A Grounded Theory of Inductive Qualitative Research Education: Results of a Meta-Data-Analysis

Abstract

This paper reports on the first stage of a meta-study conducted by the authors on primary research published during the last thirty years that focused on discovering the experiences of students learning qualitative research. The authors carried out a meta-analysis of the findings of students’ experiences learning qualitative research included in twenty-five published articles. Using constructivist grounded theory to analyze the experience of those seeking to learn qualitative research, including factors that appear to support or interfere with their learning experiences, the authors identified three key dimensions of qualitative research students’ learning experiences—affective, cognitive, and experiential. Based on this analysis, the authors developed a grounded theory of qualitative research education. This theory suggests that students’ learning experiences will be enhanced through the implementation of an inductive approach to qualitative research education that incorporates experiential learning early in the learning experience. This paper reports these findings, presents this grounded theory of inductive qualitative research education, and discusses the implications of the findings of this meta-analysis for those teaching and researching qualitative research.

When Qualitative Research is Taught Virtually: Drawing on Experiential Design to Build Deeper Knowledge of Qualitative Observation

“…Seven themes were identified including experiential learning, practice-based materials and workshops, course structure, peer or collaborative work, apprenticeship model, competence of qualitative research trainers, and teaching resources. Although this review considered research on teaching qualitative research, five of the seven identified themes focused on student learning-notably reinforcing the significance of experiential learning (Cooper et al, 2012).…”

“…Using the TPACK framework, which defines teacher knowledge in terms of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge, Snelson analyzed 11 articles; her findings indicated that "…online qualitative research methods educators choose course goals, instructional modules, and topics in a manner consistent with instructional design approaches" (p. 2799). Noticeably absent from Snelson's review was attention to experiential learning for online students, which was emphasized in the other reviews (Cooper et al, 2012;Wagner et al, 2019). However, Snelson's research called for greater attention to experiential learning in future studies of teaching qualitative research online.…”

Editorial: Reflections on research – connecting with creativity and transformation

“…However, at times, in my experience as a trainer in counselling and psychotherapy, research students can rather feel as if they are getting stuck going round in circles as they learn to make sense of the complexities of the research process. Fortunately, research assures me that this is not solely down to my particular teaching style but is a common experience; research students are impacted not just cognitively but emotionally and experientially by engaging with research (e.g., Cooper, Chenail & Fleming, 2012). Research can be daunting for newcomers as my own article in this issue highlights, and it is rarely the topic in the curricula that students look forward to the most.…”

Autoethnography as Pedagogy: Writing the “I” in IR

“…Importantly, this included not only texts in political science and IR but also a way into teaching qualitative methods, a topic which often presents many challenges for both students and those who teach them. Studies suggest that students tend to grasp research methods better when faced with active, experiential learning opportunities (Cooper, Chenail & Fleming, 2012). Autoethnography allows for this and in the process helps illustrate the absurdity of papers where the researchers themselves are often grammatically absent from methods sections, implying that their persona had no effect on results (Billig, 2013).…”