A lesson learned? Difficulties in teaching and learning qualitative research methods

Abstract

Qualitative research flourishes in all social science disciplines. However, it appears that despite the abundance of publications dedicated to qualitative research and an increase in projects based on qualitative methods, questions concerning the ability to teach and learn qualitative methods are given comparatively little attention. Teaching and learning qualitative research often depend on local contingencies; for example, many are left to learning-by-doing or are delegated to events and institutions outside of the university. In many cases a comprehensive way to teach qualitative research methods within a guiding framework is missing. This is exactly what is needed to communicate the theoretical background assumptions, to experience the special features of this type of research as a social arrangement with researcher-researched-interaction at the core, and to practice the competences and applications of qualitative methods. This concern is represented in the initiative »Memorandum for a grounded teaching of methods and methodology in the human and social sciences« [Memorandum für eine fundierte Methodenausbildung in den Human- und Sozialwissenschaften].