SW 633 Qualitative Research I: Critical Research Frames and Beginning Practices

This course is the first part of a required three-term sequence that introduces students to the theoretical foundations and methods for qualitative research in social work. The class is designed to support learners with techniques and tools to approach the inquiry process from a critical perspective, as contextualized in the profession of social work. The forms of research methods covered in this research sequence (and introduced in this first course) cover qualitative research at the micro, mezzo and macro levels, specifically: individual lived experiences, society and culture, and language and communication. In order to cover each of these levels of analysis, the course will address at least one research methodology in each of the three levels. These are hermeneutic phenomenology, life history research, critical ethnography, and critical discourse analysis.