Véronique Mottier
Qualitative Data Analysis: Interpretive Research Strategies
Véronique Mottier
Véronique Mottier teaches in the Department of Political Science at the
University of Geneva. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and
has previously taught qualitative methodology workshops at the Universities
of Cambridge, Teeside and Loughborough (UK). Her published work has appeared
in Economy and Society, West European Politics, and other journals. Her
research interests include: (Methodology) interpretive methodologies;
textual analysis/Foucauldian discourse analysis; (Substantive) the politics
of sexuality; citizenship in the context of direct democracy.
The aim of this workshop is to explore the use of interpretive research
strategies in social science research. Broadly, interpretive methodologies
are grounded in a social constructionist perspective on social life, i.e.,
they remind social scientists of the constructed nature of the social
"facts" that are analysed. From this perspective, the workshop will examine
a number of different though related interpretive methodologies. The
specific focus will be on textual/discourse analysis, interview techniques,
hermeneutics, and ethnomethodology. Although the lectures and readings will
cover validity and reliability issues, the main emphasis of the workshop is
on practical applications of qualitative research methods.
Bibliography
Basic text/overview
Silverman, D. (1993) Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for Analysing
Text, Talk and Interaction. London: Sage.
Berg,Bruce L. (1995) (2nd. ed.) Qualitative Research Methods for the Social
Sciences. Needham Heights, Mass.: Allyn & Bacon.
Remedial Reading
Denzin, N.K. & Y.S. Lincoln (eds) (1994) Handbook of Qualitative Research.
London: Sage.
Prerequisites
No particular prerequisites are needed for this course, but it is strongly
recommended to do the suggested preparatory readings (see bibliography)