethics, where the score needs to be at least 80% to be approved. 

Writing an academic text (2500 words): All students will complete an individually written academic text including a presentation of own research interests and related methodological challenges. The text will be assessed with respect to formal criteria for academic writing. 

Grading, coursework requirements

Approved / Not approved

Final assessment

5 hours written exam in an examination location.  

Grading, examination

ECTS grading scale from A to F, in which E or better is necessary in order to pass

Permitted aids under examination

Bilingual English dictionary or an English-English dictionary

Assessment language

Scandinavian or English

Progression requirements

Master students in ICSM must have followed IKF301 and IKF302 to continue on IKF303

Practice

None.

Course evaluation

Annually course evaluation in accordance with the quality assurance system for NLA University College. Students may also give their feedback on the course in the student group/ in class.

Available as Single Course

No.

Reading list and academic resources

Book

Qualitative inquiry & research design : choosing among five approaches
Creswell, John W., Poth, Cheryl N., Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage, XXV, 459 sider, [2018]; © 2018, isbn:9781506330204,

Book

Qualitative interviewing
Brinkmann, Svend., Oxford, England :, Oxford University Press, 1 online resource (192 pages), c2013., isbn:0-19-025613-3; 0-19-934400-0,
View online

Book

A realist approach for qualitative research
Maxwell, Joseph A.., Los Angeles, SAGE, XIII, 222 s., cop. 2012, isbn:978-0-7619-2923-9,
NB: Must be bought or borrowed

Book

Listening to people : a practical guide to interviewing, participant observation, data analysis, and writing it all up
Annette Lareau (forfatter), Chicago, IL, The University of Chicago Press, 2021, isbn:9780226806570,

Book Chapter

Comparative Methodologies in the Analysis of Anthropological Data
Barth, F, John R Bowen, Comparative Methodologies in the Analysis of Anthropological Data, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, IX, 266 s., 1999, 78-89, isbn:0521653010; 0521653797,

Article

Considering Silences in Narrative Inquiry: An Intergenerational Story of a Sami Family
Blix, Bodil Hansen; Caine, Vera; Clandinin, D. Jean; Berendonk, Charlotte, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 4, 50, 2021, 580-594,

Article

Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis
Virginia Braun & Victoria Clarke, Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 4, 11,

Article

Justifying Knowledge, Justifying Method, Taking Action: Epistemologies, Methodologies, and Methods in Qualitative Research
Carter, S. M. & M. Little., Qualitative Health Research, 10, 17, 2007, 1316-1328,

Book Chapter

Discourse-centered methods
Farnell, B & L.R. Graham, Discourse-centered methods, 411-456,

Article

Focus-group interview and data analysis
Fatemeh Rabiee, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 63, 655-660, 63, 2004, 655-660,

Book Chapter

Methods in applied anthropology
Trotter, R.T. & J.J. Schensul, Methods in applied anthropology, 691-735,

Book Chapter

Text analysis
Wutich, A, Ryan, G. & H.R. Bernard, Text analysis, 533-559,

Book Chapter

Discipline and practice: «The field» as site, method, and location in anthropology
Gupta, A.; J. Ferguson, Discipline and practice: «The field» as site, method, and location in anthropology, 1-46,

Article

Ethnography in/of the World System: The Emergence of Multi-Sited Ethnography
Marcus, George E, Palo Alto, CA 94303-0139, Annual Reviews, 95-117, Annual review of anthropology, 1, 24, 1995-10, 95-117,
View online

Document

Guidelines for research ethics in the social sciences, humanities, law and theology
Den Nasjonale forskningsetiske komité for samfunnsvitenskap og humaniora, Oslo, The National Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities, 2021,
View online

Article

Photovoice: Picturing the health of Aboriginal women in a remote northern community
Pertice Moffitt Ardene Robinson Vollman, Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 4, 36, 2005, 189-201,

Book

Constructing Social Research: The Unity and Diversity of Method
Ragin, Charles C. and Lisa M. Amoroso, 2011, isbn:978-1-4129-6018-2,
Chapter 1 and 2

Article

Uncomfortable Knowledge: Toward a Pedagogy of Reflexivity
Benedict E. Singleton, Maris Boyd Gillette, Anders Burman & Ruy Blanes, Teaching Anthropology, 2, 11, 2022, 73-85,

Article

Critical Narrative Inquiry: An Examination of a Methodological Approach
Lisbeth A. Pino Gavidia, MPH, PhD(c) 1  and Joseph Adu, MPhil, MSc, PhD(c) 1 , Regular Article International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21, 2022, 1-5,

Article

Doing research into Indigenous issues being non-Indigenous
Skille, Eivind, Qualitative Research, 2021, 1-15,

Article

Learning in focus groups: an analytical dimension for enhancing focus group research
Dahlgren, V. Wibeck; MA, Öberg G, Qualitative Research, 2, 7, 2007, 249-267,

Article

Moving between theory and practice within an Indigenous research paradigm
Michelle Pidgeon Michelle Pidgeon,, Qualitative Research, 4, 418-436,

E-book

Research Methods in Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide
Zhu Hua, 2015, isbn:9781119166283,
DOI: 10.1002/9781119166283

Article

Methods for Intercultural Communication Research
Oetzel, John; Pant, Saumya; Rao, Nagesh, 2016,

Article

The ‘problem’ of ethics in contemporary anthropological research
Campbell, John, Anthropology matters, 1, 12, 1970-01-01,
View online

Article

Building understanding: Sensitive issues and putting the researcher in the research
O'Brien, Jennifer, Anthropology matters, 1, 12, 2010-09-15,
View online

Article

Good Ethics Can Sometimes Mean Better Science: Research Ethics and the Milgram Experiments
McArthur, Dan, Dordrecht, Springer Netherlands, 69-79, Science and engineering ethics, 1, 15, 2008-08-15, 69-79,
View online