RLB90 Qualitative Methods in the Study of Religions

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2021
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Milan Fujda, Ph.D. (lecturer)
PhDr. Eleonóra Hamar, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Michaela Ondrašinová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. David Zbíral, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Ivona Vrzalová
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each odd Tuesday 12:00–13:40 J22
Prerequisites
The participation in this course presumes the basic knowledge about the character of social scientific research and the differences between quantitative and qualitative approaches, and basic competences to design a research project.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to introduce students to explorative qualitative research practice. It is divided into a theoretical and practical part.
The aim of the theoretical part is familiarizing the students with principals of qualitative inquiry and with principal issues of politics and ethics of qualitative research. These include the positionality of the researcher in research and the relations in the field and their consequences and importance for the theory.
The practical part focuses on qualitative analysis. The students use the shared data and through the sequence of tasks are lead to analyse them from the begining with the first notes and commentaries through coding techniques up to the construction of a theory and its textual presentation.

Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will be able to:
  • formulate the qualitative research problem (i.e. the problem adequate to explorative and complex possibilities of qualitative research as derived from the everyday social practice);
  • understand the different nature and possibilities of qualitative and quantitative research and their procedures;
  • grasp the complexity of ethical issues in a qualitative inquiry: understand the consequence of and opportunities given by the positionality of the researcher within the research;
  • grasp the issue of research ethics beyond the formalism of ethical evaluations, with reference to theoretical and political significance of establishing good and respecting relations in the field and reflecting the consequences of the use of scientifically produced knowledge;
  • make analytically efficient comments, pose questions to data and code data on diverse levels;
  • search relations in the phenomena through the relations among textual parts and in intertextual references;
  • deepen their theoretical sensitivity towards nuances present in the data;
  • handle processes as a crucial aspect of qualitative analysis;
  • formulate and re-formulate hypotheses and concepts throughout cyclical process of constant verification and falsification as part of the theory-making
    • Syllabus
    • Introduction to the course, sharing of experiences with qualitative research
    • What's the difference between quantitative and qualitative modes of inquiry? Towards explorative nature and the importance of complexity in qualitative research - reading
    • What's the difference between quantitative and qualitative modes of inquiry? Towards explorative nature of and the importance of complexity in qualitative research - lecture and discussion
    • Researcher in the field: Relationships and ethics beyond formal procedures - reading
    • Researcher in the field: Relationships and ethics beyond formal procedures - lecture and discussion
    • Difference between positivistic and narrative approach: Theoretical and methodological significance of the textual turn - reading
    • Difference between positivistic and narrative approach: Theoretical and methodological significance of the textual turn - lecture and discussion
    • Analysis I: Commenting text, exploring the relevant issues, coding, and cultivating theoretical sensitivity - homework
    • Analysis I: Commenting text, exploring the relevant issues, coding, and cultivating theoretical sensitivity - seminar
    • Analysis II: Searching for the first analytical relationships in data - homework
    • Analysis II: Searching for the first analytical relationships in data - seminar
    • Analysis III: Constructing the story, structuring the text - homework
    • Analysis III: Constructing the story, structuring the text - seminar
    Literature
      required literature
    • STRAUSS, Anselm and Juliet CORBINOVÁ. Základy kvalitativního výzkumu : postupy a techniky metody zakotvené teorie. Vyd. 1. Boskovice: Albert, 1999, 196 s. ISBN 80-85834-60-X. info
    • EMERSON, Robert M., Rachel I. FRETZ and Linda L. SHAW. Writing ethnographic fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995, xviii, 254. ISBN 0226206815. URL info
      recommended literature
    • KOHLER-RIESSMAN, Catherine. Narrative analysis. Newbury Park: SAGE Publications, 1993, vii, 79 s. ISBN 0-8039-4754-2. info
    • SILVERMAN, David. Interpreting qualitative data :methods for analysing talk, text and interaction. 1st ed. London: Sage Publications, 1997, x, 224 s. ISBN 0-8039-8758-7. info
    • Ethnographic fieldwork : an anthropological reader. Edited by Antonius C. G. M. Robben - Jeffrey A. Sluka. Second edition. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, a John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication, 2012, xv, 654. ISBN 9780470657157. info
    • Qualitative research methods. Edited by Darin Weinberg. 1st pub. Malden: Blackwell Publishers, 2002, viii, 342. ISBN 0-631-21762-2. info
    • FLICK, Uwe. An introduction to qualitative research. 3rd ed. London: SAGE Publications, 2006, xii, 443. ISBN 1412911451. info
    Teaching methods
    Class discussions about readings, lectures, research tasks (homeworks), final essay.
    Assessment methods
    The final evaluation has the form of colloquium. To take part in colloquium the following conditions must be met:
    1) Three homeworks (the sequence of analytical tasks operated on the shared data) and their presentation during the seminars (in case of absence on the seminar the work is submitted into ELF in the form of: 1. a list of codes and commentaries with quotations; 2. the network view exports; 3. the description of the research problem, the sequence of argumentation, and a short description of each section.
    2. Active participation in discussion: this demands that the students take part in at least 50% of seminars and discussions.
    3. Essay (evaluated as accepted / not accepted). Must be submitted before the colloquium and serves as a material for colloquial discussion. It elaborates, widens and systematizes the work done on analytical homeworks. It has a form of an analytical text of 14400 to 18000 characters (8-10 standard pages).
    The colloquium consists of oral presentation of the essay and the following discussions.
    Language of instruction
    Czech
    Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
    The course is taught once in two years.
    Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučující.
    Teacher's information
    The course will have an independent team in MS Teams app.
    The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2005, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2017.
    • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
    • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2021/RLB90