Qualitative Inquiry: Theory and Practice of Qualitative Environmental Social Sciences

Catalog description

This graduate-level course provides a foundational introduction to qualitative research, with a focus on its application to environmental social sciences. Qualitative methods are critical for generating context-rich insights, surfacing diverse perspectives, and revealing the values and meanings that shape human behaviors and decision-making, providing valuable lenses for studying the complexity of human-environment interactions. Through six thematic modules, students will engage with core elements of qualitative inquiry: (1) Epistemology and Research Traditions: Philosophical foundations of qualitative research approaches and methodologies, reflexivity, and positionality; (2) Research Design: Framing effective research questions and designing appropriate research projects to generate knowledge claims; (3) Data Collection: Interviews, observations, focus groups, document analyses, and digital traces; (4) Data Analysis: Survey of approaches for identifying patterns and meaning in qualitative data, including qualitative coding and introductory computational techniques. Emphasis on hands-on exercises, including introduction to qualitative coding software; (5) Ethics: Power, consent, and researcher responsibilities in applied and community settings; (6) Writing and Communication: Representing participants ethically and writing for academic and non-academic audiences. Students will develop core skills through experiential exercises, peer feedback, and reflective assignments. By the end of the course, students will be prepared to design and carry out qualitative research that is rigorous, ethical, and relevant to real-world environmental challenges. No prior qualitative research experience needed.This course is a Methods Core requirement for the Environmental Behavioral Sciences subplan in the Environmental Social Sciences PhD program. All other students need instructor…